lO'i'S-

%>T

lis

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

^J^t^^ cs^ssCx

^

t-^

JOHN SHERMAN'S
RECOLLECTIONS OF
FORTY YEARS
IN
THE HOUSE, SENATE AND CABINET.
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. VOLUME I.

ILLUSTRATED
WITH PORTRAITS, FAC-SIMILE LETTERS, SCENES, ETC.
INCLUDING ANALYTICAL INDEX.

1895-
THE WERNER COMPANY,
CHICAGO. NEW YORK.
LONDON. BERLIN.

Copyright. 1895, By John Sherman.

'f^YALHv

SHERMAN BOOK.

<!',: I /( .

/

PREFACE

THESE Reoollections grew out of a long deferred pur
pose to publish a selection of my speeches on public
questions, but in collecting them it became manifest
that they should be accompanied or preceded by a statement of
the circumstances that attended their delivery. The attempt
to furnish such a statement led to a review of the chief events
of my public life, which covers the period extending from
1854 to the present time. The sectional trouble that preceded
the Civil War, the war itself with all its attendant horrors and
sacrifices, the abolition of slavery, the reconstruction meas
ures, and the vast and unexampled progress of the republic
in growth and development since the war, presented a topic
worthy of a better historian than I am. Still, as my life was
interwoven with these events, I concluded that it was better
that I state my recollection of what I saw or heard or did
in those stirring times rather than what I said. Whether
<^his conclusion was a wise one the reader must judge. Ego
ism is a natural trait of mankind. If it is exhibited in a
noderate degree we pardon it with a smile; if it is excessive
ve condemn it as a weakness. The life of one man is but an
i.tom, but if it is connected with great events it shares in
their dignity and importance. Influenced by this reasoning
I concluded to postpone the publication of my speeches except
'o far as they are quoted or described in these memoirs.
When I entered upon their preparation the question arose
whether the book to be written was to be of my life, includ
ing ancestry and boyhood, or to be confined to the financial
history of the United States with which I was mainly iden
tified. This was settled by the publishers, who were more
interested in the number of copies they could sell than in
the finances of the United States. ill

iv PREFACE.
Every man has a theory of finance of his own, and is
indifferent to any other. At best the subject is a dry one.
Still, the problem of providing money to carry on the expen
sive operations of a great war, and to provide for the payment
of the vast debt created during the war, was next in impor
tance to the conduct of armies, and those who were engaged
in solving this problem were as much soldiers as the men
who were carrying muskets or commanding armies. As one
of these I feel it my duty to present the measures adopted
and to claim for them such merit as they deserve.
These volumes do contain the true history of the chief
financial measures of the United States government during
the past forty years. My hope is that those who read them
will be able to correct the wild delusions of many honest
citizens who became infected with the "greenback craze," or
the " free coinage of silver."
My chief regret is that the limit of these volumes did not
permit me to extend my narrative to the memorable battles
and marches of the Civil War, nor to a more general notice
of my associates who distinguished themselves in civil life.
The omission of military narrative is admirably compensated
by the memoirs of the great commanders on either side, and
better yet by the vast collection and publication, by the
United States, of the "Records of the Rebellion." The attempt
to include in these volumes my estimate of distinguished
men still living who participated in the events narrated
would greatly , extend them and might lead to injustice.
One of the fortunate results of the Civil War has been to
diminish the sectional prejudice that previously existed both
in the north and in the south. I would not check this tend
ency, but will gladly contribute in every way possible to a
hearty union of the people of all sections of our country,
not only in matters of government, but also in ties of good
will, mutual respect and fraternity. The existence of slavery
in some of the states was the cause of the war, and its abo
lition was the most important result of the war. So great a
change naturally led to disorder and violence where slavery
had existed, but this condition, it is believed, is passing away.

PREFACE. V
Therefore I have not entered in detail into the measures
adopted as the result of the abolition of slavery.
This preface is hardly necessary, but I comply with the
general custom of adding at the beginning, instead of the end,
an apology for writing a book. This seems to me to be the
chief object of a preface, and I add to it an appeal for the
kindly consideration of the readers of these volumes.
John Sherman.
Mansfield, Ohio, August 30, 1895.

ILLUSTRATIONS volum;b I.

PAGE

John Sheeman  Frontispiece
Dedham Steeet, Dedham, Essex Countt, England  4
Birthplace of John Sherman at Lancastee, Ohio .... 28
John Sheeman at the Age of Nineteen  40
Mr. Sheeman at the Age of Twenty-three  64
Charles T. Sheeman  78
First Court House at Mansfield, Ohio  . 86
Me. Sherman's First Home in Mansfield, Ohio  92
Kansas Investigating Committee  116
Me. Sheeman at the Age of Thiety-fivb  128
Me. Sherman's First Residence in Washington, D. C. . . . 108
Senator Justin S. Moeeill  182
Abraham Lincoln  232
General W. T. Sherman  314
Three Ohio Goveenoes — Dbnnison, Tod, Beough  324
Colfax, Douglas, Fessenden, Ewing (Group.)  338
Edwin M. Stanton  356
U. S. Grant  448
United States Senatoes — 48ed Congeess  489-490
Mr. Sheeman's Present Residence at Mansfield, Ohio . . . 554
Office of the Seceetaey of the Teeasuey, Washington, D. C. 506
Libeaey of Mr. Sherman's Mansfield Residence  584

(vii)

AUTOGRAPH LETTERS

volum:e i.
FAOX
Certificate op Admission to Practice in Supreme Court, Jan
uary 21, 1852  54
T. Ewing, December 31, 1848  90
Wm. H. Seward, September 20, 1852  96
Certificate of Election as United States Representative,
December 9, 1854  105
Justin S. MoERiLL, April 1,1861  233
W. B. Allison, March 23, 1801  234
John A. Dix, February 6, 1861  252
J. A. Garfield, May 17, 1862  •  266
Simon Cameron, November 14, 1861  207
Edwin M. Stanton, I )ooembor 7, 1802  321
Horace Greeley, February 7, 1805  359
Thurlow Weed, February 28, 180()  308
Schuyler Colfax, February 17, 1868  420
Vote on the Isipbachment of Andrew .Johnson, May 10, and 20,
1808  '  428
U. S. Grant, June 14, 1871  445
M. H. Carpenter, July 20, 1871  478
RoscoB Conkling, October 13, 1871  479
J. A. Garfield, September 25, 1874  505
R. B. Hayes, June 19, 1876  551
R. B. Hayes, February 19, 1877  562 and 563
Cyrus W. Field, March 6, 1877  564
Wm. M. Evarts, August 30, 1877  593

(ix)

Table of Contents.
VOLTJIS^E I.

CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY OF THE SHERMAN FAMILY.
FAQES
Family Name Is of Saxon Origin — "Conquer Death by Virtue" — Arrival
of Rev. John Sherman at Boston in 1634 — General Sherman's Reply
to an English Sexton — Career of Daniel Sherman — My First Visit
to Woodbury — " Sherman's Tannery " — Anecdote of " Uncle Dan " —
Sketch of My Father and Mother — Address to LnliBting Soldiers —
General Reese's Account of My Father's Career — Religion of the
Sherman Family — My Belief  1-27
CHAPTER II.
MY BOYHOOD DAYS AND EARLY LIFE,
Born at Lancaster, Ohio, May 10, 1823 — Death of My Father and Its Effect
on Our Family — Early Da.ys at School — A Dead Slieep in the School
room — Lesson in Sunday Sport — Some of My Characteristics — My
Attack on tho Schoolmaster — Robbing an Orchard — A Rodman at
Fourteen and My Experiences While Surveying — Debates ut Beverly —
Early Use of lyiquor — First Visit to Mansfield in 1839 — The Famous
Campaign of 1840 — I Begin the Study of Law  28-55
CHAPTER III.
OHIO ; ITS HISTORY AND RESOURCES.
Occupation by the Indians — Washington's Expedition to the Head of the
Ohio River — Commencement of the History of the State — Topogra
phy, Characteristics, etc., in 1787 — Arrival of the First Pioneers —
The Treaty of Greenville — Census of 1802 Showed a Population of
45,028 Persons — Occupation of tlie "Connecticut Reserve" — Era of
Internal Improvement — Value of Manufactures in 1890 — Vast Re
sources ot the Buckeye State — Love of the "Ohio Man" for His Na
tive State  56-77
CHAPTER IV.
ADMISSION TO THE BAR AND EARLY POLITICAL LIFE.
Law Partnership with My Brother Charles — Changes in Methods of Court
Practice — Obtaining the Right of Way for a Railroad — Excitement
of the Mexican War and Its Effect on the Country — My First Visit to
Washington — At a Banquet with Daniel Webster — New York Fifty
Years Ago — Marriage with Margaret Cecilia Stewart — Beginning of
My Political Life — Belief in the Doctrine of Protection —Democratic
and Whig Conventions of 1852 — The Slavery Question — My Election
to Congress in 1854  • 78-109
(Xi)

xii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
EARLY DAYS IN CONGRESS.
FAGES
My First Speech in the House — Struggle for the Possession of Kansas — Ap
pointed as a Member of the Kansas Investigating Committee — The
Invasion of March 30, 1855 — Exciting Scenes in the Second District
of Kansas — Similar Violence in Other Territorial Districts — Return
and Report of the Committee — No Relief Afforded the People ot Kan
sas — Men of Distinction iu the 34th Congress — Long Intimacy with
Schuyler Colfax  110-135

CHAPTER VI.
BIRTH OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
The Name Formally Adopted at Jackson, Michigan, in 1854 —Nomination of
John C. Fremont at Philadelphia — Democratic Convention Nominates
James Buchanan — Effect of the Latter's Election on the North — My
Views Concerning President Pierce and His Administration— French
Spoliation Claims — First Year of Buchanan's Administration — Dred
Scott Case Decision by the Supreme Court — The Slavery Question
Once More an Issue in Congress — Douglas' Opposition to the Lecomp
ton Scheme — Turning Point of the Slavery Controversy  136-152

CHAPTER VH.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THB FINANCIAL PANIC OF 1857.
Its Effect on the State Banks — My Maiden Speech in Congress on National
Finances — Appointed a Member of the Committee on Naval Affairs —
Investigation of the Navy Department and Its Results — Trip to
Europe with Mrs. Sherman — We Visit Bracklinn's Bridge, Made Fa
mous by Sir Walter Scott — Ireland and the Iiish — I Pay a Visit to
Parliament and Obtain Ready Admission — Notable Places in Paris
Viewed with Senator Sumner — The Battlefield of Magenta — Return
Home  153-166

CHAPTER VIII.
EXCITING SCENES IN CONGEESS.
I am Elected for the Third Term — Invasion ot Virginia by John Brown — His
Trial and Execution — Spirited Contest for the Speakership — Discus
sion Over Helper's "Impending Crisis "— Angry Controversies and
Threats of Violence in the House — Within Three Votes of Election as
Speaker — My Reply to Clark's Attack — Withdrawal of my Name and
Election of Mr. Pennington — Made Chairman of the Committee of
Ways and Means — President Buchanan Objects to Being " Investi
gated "— Adoption of the Morrill Tariff Act— Views Upon the Tariff
Question — My Colleagues  167-196

TABLE OF CONTENTS. xiii
CHAPTER IX.
LAST DAYS OF THE BUCHANAN ADMINISTRATION.
My First Appearance Before a New York Audience — Lincoln's Nomination at
the Chicago Convention — I Engage Actively in the Presidential Can
vass — Making Speeches for Lincoln — My Letter to Philadelphia Citi
zens — Acts of Secession by Southern States — How the South was
Equipped by the Secretary of the Navy — Buchanan's Strange Doc
trine Regarding State Control by the General Government— Schemes
" To Save the Country " — My Reply to Mr. Pendleton on the Condi
tion of the Impending Revolution — The Ohio Delegation in the 36th
Congress — Retrospection  197-230

CHAPTER X.
TIIK BEGINNING OF LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION.
Arrival of the President Elect at Washington — Iinpressiveness of His Inaugu
ral Address — I am Elected Senator from Ohio to Succeed Salmon P.
Chase — Letters Written to and Received from My Brother William Te-
cumseh — His Arrival at Washington — A Dark Period in the History
ot the Country — Letter to General Shermaii on the Attack Upon Fort
Sumter — Departure for Mnnsfiold to Encourage Enlistments — Oliio
Regiments Reviewed b.y the President — General McLaughlin Compli
mented — My Visit to Ex- President Buchanan — Meeting Between my
Brother and'Colonel George H. Thomas  231-250

CHAPTER XI.
SPECIAL SESSION OF CONGEESS TO PROVIDE FOR THE WAE.
Condition of the Treasury Immediately Preceding the War — Not Enough
Mone.y on Hand to Pay Members of Congress — Value of Fractional
Silver of Earlier Coinage — Largely Increased Revenues an Urgent Ne
cessity — Lincoln's Message and Appeal to the People- Issue of New
TreasOT.y Notes and Bonds — Union Troops on the Potomac — Battle
of Bull Run — Organization of the "Sherman Brigade" — The Presi
dent's Timely Aid— Personnel of tho Brigade  251-267

CHAPTER XII.
PASSAGE OF THE LEGAL TENDEE ACT IN 1802.
My Interview with Lincoln About Ohio Appointments — Governmental Ex
penses Now Aggregating Nearly $2,000,000 Daily — Secretary Chase's
Annual Report to Congress in December, 1861 — Treasury Notes a
Legal Tender in Payment of Public and Private Debts— Beneficial Re
sults from the Passage of the Bill — The War Not a Question of Men,
but of Money — Proposed Organization of National Banks — Bank
BillsNot Taxed— Local Banks and Their Absorption by the Govern
ment— The 1862 Issue of f 150,000,000 in " Greenbacks " — Legal
Tender Act a Turning Point in Our Financial History — Compensation
of Officers of the Government  268-283

Xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIII.
ABOLISHMENT OP TUB STATE BANKS.

PAGES

Measures Introduced to Tax Them out ot Existence — Arguments That Induced
Congress to Deprive Them of the Power to Issue Their Bills as Money —
Bill to Provide a National (Currency — Why Congress Authorized an Is
sue of $40(),000,()0() of United States Notes — Issue of f»-20 and l(»-40
IJondsto Help to Carry on the War — High Rates of Interest Paid —
Secretary Chase's Able Management of the Public Debt — Our Internal
Revenue System — Repeal of the Income Tax Law — My Views on the
Taxability of Incomes  284-309

CHAPTER XIV.
Lincoln's emancipation peoclamation.
Slavery in the District of Columbia Abolished — Law Goes Into Effect on April
10, 186'J — Beginning of the End ot Slavery— Militarj' Measures in Con
gress to Carr.y on the War — Response to the President's Call — Benefi
cial Effects of the Confiscation .'ict — Visits to Soldiers' Camps — Rob
ert S. Granger as a Cook — How I Came to Purchase a Washington
Residence — Increase of Compensation to Senators and Members and
Its Effect — Excitement in Ohio over Vallmidighain's Arrcsl — News of
the Full of VinkHhnrg mid Deficit of L(!e ut Gettysburg — .Tolin Brough
Elected Governor of Ohio — lis lOffect on the Stu.te  8IO-.'i-

CHAPTER XV.
A MEMOEABLE SESSION OF CONGRESS.
Dark Period of the War — Effect of the President's Proclamiition — Revenue
Bill Enacted Increasing Internal Taxes and Adding Man.y New Ob
jects of Taxation— Additional Bonds Issued — General Piosperit.v in
the North Following the Passage of New Financial Measures — Aid for
the Union Pacific Railroad Company — Land Grants to the Northern
Pacific — 13th Amendment to the Constitution — Resignation of Sec
retary Chase — Anecdote of Governor Tod of Ohio — Nomination of
William P. Fessenden to Succeed Chase — The Latter Made Chief .fus-
tice — Lincoln's Second Nomination — Effect of Vallandigham's Res
olution—General Sherman's March to the Sea — Second Session ot
the 38th Congress  329-350

CHAPTER XVI.
ASSASSINATION OF AliUAIIAM LINCOLN.
Johnson's Maudlin Stump Speech in the Senate — Inauguration of Lincoln for
the Second Term —My Trip to the South — Paying Off a Church Debt
— Meetings to Celebrate the Success of the Union Army — News ot the
Death of Lincoln -I Attend the Funeral Services — General Johnson's
Surrender to General Sherman — Controversy with Secretary Stanton
Over the Event -Review of 65,000 Troops in Washington — Care of
the Old Soldiers — Annual Pension List of $150,000,000-1 am Re
elected to the Senate— The Wade-Davis Bill— Johnson's Treatment
ofPul>licMen — His Veto of the (^ivil Rights Bill — Reorganization ot
the Rebel States and Their Final Restoration to the Union. .... 851-376

PAGES

TABLE OP CONTENtS. it
CHAPTER XVII.
INDEBTEDNESS OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1865.
Organization of the Greenback Party — Total Debt on October Slst amounts
to $2, 8(W, .549,437.55 -Secretary McOulloch's Desire to Convert All
United States Notes into Interest Bearing Bonds — M.v Discussion with
Senator Fessenden Ovei- the Finunce C!oinmittee's I?ill — Too Great
Powers Conferred on the Secretary of the Treasury — His Desire to Re
tire $10,000,000 of United States Notes Each Mo'nth- Growth of the
Greenback Part.y — The Secretary's Powers to Reduce theCurrenc.v by
Retiring or Canceling United States Notes Is Suspended — Bill to Re
duce Taxes and Provide Internal Revenue — M.y Trip to Laramie and
Other Western Forts with General Sherman — Beginning of the De
partment of Agriculture  877-394
CHAPTER XVIII.
THREE JIONTIIS IN EUROPE.
Short Session of Congress Convened March 4, 1867 — I Become«Chnirman ot
tho Committee on Finance, Succeeding Senator Fessenden — Departure
for Europe — Winning ,i Wager from a Sea Captain — Congressman
Kasson's Pistol — Under Surveillance by English Officers — Impressions
of John Bright, Disraeli and Other Prominent Englishmen — Visit
to France, Belgium, Holland and Gorinan.v — An Audience with ISis-
marck — His Sympathy with the Union Cause — Wonders of the Paris
Exposition — l.ife in Paris — Presented to the Emperor Napoleon III
and the Empress Eugenie — A Dinner at the Tuileries — M.y Return
Home — International Money Commission in Session at Paris — Cor
respondence with Commissioner Ruggles — His Report — Failure to
Unity the Coinage of Nations — Relative Value of Gold and Silver. . 395-412
CHAPTER XIX.
IMPEACHMENT OF ANDItEW .lOHNSON.
Judiciary Committee's Resolution Fails ot Adoption by a Vote of 57 Yeas to
108 Nays —Johnson s Attempt to Remove Secretary Stanton and Cre
ate a New Office for General Sherman — Correspondence on the Subject
— Report of the Committee on Impeachment, and Olher Matters Per
taining to the Appointment of Lorenzo Thomas — Impeachment
Resolution Passed b.y the House b.y a Vote of 126 Yeas to 47 Nays —
.Johnson's Trial by the Senate — Acquittal of the President by a Vote
of 35 Guilty to 19 Not Guilty— Why I Favored Conviction — General
Schofield Becomes Secretary of War— "Tenure of Office Act." . . 413-432
CHAPTER XX.
THE FORTIETH SESSION.
Legislation During the Two Years — Further Reduction of the Currency by the
Secretary Prohibited — Report of the Committee of Conference — Bill
for Refunding the National Debt— Amounted to $2,639,382,572.68 on
December 1, 1807— Resumption of Specie Payments Recommended —
Refunding Bill in the Senate— Change in My Views — Debate Partici
pated in by Nearly Every Senator— Why the Bill Failed to Become a
IjIwv — Breach Between Congress and the President Paralyzes Legisla
tion-Nomination and Election of Grant for President — His Corre
spondence with General Sherman  433-446

.?vi TABLE OP CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXI.
BEGINNING OP GRANt's ADMINISTRATION.
PAIiKS
His Arrival at Washington in 1864 to Take Command of the Armies of the
United States — Inaugural Address as President — "An Act to
Strengthen the Public Credit" — Becomes a Law on March 19, 1869 —
Formation of the President's Cabinet — Fifteenth Amendment to th(?
(,'onstitution — Bill to Fund the Public Debt and to Aid iu the Resump
tion of Specie Payments — Bill Finally Agreed to by the House and
Senate — A Redemption Stipulation Omitted- Reduction ofthe Public
Debt— Problem of Advancing United States Notes to Par with Coin. 446-458

CHAPTER XXII.
OUR COINAGE BEFORE AND AFTER THE WAR.
But Little Coin in Circulation in 1869 — General Use ot Spanish Pieces— No
Mention ot the Dollar Piece in the Act ot 1853 — Free Circulation
of Gold After the 1853 Act — No Truth in the "Demonetization"
Charge — Account ot the Bill Revising the Laws Relative to the Mint,
Assay Offices aud Coinage of the United States — AVhy the Dollar was
Dropped from the Coins — Then Known Onl.y as a Coin for the For
eign Market — Establishment of tho " Trade Dollar " — A Legal Tender
for Only Five Dollars — Repeated Attempts to Have Congress Pass a
Free Coinage Act — How It Would Affect Us — Controversy Between
Secretary Sumner and Secretary Fish  459-473

CHAPTER XXIII.
SOME EVENTS IN MY PRIVATE LIFE.
Feuds and Jealousies During Grant's Administration — Attack on Me by the
Cincinnati " Enquirer " — Re|)ly and Stutement Regarding My Worldly
Possessions — I Am Elected to the Senate for the Third Term — Trip to
the Pacific with Colonel Scott and Part.y — Visit to the Yosemite Val-
le.y — San Diego in 1872 — Return via Carson City and Salt Lake —
We call on Brigham Young— Arrival Home to Enter Into the Greeley-
Grant Canvass — Election of General Grant for the Second Term. . 474-487

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE PANIC OF 1873 AND ITS RESULTS.
Failure of Jay Cooke and Co. — Wild Schemes "for the Relief of the People" —
Congress Called Upon for Help^ — Finance Committee's Report for the
Redemption of United States Notes in Coin — Extracts from m.v Speech
in Favor ot the Rejjort — Bill to fix the Amount ot United States
Notes — Finally Passed b.y the Senate and House — Vetoed by Presi
dent Grant and Failure to Pass Over His Objection — General Effect
Throughout the Country of the Struggle tor Resumption — Impera
tive Necessity for Providing Some Measure ot Relief  488-506

TABLE OF CONTENTS. xvii
CHAPTER XXV.
BILL FOR THE RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS.
PAGES
Decline in Value of Paper Mone.y — Meeting of Congress in December, 1874 —
Senate Committee of Eleven to Formulate a Bill to Advance United
States Notes to Par in Coin Widely Differing Views of the Mem
bers — Redemption of Fractional Currency Readily Agreed to — Other
Sections Finally Adopted— Means to Prepare for and Maintain Re
sumption — Report of the Bill by the Committee on Finance — Its Pas
sage by the Senate by a Vote ot 32 to 14— FuU Text of the Measure
and an Explanation ot What It Was Expected to Accomplish — Ap
proval by the House and the President  507-618
CHAPTER XXVI.
RESUMPTION ACT RECEIVED WITH DISFAVOR.
It Is Not Well Received by Those Who Wished Immediate Resumption of
Specie Pavments — Letter to "The Financier" in Reply to a Charge
That It Was a " Political Trick," etc. — The Ohio Canvass of 1875 —
Finance Resolutions in the Democratic and Republican Platforms — R.
B. Ha.yes and Myself Talk in Favor of Resumption — My Recommenda
tion ot Him for Pr(!sident — A Democrat Elected as Speaker of the
House — The Senate Still Republican — My Speech in Support of Specie
Payments Made March C, 1870 — What the Financial Policy of the
Government Should Be  619-537
CHAPTER XXVII.
MY CONFIDENCE IN THE SUCCESS OF RESUMPTION.
Tendency of Democratic Members of Both Houses to Exaggerate the Evil
Times — Debate Over the Bill to Provide for Issuing Silver Coin in Place
of Fractional Currency — The Coinage Laws of the United States and
Other Countries — Joint Resolution for the Issue of Silver Coin — The
" Trade Dollar " Declared Not to Be a Legal Tender — My Views on the
Fret! Coinage of Silver — Bill to Provide for the Completion of the
Washington Monument — Resolution Written by Me on the 100th An
niversary ot the Declaration of Independence — Unanimously Passed
in a Day by Both Houses — Completion of the Structure Under the Act. 638-649
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE HAYES-TILDEN PRESIDENTIAL CONTEST.
Nomination of R. B. Hayes for President— His Fitness for the Responsible Of-
llce— Political Shrewdness of Samuel J. Tilden, His Opponent— I En
ter Actively Into the Canvass in Ohio and Other States— Frauds in the
South — Requested by General Grant to Go to New Orleans and Wit>
ness the Canvassing of the Vote of Louisiana— Departure for the
South — Personnel of the Reimblican and Democratic "Visitors"—
Report of the Returning Board —My Letter to Governor Hayes from
New Orleans — President Grant's Last Message to Congress— Letters
from President Hayes — Request to Become his Secretary of the
Treasury  550-564^
S.-a

xviii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXIX.
I BEGIN MY DUTIES AS SECRETARY OP THE TREASURY.
PAGES
Legislative Training of Great Advantage to Me in My New Position — Loan
Contract in Force When I Took the Portfolio— Appointmentot Charles
F. Coiiant as Funding Agent of the Treasury Department in London —
Redeeming Called Bonds— Sale of Pour Per Cent. Bonds Instead of
Four and a Half Per Cents. — Popularity of the Now Loan — (ireat
Saving in Interest— On a Tour of Inspection Along the Northern
Atlantic Coast — Value of Information Received on This Trip —
Effect of the Baltimore and Pittsburg Railroad Strikes in 1877 Upon
Our Public Credit  565-583

CHAPTER XXX.
POLICY OF THB HAYES ADMINISTRATION.
Reception at My Home in Mansfield — Given b.y Friends Irrespective of Party —
Introduced by My Old Friend and Partner, Henry C. Hedges— I Re
ply by Giving a lii^sum^ of the Contests in South Carolina and Louisi
ana to Decide Who Was Governor — Positions Taken by Presidents
Grant and Hayes in These Contests — -My Plans to S(!cure the Resump
tion of Specie Payments — Effects of a Doj)reeiated Cuiri'iicy — Duties
of tho Secretary of the Treasury — Two Modes ot Resuming — My
Mansfield Speech Printed Througliout the Country and in England —
Letters to Stanley Matthews and General Robinson — Our Deleat in
Ohio — An Extra Session of Congress — bills Introduced to Repeal the
Act Providing tor the Resumption ot Specie Payments — They All Fail
of Passage— Popular Subscription of Bonds All Paid for  584-602

CHAPTER I.
Ancestry of the Sherman Family.
Family Name is of Saxon Origin — "Conquer Death by Virtue"- Arrival of Rev.
John Sherman at Boston in 1634 — General Sherman's Reply to an English
Sexton — Career of Daniel Sherman — My First Visit to Woodbury —
"Sherman's Tannery "—Anecdote of "Uncle Dan" — Sketch of
My Father and Mother— Address to Enlisting Soldiers —
General Reese's Account of My Father's
Career — Religion of the Sherman
Famil.y — My Belief.
THE family name of Sherman is, no doubt, of Saxon
origin. It is very common along the Rhine, and in
different parts of the German Empire. It is there
written Shearmann or Schurmann. I found it in
Frankfort and Berlin. The English Shermans lived chiefly
in Essex and Suffolk counties near the east coast, and in
London. The name appears frequently in local records.
One Sherman was executed for taking the unsuccessful side
in a civil war. It was not until the beginning of the 16th cen
tury that any of the name assumed the arms, crest, and motto
justified by their pride, property or standing. The motto taken,
" Conquer Death by Virtue," is a rather meaningless phrase.
It is modest enough, and indicates a religious turn of mind.
Nearly every family of the name furnished a preacher. A few
members of it attained the dignity of knighthood. A greater
number became landed property-holders, and more were en
gaged in trade in London. Sir Henry Sherman was one of the
executors of the will of Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby, May 23,
1521. William Sherman, Esq., purchased Knightston in the
time of Henry VIII; and a monument to him is in Ottery St.
Mary, dated 1542. As a rule the family belonged to the middle
class and were engaged in active occupation, earning their own
bread, with a strong sense of their rights and liberties as
Englishmen. (1)

2 RECOLLECTIONS
The principal family of the name in the 16th century were
the Shermans of Yaxley in the county of Suffolk, a full detail
of which is given in Davy's Collections of that county. Ed-
mond Sherman, my ancestor, was a member of this family.
He was born in 1585 and was married to Judith Angler, May
26, 1611. He resided in Dedham, Essex county, England, then
a place of some importance. He was a manufacturer of cloth,
a man of means and high standing. He was a Puritan, with
all the faults and virtues of a sectary. He resisted ship-
money and the tax unlawfully imposed on tonnage and
poundage. He had the misfortune to live at the time when
Charles I undertook to dispense with Parliament, and to
impose unlawful taxes and burdens upon the people of Eng
land, and when the privileges of the nobility were enforced
with great severity by judges dependent upon the crown.
He had three sons, John, baptized on the 4th of January,
1614; Edmond, baptized June 18, 1616, and Samuel, bap
tized July 12, 1618. He had a nephew, known as "Captain
John," somewhat older than his sons, who was an active man
in 1634. At this time the migration to Boston, caused chiefly by
the tyranny of Charles I, was in active operation. Hume, in
his history, says:
" The Puritans, restrained in England, shipped themselves off for
America, and laid there tlie foundiitioiis of a govornmoiit v^hich possessed
all the liberty, both civil and religious, of whioh thoy found themselves
bereaved in their native country. But their enemies, unwilling that they
should anywhere enjoy ease and contentment, and dreading, perhaps, the
dangerous consequences of so disaffected a colony, prevailed on the king to
issue a proclamation, debarring these devotees access, even into those in
hospitable deserts. Eight ships, lying in the Thames, and ready to sail,
were detained by order of the council; and in these were embarked Sir
Arthur Hazelrig, John Hampden, Jolm Pym, and Oliver Cromwell, who
had resolved, forever, to abandon their native country, and fly to the other
extremity of the globe; where they might enjoy lectures and discourses, of
any length or form, which pleased them. "The king had afterwards full
leisure to repent this exercise of his authority."
It appears that, influenced by the same motives, Edmond
Sherman determined to remove his family, with his nephew,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 3
" Captain John," to Boston. In one statement made in respect
to them it is said that the father and his three sons and
nephew embarked for Boston, but this is doubtful. It is cer
tain, however, that his son, Rev. John Sherman and his son
Samuel, and his nephew "Captain John," did go to Boston in
1634. It is quite as certain that if they were accompanied by
their father and their brother Edmond, that the two lat
ter returned again to Dedham in 1636. Edmond Sherman,
senior, lived and died at Dedham. One of his descendants,
Rev. Henry Beers Sherman, a few years ago visited Dedham
and there found one of the church windows of stained glass
bearing the initials of Edmond Sherman as having been his
gift, aud the record shows that one of the buttresses of the
church was erected at his expense. Mr. Henry Beers Sher
man there saw the pupils of a free school, endowed by Ed
mond Sherman and still in operation, attending tho church in
procession. When in London, in the summer of 1889, I concluded to
make a visit to "the graves of my ancestors." I examined
Black's Universal Atlas to locate Dedham, but it was not to be
found. I made inquiries, but could discover no one who knew
anything about Dedham, and concluded there was no such
place, although I had often read of it. I was compelled, there
fore, to give up my visit.
Senator Hoar, a descendant, through his mother, of Roger
Sherman of Revolutionary fame, was more fortunate or more
persistent than I, for he subsequently found Dedham and veri
fied the accounts we had of our common ancestor, and procured
photographs, copies of which I have, of the monument of Ed
mond Sherman, of the church near which he was buried, and
of the handsome school building, still called "the Sherman Li
brary," that he had left by his will for the youth of Dedham,
with a sufficient annuity to support it. Dedham is but two or
three miles from Manningtree, a more modern town on the
line of the railroad, which has substantially obscured the
ancient and decayed village of Dedham.
The sexton of this church wrote General Sherman soon
after he had become distinguished as a military leader, calling

4 RECOLLECTIONS
his attention to the neglected monument of his ancestor, Ed
mond Sherman, in the churchyard, and asking a contribution
for, its repair. The general sent a reply to the effect that, as
his ancestor in England had reposed in peace under a monu
ment for more than two centuries, while some of his more
recent ancestors lay in unmarked graves, he thought it bet
ter to contribute to monuments for them here and leave
to his English cousins the care of the monuments of their
common ancestors in England. This letter is highly prized
by the sexton and has been shown to visitors, among others
to Senator Hoar, as a characteristic memento of General
Sherman. Captain John Sherman, "Captain John," soon after his
arrival in Boston, settled in Watertown, Mass., where he mar
ried and had a large family of children. Among his descend
ants was Roger Sherman of the Revolution, by far the most
distinguished man of the name. He had the good fortune to
contribute to and sign the three most important papers of
American history, the "Address to the King," the " Declaration
of Independence" and the "Constitution of the United States."
Among other descendants of Captain John Sherman were Hon.
Roger Minot Sherman, of Nevv Haven, a nephew of Roger
Sherman, a distinguished lawyer and a leading participant in
the Hartford Convention. William M. Evarts, George F. Hoar
and Chauncey M. Depew are descendants of Roger Sherman or
of his brother.
Rev. John Sherman, the eldest son of Edmond Sherman,
was born on the 26th of December, 1613, at Dedham, England.
He graduated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, left college a
Puritan and came over to America in 1634, as above stated.
He preached his first sermon at Watertown, Massachusetts,
under a tree, soon after his arrival in this country. In a few
weeks he went to New Haven, Connecticut, and preached in
several places, but finally settled at Watertown, where he had
a large family of children. His numerous descendants are well
distributed throughout the United States, but most of them in
the State of New York.
Samuel Sherman, the youngest son of Edmond Sherman,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 5
is the ancestor of the family to which I belong. At the age of
sixteen years he came with his brother, Kev. John and his
cousin "Captain John," in April, 1634, in the ship "Elizabeth"
from Ipswich, and arrived in Boston in June, and for a time
settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. He afterwards moved
to Weathersfield, Connecticut, thence to Stamford and thence
to Stratford. In Cothren's "History of Ancient Woodbury" there are found
full details of the life of Samuel Sherman and his numerous
descendants to the present generation. Of Samuel Sherman
Mr. Cothren,says:
" He was from Dedham, Essex county, England, camo to this country
in 1634, and previous to the date of the new plantation, at Woodbury, had
been a leading man in tho colony of Connecticut. He had assisted in the
settlement of several other towns in the colony, and now undertook the
same for Woodbury. He had been a member of the Court of Assistants,
or Upper House of the General Court, and Supreme Judicial Tribunal, for
five or six years from 1063, and held various offices and appointments of
honor and trust. He is referred to in ancient deeds and documents as the
' Worshipful Mr. Sherman.' In 1676 he was one of the commission for
Stratford and Woodbury."
The order of succession of the descendants of Samuel Sher
man, the ancestor of the family to which I belong, is as
follows: 1. John Sherman, the fifth child of Samuel Sherman, was born at
Stratford, Conn., February 8, 1650. He early moved to Woodbury.
He died December 13, 1730.
2. John Sherman 2nd, the fifth child, of .lohn, was baptized June, 1687.
He married Hachaliah Preston, July 22, 1714. He died 1727.
3. Daniel Sherman, the third child of John 2nd, was born August
14, 1721, and died July 2, 1799.
4. Taylor Sherman, the sixth child of Daniel, was born in 1758. He
married Elizabeth Stoddard in 1787, and died in Connecticut May 15, 1815.
His widow died at Mansfield, Ohio, August 1, 1848.
5. Charles Robert Sherman, the eldest child of Taylor, was bom
September 26, 1788, married Mary Hoyt, of Norwalk, Conn., May 8, 1810.
He died on the 24th of June, 1829. His widow died at Mansfield, Ohio,
September 23, 1852. They had eleven children, six sons and five daugh
ters, all of whom lived to maturity. I am the eighth child of this
family.

6 RECOLLECTIONS
The names and dates of the birth of the children of my
parents are as follows:
Charles Taylor Sherman, . . . February 8, 1811.
Mary Elizabeth Sherman, .... April 21, 1812.
James Sherman  December 10, 1814.
Amelia Sherman,  February 11, 1816.
Julia Ann Sherman,  July 24, 1818.
William Tecumseh Sherman, . . . February 8, 1820.
Lampson Parker Sherman, . . . October 31, 1821.
John Sherman,  May 10, 1823.
Susan Denman Sherman, .... October 10, 1825.
Hoyt Sherman,  November 1, 1827.
Fanny Beecher Sherman, . . . May 3, 1829.
Mr. Cothren in his " History of Ancient Woodbury," after
referring to Samuel Sherman, makes this reference to his son
John:
" The fame of his son John is particularly the property of the town. He
was distinguished, not only at home, but also in the colony. He was Justice
of the Quorum, or Associate County Judge, for forty-four years from 1684; a
Representative of the town for seventeen sessions, and Speaker of the Lower
House in May and October, 1711, and Captain in the Militia, a high honor
in those days. He was the first Judge of Probate for the District of Wood
bury, from its organization in 1719, for nine years. The District then com
prised all of Litchfield county, and Woodbury in New Haven county. He
was an assistant, or member of the Upper House, for ten years from 1713."
John Sherman 2nd, does not seem to have taken any active
part in public affairs, and died before his father, at the age of
forty. His son Daniel, who lived to the age of eighty, covering
the period of the Indian wars, the French Canadian War, and
the war of the Revolution, took an active part in all the great
events of that period. Mr. Cothren says of him:
¦• Judge Daniel Sherman was perhaps the most distinguished man that
had arisen in the town previous to his day. He was a descendant of Samuel
Sherman, of Stratford, Connecticut, who emigrated to this country from
England, in company with his brother. Rev. John Sherman, and his nephew.
Captain John Sherman, ancestor of Hon. Roger Sherman. He was a .lustice
of the Quorum for twenty-five years, and Judge of the Litchfield County
Court five years from 1786. For sixteen years he was Probate Clerk for the
District of Woodbury, and Judge of that District thirty-seven years. He
represented his native town in the General Assembly sixty-five semi-annual

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 7
sessions, retaining the unbounded confidence of his fellow -citizens. This
was by far the longest period of time anyone has ever represented the town.
He was a man of commanding powers of mind, of sterling integrity, and
every way qualified for the various public trusts Confided to his care. He
died at a good old age, full of honor, and was followed by the affectionate
recollections of the inhabitants of the town, among whom he had so long
lived." No portion of the people of the United States took a more
decisive part in the Revolutionary contest of 1775 than those
of Connecticut. The people of Woodbury caught the prevail
ing spirit, and, as early as September 20, 1774, had a public
meeting and made patriotic resolves, and entered into associa
tions for defense. Daniel Sherman, then fifty-four years old,
presided at this meeting and was appointed president of the
association of the delegates. Among other duties they were to
perform, was to ascertain whether any persons within the lim
its of that town were hostile to the objects of the association,
and in that case they, using the spelling of the time, were to
" Cause the truth of the case to be published in the Gazette, to the End
that all such foes to ye Rights of British americai may be publikly known
and nniversially Contemned as onemios to american Liberty and thensforth
we Do bind ourselves to break off all Dealings With Such Persons and also
with all Persons in other Towns and Citys who shall be found Guilty as
above Expressed, and that it shall be ye Duty and Business of the sd
Comtee to Receive and Communicate all Such intelligence as they shall
judge to be conducive to ye Peace and Tranquility of this and the Neigh
bouring Colonies; this meeting presents their most thankfull acknowledg
ments to those truly Honourable and Worthy Gentlemen members of ye
Cono-ress who have Shewn themselves able advocates of the civil and Re
tt
ligious liberty of the american Colonys.
" Voated, that the doings of this meeting be Recorded by the Town Clerk,
and a Copy thereof be forthwith sent to one of the printers of the Connecti
cut Journal to be published accordingly. The Whole of the above Written
as voated in said Meeting."
He was a member of the "Committee of Inspection" of
thirty, appointed at the beginning of the war. On the 12th of
April, 1784, they resolved as follows:
« Voted, that those persons who joined the enemies of the United States
in the course of the late Civil war of what description soever are denyed a
residence in this Town from this date until the Genii Assembly shall grant
them full liberty for that purpose."

8 RECOLLECTIONS
At a meeting held on the 3rd of April, 1777, at which
Daniel Sherman was the Moderator, it was:
"Voated, that Each Able Bodied Effective man, who hath or shall
voluntarily Inlist into the Continental Army in such way and Manner
toward makeing the Quota of this Town for the space of Three years, or
during the war shall be Intitled to Receive out of the publick Treasury of
the Town the sum of Twenty Shillings Lawful money, as an Addition to
Each month's Wages he shall continue in the service, to be paid to him, or
to his order, at the End of Each six month's service."
This was kept up during the war. Provision was made for
a Council of Safety, appointed annually by the Assembly, of
from nine to fourteen of the most distinguished men in the
state, to aid the governor in the organization and conduct of
troops, of which Daniel Sherman, his cousin Roger Sherman,
Benjamin Huntington, and other distinguished men were mem
bers. This committee was frequently in session and the most
responsible, arduous and difficult details of the service were con
fided to its care. It was shown that during the war Daniel Sher
man contributed provisions to soldier's families to the value of
2,718 pounds, 7 shillings and 8 pence. It would seem from the
following anecdote told of Daniel Sherman, that some of his
neighbors thought he had enjoyed his full share of honor:
"Mr. Sherman was a representative at the May session of the General
Assembly in 1791, and, it is related, desired to be elected to tlie October
session of the same year, in order to make the full number of thirty-three
years that he would then have represented the town. But at the time of
the election for the October session, the Moderator of the meeting happened
to think that he had his share of honors, and when he made proclamation
that the ballot-box was open for the reception of votes, remarked in a loud
tone of voice, 'Gentlemen, the box is now open; you will please to bring in
your ballots for him whom you will have for your first representative —
Honorable Daniel Sherman, of course!^ This simple incident gave a cliange
to the popular current, and on counting the votes it was found that Honor
able Nathaniel Smith was elected, instead of Mr. Sherman."
Taylor Sherman, my grandfather, the son of Judge Daniel
Sherman, was born in 1758. He was married in 1787 to
Elizabeth Stoddard and removed to Norwalk, Connecticut,
where he lived during the remainder of his life. He died on
the 15th of May, 1815.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 9
My grandmother was born at Woodbury, Connecticut, on
the 14th of June, 1767. She lived to a good old age and died
at Mansfield, Ohio, on the 1st of August, 1848. She was a
remarkable woman in many respects, a Puritan of the strictest
faith, of large mold, being nearly six feet tall, and well pro
portioned. She was a granddaughter of Rev. Anthony Stod
dard, a man whose history strikingly presents the peculiar
characteristics of life in Connecticut during the 18th century.
The contract between the church and town of Woodbury and
Mr. Stoddard, for employment as pastor, commences as follows:
"At a lawfuU Towns-meeting ye 13th of August, 1700, in ordr to ye
settling of ye Reverend mr. Anthony Stoddard amongst us, in ye work of
ye ministry. And for his encouragemt so to do;
" It was voted and agreed to allow him, as Mayntenance in ye Work of
ye Ministry, seventy pounds per Annu, in provision pay, or to his Satisfaction,
in Case of Faylure of provision pay. By provision pay, is intended, wheat,
pease, indian corn & pork, proportionally : also fire wood :
" We do also promise, to build him an house here in Woodberry of
known Demensions ; yt is to say, the Carpenters work & Masons work : hee
providing nayles and glass ; by building ye sd house is intended, doors,
floures, fitting up and playstering and partitions, finishing it, as also a well."
Then follow many other mutual stipulations, to which was
added a supplemental agreement as follows:
" Since wch time at a Lawfull Towns-meeting ye 25th of Novembr,
1700, It was Voated and agreed yt ye abovesd specices for mr Stoddard's
yearly mayntenance bee levyed at ye prices following : wheat at 4s 6d pr
Bush : pork at 3c pr lb : Indian Corn 2s 6d pr Bush : pease three shillings
pr Bushll : And these prices for this yeare ye Town will not vary from for
ye future Exterordinary providences interposing being exoeapted."
" Recorded from ye originalls pr Jon Minor, Recorder, March, 1700-1701."
Under this contract Mr. Stoddard served his congregation
for sixty years, and died September 7, 1760, in his eighty-third
year, and the sixty-first of his ministry. He was educated at
Harvard College and graduated in 1679. Mr. Cothren, in 1872,
says of him:
" He was at the same time, minister, lawyer and physician. Like many
of the early ministers of the colony, he prepared himself for the practice of
physic, that he might administer to the wants of the body, as well as those
of the mind. In this capacity he was often called. The only person the
author has found who ever saw him, was Deacon Amos Squire, of Roxbury,

10 RECOLLECTIONS
who died two or three years ago, aged ninety-nine, and who recollected hav
ing seen him when a lad about eight years of age, while on a visit in this
capacity to his father, who had received a severe wound from an ax. He
had also done what other ministers did not, and that was to perfect himself
in legal knowledge."
It must be remembered that the pastor of a church in those
days was in quite a diflerent position than now, when the
constitution guarantees to every one liberty to worship God
according to the dictates of his conscience. The Congrega
tional mode of worship was then adopted and established by
law in Connecticut, but it was provided that all sober orthodox
persons dissenting therefrom should, on representing it to the
General Court, be allowed to worship in their own way. Such
a privilege, however, was regarded with distrust. Our fathers,
who desired religious freedom and periled all for it in the
wilderness, had not anticipated that they would speedily have
an opportunity to extend that toleration to others which in
the fatherland they had in vain sought for themselves. The
town church was, therefore, in substance, the only church, and
the preacher was the autocrat of the place.
Mr. Stoddard was not only preacher, lawyer and doctor, but
he was also a fighter. In 1707 an expedition was made by the
French and Indians against New England, which created gen
eral alarm throughout the country. Woodbury was exposed
to the raids made by the Indians, and suspicions were enter
tained that the neighboring tribes would join the French and
Indians in their foray. During the continuance of this war,
on one Sabbath evening, after the conclusion of the services
at church, while he was walking in his garden, he discovered
an Indian skulking among the surrounding trees and bushes.
Apparently without noticing the movements of the Indian, he
contrived to re-enter his house, and obtained his gun. After
playing the same game of skulking with his adversary for a
while, Mr. Stoddard got a fair view of him, discharged his
piece, and the Indian fell among the bushes. He dared not
investigate farther that night, but having quietly given the
alarm, the inhabitants sought their palisaded houses for the
night. Early in the morning he discovered another red foe, in

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 11
the vicinity of his companion, and whom he also laid low with
his musket. By this time the people had assembled, and after
the country was scoured in all directions for several hours, and
no other savages were found, the alarm subsided.
Before leaving my Woodbury ancestors, who resided there
nearly one hundred and fifty years, I wish to relate my first
visit to Woodbury. I was at West Point, as one of the Board
of Visitors, one Saturday in June, 1873, when I concluded to
respond to an invitation I had received, and go to Woodbury
and spend the Sabbath there. I did so and found, as I had
anticipated, beautiful valleys with picturesque hills, a rural air
and a quiet, peaceful, Sunday outlook. I knew no one except
Hon. William Cothren, and him only by correspondence. I
believe he was superintendent of the Sunday school ; but, at
all events, upon my presenting myself, and stating my desire
to explore Woodbury, he kindly consented, and went with me.
1 located many of the most interesting objects in the town.
The large, well-built stone house of Daniel Sherman was still
standing, made after the usual pattern, two stories high with a
lean-to roof in the rear, and with low ceilings. He had lived
there during most of his active life, and had entertained Wash
ington and Lafayette, when they at different times visited the
French vessels at Newport. The fortified house of Rev. Anthony
Stoddard was in a good state of preservation, with its project
ing eaves and loop holes for defense. We visited the old church
and graveyard, and drove southward to what were called the
"Sherman settlements." Evidently the comparatively few
families in Woodbury were in a state of comfort as they were
found to be living in good houses and drawing, no doubt, an
income from investments in the great and growing West.
On that quiet Sabbath day the village of Woodbury recalled
to me Mr. John H. Bryant's description of his native village :
" There lies a village in a peaceful vale,
With sloping hills and waving woods around,
Fenced from the blasts. There never ruder gale
Bows the tall grass that covers all the ground;
And planted shrubs are there, and cherish'd flowers.
And a bright verdure born of gentle showers."

12 RECOLLECTIONS
Subsequently I again visited Woodbury with General Sher
man. Mr. Cothren was still there and was very kind to us. It
seemed to me that the old place had run down a little, that the
walks were not so clean, the grass was not as fresh in the fields,
and evidently the graveyards had lost some of their monu
ments, but a prominent one had been erected in the churchyard
to Rev. Anthony Stoddard, to which General Sherman had con
tributed. We heard of no one of our name in Woodbury, but
when General Sherman saw an old sign, " Sherman's Tannery,"
he said that he believed he had at last found some tangible
evidence of the residence of our fathers in Woodbury ; that
Sherman had been a good honest tanner no doubt, and that
was the most that could be said of anyone.
As I have said, my grandfather, Taylor Sherman, and his wife,
Elizabeth Stoddard, moved from Woodbury to Norwalk, where
he practiced his profession as a lawyer. He attained a good
position as such, and for many years he was a Judge of Probate.
He became early associated with the proprietors of the half
million acres of land lying in the western part of the Western
Reserve in Ohio, called "Sufferers' Land."
In the period immediately before and after the adoption of
the constitution several of the states laid claim to western
lands, founded upon grants by James I, the chief of which
were the claims of Virginia to the region north and west of the
Ohio River, and the claim of Connecticut to all the land lying
west of Pennsylvania to the South Seas and north of the 41st
parallel of latitude. These claims were finally compromised
by Congress granting to Virginia all the land lying between the
Scioto and the Miami Rivers in Ohio, and to Connecticut the land
in Ohio north of the 41st parallel, extending westward of Penn
sylvania one hundred and twenty miles.
During the Revolutionary War the coasts of Connecticut had
been subjected to several raids by the British and Tories, and
several towns, including Norwalk, Greenwich, Fairfield, Dan-
bury, New Haven and New London, had been burned. Indem
nity had been proposed, but the state was in no condition to
pay such losses.
In the year 1800, the State of Connecticut granted to her

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 13
citizens, who were sufferers by fire during the Revolutionary
War, a half million acres of land, lying within the State of
Ohio, which was to be taken off the west part of what was
called the "Western Connecticut Reserve," now embraced in
the counties of Huron and Erie. By an act of the legislature
of the State of Ohio, passed in 1803, the sufferers were incor
porated under the name of "The proprietors of the half million
acres of land, lying south of Lake Erie, called ' Sufferers' Land.' "
The affairs of this company, by that act, were to be managed
by a Board of Directors which, among other things, was author
ized to locate and survey said half million acres of land, and
partition it among the different claimants.
On the first day of November, 1805, Taylor Sherman was
appointed by the Board of Directors an agent to survey the
above tract of land, and, on the 16th day of December, of the
same year, he entered into a contract with John McLane and
James Clarke, Jr., to survey, or have surveyed, said tract.
Taylor Sherman visited the fire lands, and fully performed the
duty imposed upon him. He also purchased a considerable
tract of this land in Sherman township, Huron county, which
was the foundation of the little fortune which he left to his
widow and children.
The whole of the Western Reserve, especially the western
part of it, was at that time in the possession of the Indians,
who soon afterwards engaged in open warfare with the white
settlers. Surveys, especially along the shores of Lake Erie,
were extremely difficult, owing to extensive bayous and swamps,
but the surveys were made where practicable, and where lines
could not be run, straight lines were drawn on the map, and
the contents estimated. This gave rise to long litigation, one
case being reported in the 13th volume of Ohio Supreme Court
Reports. The gift of Connecticut to the sufferers was a wise and lib
eral one, and after the War of 1812 it led to the migration to the
counties of Huron and Erie of a great number of persons from
the towns of Norwalk, Greenwich, Danbury, New Haven and
New London. The losses of the sufferers in these different towns
had been carefully examined and stated, and the sufferers were

14 RECOLLECTIONS
allowed land in proportion to their losses. The formidable list
of these sufferers is a striking proof of the savage and destruc
tive manner in which the Revolutionary War was conducted by
the British troops. The whole Western Reserve at the begin
ning of the 19th century was a wilderness, with not a single
white inhabitant. The census of 1820, however, showed that it
then contained a population of 58,608, while that of 1890 showed
a population of 678,561. Of these a larger number and propor
tion were descendants of Connecticut parents than are now
inhabitants of that state. The industries, commerce, wealth
and intelligence of this region are not excelled by any com
munity of the same size anywhere else in the country.
As an illustration of the condition of this region in 1812, it
may be worth while to here record a truthful anecdote of Daniel
Sherman, the son of Taylor Sherman, and whom we knew as
"Uncle Dan." In the spring of 1812, when twenty-two years
of age, he was sent by his father to make improvements on his
land in Huron county, by building a log cabin and opening a
clearing. He had with him a hired man of the name of John
Chapman, who was sent to Milan, twelve miles away, to get a
grist of corn ground, it being the nearest and only mill in the
county. Either on the way there, or while returning, Chapman
was killed by the Indians. Uncle Dan did not hear of this until
the next day, when, with a knapsack on his back, he started for
Mansfield, forty miles away. For thirty miles there was dense
and unbroken forest without a settler. He arrived at a block
house, six miles from Mansfield, but concluded that was not
strong enough to protect him. He then went to Mansfield,
where they had a better blockhouse, but he heard so many
stories of Indians that he did not feel safe there, and walked
thence to his brother's house in Lancaster, about seventy-five
miles away, through an almost continuous forest.
In November, 1813, Taylor Sherman was appointed, by Presi
dent Madison, Collector of Internal Revenue for the Second
District of Connecticut. He enjoyed the office but a short time
and died, as already stated, on the 15th day of May, 1815.
A sketch of my father and mother will throw some light
upon the lives of their children, but it is a delicate task to

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 15
write of one's parents. As I was but six years old when my
father died I have only a dim recollection of him, but materials
for an interesting sketch of his brief but active career are
abundant. I know of no citizen of Ohio of whom more anec
dotes have been told, or whose general and social life has been
more highly appreciated, or whose popularity has been more
marked, than that of my father. During the early years of my
life at the bar I met many of the older lawyers, contemporary
with my father, and they all spoke of him in the highest praise,
and generally had some incident to tell of him that happened
in the days of the " Stirrup Court."
Charles Robert Sherman, my father, was born in Norwalk,
Connecticut, September 26, 1788, the eldest son of Judge Taylor
Sherman and Elizabeth Stoddard. He received the best educa
tional advantages of his day, and, when fully prepared, com
menced the study of law in the associated offices of his father and
the Hon. Judge Chapman. He was admitted to the bar in 1810,
and on May 8, of that year, married Mary Hoyt, also of Norwalk,
who had grown up with him from childhood. In the same sum
mer he went to Ohio to locate a home. He could not go into
the northern part where his father's land lay, as it was then
roamed over by hostile Indians, but followed the usual route to
Ohio by Pittsburg and Wheeling to Zanesville. He located at
Lancaster, but returned to Norwalk, Connecticut, in the fall of
1810. In 1811 he returned to Lancaster, accompanied by his
wife. Ohio was then a frontier state, and in large portions of
its territory an unbroken wilderness. The way to it. from their
New England home was far and weary, beset with many hard
ships and exposed to great dangers. My father and mother
were obliged to journey the greater part of this distance on
horseback, alternately carrying their infant child upon a pillow
before them. I only advert to these incidents as they illustrate
the self-reliant character of the man, and the brave, confiding
trust of his wife. The little boy they carried upon the pillow,
then their only son, was Charles Taylor Sherman.
Soon after their arrival in Lancaster my father took a lead
ing part in the measures of defense against the British and the
Indians. I find in an old and weather-beaten newspaper of
S.-3

16 RECOLLECTIONS
Lancaster, Ohio, called the "Independent Press," that on the
16th of April, 1812, at a meeting of the first regiment of the
first brigade of the third division of the militia of Ohio, assem
bled at Lancaster for the purpose of raising a company of vol
unteers to march immediately to Detroit, my father, then major
of that regiment, made a very effective address to the regiment,
the result of which was the voluntary enlistment of the com
pany required from Fairfield county. He was then twenty-four
years of age, and, as this address is short, and is the best evi
dence of his mental qualities, and of the standing he had so
early attained among the hardy settlers of that section, mostly
from Pennsylvania, I here insert a portion of it :
"Fellow Soldiers: — The crisis has arrived in which your country calls
upon you, her constitutional guardians, to rally round her standard and to
defend her rights and liberties — you are this day assembled to declare
whether you will voluntarily answer this call or not. Fellow soldiers, the
general of brigade and at whose command and in whose name I now
address you, cannot help but bcliovo that in this regiment which he once
had the honor, personally, to coininaiid, those choice spirits are to be found,
that will not for a moment hesitate to come forward and give the answer to
their country's call.
" You are not called upon to guard a tyrant's throne, or to enslave a
nation of freemen, neither are your exertions required to redress a fancied
wrong, or to revenge a supposed insult; but you are called upon to preserve
your own dwellings from the flames — your families from destruction.
Neither are you requested to go unprotected nor unprovided; — everything
that the patriot soldier could possibly wish will be furnished you by the
government — food complete and sufficient for the necessities or conveniences
of life — compensation for your clothing, — arms of the best quality will be
placed in your hands, which will be generously given you if you do, as I
know you will, your duty.
" Should you chance to be disabled in the service, a pension will be
given you that will enable you to live in comfort and in ease; or should the
fortune of war number you with those brave and gallant patriots that fear
lessly poured out their life's blood upon the heights of Bunker, the plains of
Saratoga, or at the siege of Yorktown — your families shall not be left
unprotected or unprovided; a generous and faithful government has prom
ised that one hundred and sixty acres of land shall be given to your heirs,
the more than means of existence, the means of every comfort that can
render that existence desirable.
"These, then, fellow soldiers, are the terms upon which sixty-four of
you are requested to draw your swords, shoulder your arms and march to

OP JOHN SHERMAN. 17
Detroit to defend the frontiers of your own territory. And from these
columns are there not more than this small number that would rush upon
even certain death at their country's call?
"The services required of you will not be arduous — 'tis not that you
should invade the territory of a distant enemy — 'tis not that you should
march far from your homes to fight battles in which you are not, and which
you do not feel yourselves, interested ; but it is to prevent the hostile foot of
a foe from invading your territory — it is to guard the sacred altar of your
liberties, cemented by the blood of your fathers, from the profanation of a
tyrant's polluting touch — it is to guard your dwellings, your friends, your
families, your all, from the desolating warfare of a fell savage foe — it is
that the midnight and sleeping couch of our infants may not be awakened
to death by the tremendous yell of an Indian warwhoop — it is that the gray
hairs of our fathers may not become the bloody trophies of a cruel and in
sidious foe. Cruelty and a thirst for blood are the inmates of an Indian's
bosom, and in tlie neighborhood of two contending powers they are never
peaceful. If the strong hand of power does not bend them down they will
raise the tomahawk and bare the scalping knife for deeds of blood and
horror: the purity of female innocence, the decrepitude of age, the tender
ness of infancy afford no security against the murderous steel of a hostile
Indian: to guard against the probable incursions of bands of these murder
ers, I will not call them by the dignified name of warriors, are you called
upon to arm: and who in such a cause would refuse to march or to bleed?
And who would refuse to protect the scattered settlements on our fron
tiers — the humble cottage and its peaceful inhabitants? — Who would
refuse to guard our fields from desolation, our villages from destruction, or
our towns from ruin? — None, in whom there is a spark of patriot valor.
" But, fellow soldiers, you may be called upon to meet the legions of
Great Britain; every appearance indicates a state of approaching hostilities
- — year after year has insult been added to insult — injury has followed
injury with rapid strides, and every breeze comes laden with its tale of
wrongs, and while we have borne their injuries and their insults our govern
ment has endeavored, but in vain, to reconcile our differences by amicable
negotiation. " The cup of our wrongs is full, and the voice of an indignant people
demands redress and revenge by every means in our power; 'tis that voice
that calls upon you to arm and meet tho hosts of England.
"Do you fear the event of the contest? Call but to mind the period of
'76, without a government, without friends, without armies, without men,
without money, our fathers dared to resist her aggressions upon our liber
ties; she determined to enslave us, and a hardy band of freemen, resolved on
death rather than slavery, encountered and conquered her boasted legions,
established our independence and left it as their richest legacy for us to
maintain: and do we, their sons, possessing all the advantages that we could
wish, all that they were deprived of, do we fear the contest when half the

18 RECOLLECTIONS
world is confederate against her? Where is the spirit of our fathers that
urged them to battle and to victory? Is there no latent spark of patriot ardor
that the wrongs and indignities of our country will kindle into a flame? Is
there no thirst in our bosoms for glory? Is it nothing for your names to be en
rolled on the list of fame? Does it rouse no generous and noble feelings in
your breasts to be a guardian shield and avenging sword to your country?
Are the grateful thanks of your countrymen and posterity no inducement
to valorous acts?
" Go then, fellow soldiers, assist to shield your country from the desola
tion of an internal warfare, awake to honor and to glory, rouse the native
courage of an American freeman and march to deeds of valor!
"Let the wings of fame come laden with the tale of your honors, and
bring joy to your mothers' hearts, and the pride of valorous deeds to your
fathers' bosoms; then shall your country reward and bless you — posterity
shall venerate your names, the world shall own you as the constituent guar
dians of liberty and the bulwark of your nation's freedom! "
I presume the soldiers enlisted at Lancaster were a part of
the army infamously surrendered by General Hull on the 16th
of August, 1812. This event opened up the whole of the then
western states and territories to the inroads of the British and
Indians, but was brilliantly compensated by the splendid vic
tory of Commodore Perry at the battle of Lake Erie, on the
10th of September, 1813, in which he destroyed the British fleet
and announced his victory in the stirring words, "We have
met the enemy, and they are ours!" This was followed by the
complete triumph of General Harrison in the battle of the
Thames, October 5, 1813, in which Tecumseh was killed, and
the power of the British and Indians in that portion of the
field of operations practically destroyed.
My father was appointed by Mr. Madison, on the 9th of
November, 1813, as Collector of Internal Revenue for the Third
District of Ohio. He was then engaged in the active practice
of his profession. He was required to employ deputies in
each of the counties of Fairfield, Pickaway, Madison, Franklin,
Delaware, and Knox to collect internal revenue taxes, when
assessed. He took great care in the selection of his deputies,
and in all cases required bonds, with security, from each
deputy. At this period the only money in Ohio was local bank
paper money. No silver or gold coins could be had, and the
purchasing power of notes varied with the success or defeat of

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 19
our armies in the field. Internal taxes were imposed on dis
tilled spirits, on the retailing of spirits, on salt, sugar, carriages,
sales at auction, a stamp duty of one per cent, on bank notes,
on all notes discounted by a bank, and on inland bills of
exchange. It is clearly shown by the papers on file in the treasury
department that Mr. Sherman exercised the utmost care in the
collection of these taxes through his deputies. No difliculty
seems to have occurred until July, 1817, when the government,
without previous notice, refused to take the paper then in cir
culation in Ohio, but demanded notes of the Bank of the
United States, or its branches, one of which was located at
Chillicothe. This left upon the hands of his deputies a large
amount of money that soon became utterly worthless. The
system of local banking failed and the loss fell upon the
holders of notes, and, largely, upon the collectors of internal
revenue and their deputies. Among my father's deputies the
principal one seems to have been Peter Apple, of Pickaway
county, who at the time of his appointment held a county
office, was postmaster, and a justice of the peace. He was a
leading man, of high character and standing, and supposed to
be of considerable wealth. In 1817 he became embarrassed
and insolvent, and was removed from his position as deputy.
His bonds proved worthless, and the whole loss and liability
fell upon my father. This, with other losses occurring through
the failure of other deputies, was the most unfortunate event
of his life. His correspondence with the Internal Revenue
Bureau shows that he exercised the utmost care in keeping and
reporting his accounts, and the difficulties and losses he sus
tained in converting local bills into such notes as the govern
ment would receive in payment of taxes. It is clearly shown
that the loss was not caused by any failure or neglect on his
part. In like circumstances, under the existing law, Congress
has, in all cases where due diligence on the part of the collector
has been proven, relieved the collector. My father declined to
make any appeal for such relief, but applied the proceeds of all
his property, and a large part of his earnings, to make good, as
far as he could, the defalcations of his deputies. This loss was

20 RECOLLECTIONS
a great embarrassment for him and his family during his life.
It did not affect his standing, either at home or with the gov
ernment, but it deprived him of many comforts, and his family
of advantages and opportunities for education which they
otherwise would have had.
In the spring of 1815 my father was notified of the illness of
his father in Norwalk, and immediately went to Connecticut,
but, owing to the nature of the long journey, did not arrive
until after his father's death. The will of Taylor Sherman gave
to his wife, and daughter Elizabeth, all his real and personal
estate in the State of Connecticut, subject to the payment of
his debts, which were very small. He bequeathed to his two
sons, Charles Sherman and Daniel Sherman, certain lands in
the town of Sherman, county of Huron, Ohio, being part of the
"Sufferers' Lands." The remainder of his property lying in the
State of Ohio he gave equally to his wife and children. The
estate was soon settled, and in the following year, 1816, my
grandmother and her daughter, Elizabeth, moved to Ohio and
became a part of the family of my father.
Under the old constitution of Ohio prior to 1850, the Su
preme Court was composed of four judges. They met at
Columbus in the winter to hold the court of last resort, but at
other seasons they divided into circuit courts composed of two
judges, and went from county to county attended by a bevy of
the leading lawyers of the state, all mounted ou horseback and
always ready for fun or frolic. I gladly acknowledge that I
have received many a kindness, and much aid in business as
well as political and social life, from the kindly memory of my
father. I shrink from writing of his personal traits aud genial
nature, but insert, instead, brief extracts from a sketch of him
written, in 1872, as a part of a local history of Fairfield county,
Ohio, by General William J. Reese, who knew him intimately.
General Reese says:
" Established permanently at Lancaster in the prosecution of his profes
sion, the subject of this sketch rapidly rose to eminence as a polished and
eloquent advocate, and as a judicious, reliable counsellor at law  indeed, in
the elements of mind necessary to build up and sustain such a reputation,
few men were his equals, and fewer still his superiors, in the State of Ohio or

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 21
out of it. But it w,as not only in the higher region of legal attainments
that he gained superiority; his mind was enriched with choice classic culti
vation also.

" Judge Sherman not only mastered the intricacies of Coke and Little
ton, but, as I have stated, he made himself familiar with whatever was
worthy of reading outside the books of law, and Was therefore fitted to shine
in the domain of general literature as well as in the realra of technical juris
prudence.

" During the pioneer years of Ohio its lawyers were obliged to perform
extensive circuits to practice their profession ; they were accustomed to
accompany the courts from county to county, and in this way to traverse an
extent of country which, being uncalled for at present, would appear fabu
lous in statement and dilEcult to realize.
" Those early days also commemorated the warmest personal friendships
in the profession, and, indeed, this could hardly have been otherwise, as
they compelled its members into tho closest habitual companionship. They
rode together in the same primitive style, their saddle-bags stuffed with
papers, documents, briefs, law-books, clothing, and, peradventure, some
creature delectation also. Ihey were exposed in common to the sarae in-
clomencios and iiiipediraonts of travel, thoy lodged together at the same inns
or taverns, messed at tho satiie table, slept in the same rooms, and were not
unfrequently coerced by twos into tho same bed. Free, jovial, genial,
manly, and happy times they were, when, after a hard-fought field-day of
professional antagonisms in court, the evening hours were crowned with
social amenities, and winged with wit and merriment, with pathos, sentiment
and song.

"If the sayings and doings at the festive evenings of the early Ohio bar
could be collected, there would be materials in rich abundance from
which a sympathetic and facile pen could compile a volume of equal pi
quancy and sentimental refinement, of patriotic detail and humor, that alter
nate the iiages of Sir Jonah Barrington, or any other winsome work of the
kind. Tills will not be questioned for a raoment when it is reraembered
that Henry Cl.ay, Lewis Cass, Philip Doddridge, Willis Silliraan, David K.
Este, and Charles Hammond were frequent participants ; that Philoman
Beecher, William W. Irvin, Thomas Ewing, William Stanberry, Benjamin
Tappan, John M. Goodenow, Jacob Parker, Orris Parrish, and Charles God-
dard habitually contributed to their entertainment, and that these were often
sio-nalized with the hilarious fun of Creighton and the quaint drolleries of
Douglas. At these symposiums of recreation, and they were held whenever

22 RECOLLECTIONS
the courts used to meet, Charles R. Sherman was always the most welcome
of companions, and contributed his full share even to the ambrosial feasts,
' When all such clustering portions had
As made their frolic wild, not mad.'
" Thus endowed and so associated, he became a leading and a popular
people's lawyer, from the Ohio River to our northern lake.
" In 1823 he was elected by the legislature to the bench of the Supreme
Court of Ohio, and perhaps the only man in the state who doubted his abil
ity for this high position was himself. He told the writer of these lines,
when speaking on the subject of his appointment, that he assumed its duties
with great personal diffidence and apprehension. He feared that he lacked
the ripe experience of years necessary to hear and determine cases of magni
tude in a court of the last resort. His official associates were Calvin Pease,
Jacob Burnet, and Peter Hitchcock, and these are names of renown in the
judicial history of Ohio.
" Judge Sherman upon the bench fully realized the large expectations
of his professional friends and the public.
" His written opinions, published in ' Hammond's Reports of the Supreme
Court,' demonstrate a mind of the clioicost legal capabilities. They are
clear, compact, yet comprehensive, intuitive, logical, complete, and conclu
sive, and are respected by the bar and courts in this and other states as
judicial dicta of the highest authority. He won upon the bench, as he did
at the bar, the affection and confidence of his associates. They esteemed
him for his gentle and genial nature, for the brilliant flashes of his mind and
the solid strength of his judgment; above all, for the stainless integrity of
his character, as a judge and as a man.
" Under the provisions of our old constitution, the supreme court was
required to hold an annual term or sitting in each county of the state, two
of the judges oSiciating. In every court-room in Ohio where Judge Sher
man presided he made friends. His official robes were worn by him as the
customary habiliments of the man. He was never distant, haughty, morose,
austere, or overbearing on the bench. It was not in his nature to be so any
where, and it was therefore always a personal pleasure to practice in his
courts. The younger members of the profession idolized him in every part
of the state; for them and their early efforts he systematically sympathized,
and he uniformly bestowed upon them the most gracious compliment that
any judge upon the bench can render to the oldest practitioner at the bar 
he gave them his interested and undivided attention.
" He had entered upon the sixth year of his official term, was in his
manly meridian of life, in the full fruition of his matured intellectual powers,
in the plenitude of his public usefulness, and in the enjoyment of apparent
robust physical health, out upon his circuit, and about to hold a session of
the supreme court at Lebanon, in Warren county, when suddenly, without

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 23
any premonition, he was struck down with a fatal malady, that was fright
fully rapid in its termination. The best medical aid was surainoned from
Cincinnati; it was vain. An express messenger was hurried to Lancaster
for Mrs. Sherman, but before she reached him her lamented husband was
dead. "He died in Lebanon, June 24, 1829, in the 41st year of his age.
"I will not attempt to describe the outburst of public sorrow that pre
vailed over this event. It was general and sincere, touching and outspoken;
but it was in Lancaster, it was here in his happy home, which he made the
home always of genial and open-hearted hospitality — here among his neigh
bors and fellow-citizens of every class and description, all of whom knew
him and all of whom loved him — that the intelligence of his death came
with the most painful and startling abruptness. They could not compre
hend it. But yesterday he was araong thera in perfect health, and now he
is dead. Men wept in our public streets. I do not believe he had a single
personal enemy on earth.
" Had Judge Sherman lived, higher and broader spheres of public use
fulness would have opened before him. There is no doubt whatever that
the same spontaneity of opinion that placed him upon the suprerae bench
would have again united, when the vacancy hajipened, to have sent him to
the Senate of the United States, and those who knew him knew full well
that his first prepared public utterance in that chamber upon any pending
matter of national importance would have secured to him a brilliant national
name. This ia no fancy ])0iiciliiig. It was conviction with his contempo
raries, and it would have been the record of history had he lived. As it is,
he has left to his children the heritage of his sj)otless public reputation — of
his loved and honored name.
" This fragmentary sketch would be more incomplete did I not mention
that .fudge Sherman was a zealous and prominent member of the Masonic
fraternity, and that he filled its highest offices of honor in the several grand
bodies of Ohio."
General Reese, the author of this sketch, was born in Phila
delphia, Pa., on the 5th of August, 1804. He was a graduate of
the University of Pennsylvania, studied law and was admitted
to practice in Philadelphia. He then came to Ohio and was ad
mitted to the bar in Cincinnati and soon after settled in Lan
caster. In 1829, soon after the death of my father, he married
my eldest sister, Mary Elizabeth. He did not long pursue his
profession but became a merchant. He was prominent as a
member of the board of public works. In old militia times he
was in command of the forces of the state as its only major-
general. He was grand master of the Grand Lodge of Masons

24 RECOLLECTIONS
in Ohio for a series of years, and at the same time held high
rank in the Grand Lodge of the United States. He was a
handsome and accomplished gentleman, of pleasing manners,
and liberal to a fault. He died on the 17th of December, 1883,
at Lancaster, in his eightieth year.
Of my mother I can scarcely write without emotion, though
she died more than forty years ago. Her maiden name was
Mary Hoyt. She was a member of a family, mostly merchants
and sailors, who had lived in Norwalk, Connecticut, since its
first settlement. At the period of the American Revolution
the Hoyt family, composed of several brothers, was divided in
their allegiance, some as Tories, some as Whigs. My mother's
grandfather was a Whig. It is a tradition in the family that
one of the Tory brothers pointed out the house of his brother,
at the capture of Norwalk by the British and Tories, as the
nest of a rebel, and it was burned to the ground. In this it
shared the fate of the greater part of the town. The Tories of
the family went to St. Johns, but years after the war was
over they and their descendants returned to Connecticut and
New York, and many of them became prominent and re
spected citizens. Isaac Iloyt, my grandfather, was a promi
nent citizen of Norwalk, possessing considerable wealth for
those days.
My mother was carefully educated at the then famous
female seminary at Pouglikeepsie, New York. I remember the
many embroidered pictures, made with the needle and silk
thread by the handicraft of my mother, as a schoolgirl, care
fully framed, that decorated the old house in Lancaster. The
women of that day were trained more for the culture and
ornament of the house, more to knit stockings and weave home
spun than to make speeches on woman's rights. Soon after
her graduation she married Charles Robert Sherman, as before
stated, and their lives were blended. She sometimes rode with
him when on the circuit, and always on horseback. It was an
adage in the family, even to her grandchildren, that she was
always ready for a visit. I never knew her to scold, much less
to strike, her children. She was our sure refuge against grand
mother, between whom and my mother there was, however.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 25
the warmest affection. When Aunt Elizabeth, married Mr.
Parker, grandmother followed her daughter to their home in
Mansfield. When my mother, by the death of her husband, was left a
widow with eleven children and spare means of support, she
received the sympathy of all her neighbors and the kindly
encouragement of everyone in Lancaster. As her children
scattered her resources increased, so that after one year of
widowhood she was quite independent. Like Goldsmith's Vicar
of Wakefield she was "passing rich" on four hundred dollars a
year. Soon the houses of her children were open to her, but
she clung to Lancaster until all her children had taken flight,
when, in the summer of 1844, she accepted the invitation of
her sons to make her home in Mansfield and removed there.
She had there her house and home. Her two youngest daugh
ters, and the writer of this, were her family, but in a very brief
period all around her were married. She still continued to
occupy her home, and always with some of her numerous
grandchildren as her guests. She often visited her children,
and her coming was always regarded by them as a favor con
ferred by her. And so her tranquil life flowed on until 1852,
when she attended the state fair at Cleveland and contracted a
bad cold. She returned to Mansfield only to die on the 23rd
day of September, 1852, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs.
Bartley. Before closing this sketch of my ancestors, it seems proper
that I refer to their religious beliefs and modes of worship. In
England they were classed as Puritans, and were members of
the Presbyterian church. In Connecticut they followed the
doctrine and faith of the Congregational church of Anthony
Stoddard. Daniel Sherman and his father were deacons of the
congregation of Mr. Stoddard, and his granddaughter, the wife
of Taylor Sherman, carried her faith and practice into her
family, and maintained to her death the strict morals, and close
observance of the Sabbath day, that was the established rule
and practice of the Connecticut Congregationalist.
My mother's family, the Hoyts, were, with scarcely an ex
ception, members of the Episcopal church. My mother was

26 RECOLLECTIONS
reared in that faith and practice from infancy, and was a mem
ber of that church at the time of her marriage. When she
emigrated to Lancaster she found there no church of that de
nomination, and, therefore, joined the Presbyterian church
under the pastorage of Rev. John Wright, who baptized all her
children. At a later period, perhaps about 1840, when an
Episcopal church was established in Lancaster, she resumed
her attendance and worship in that church. When she re
moved to Mansfield she attended the Episcopal church at that
place, partook of its sacraments and usages, and died in that
faith and worship. All her living children and their families
recognized and supported the Episcopal church as their church,
except the children of General Sherman, who followed their
mother and her maternal ancestors in the faith and worship of
the Catholic church.
The writer of this has a firm belief in the Bible as the only
creed of religious faith and duty, and willingly accords to every
human being the right to choose his form of worship according
to his judgment, but in case of doubt it is best to follow the
teachings of his mother.
With this, the sketch of my ancestors closes. Many will
think it is not part of my life, and that I have given too much
space and importance to it. If so, I hope they will pass it over
without reading. Each individual life is molded by one's ances
try, by the incidents of his childhood, the training he receives
in the family and the school and the conditions and surround
ings of his early days. The boy is father to the man. It is
difficult for one in advanced age to recall or to measure the
influence of each of these in forming his character, but a state
ment of them is a necessary preface to a history of his later
life. My information as to my ancestry is chiefly derived from
the admirable local histories of Connecticut, and, especially,
from Cothren's "History of Ancient Woodbury," Hutchin
son's " History of Connecticut," and the local records and tradi
tions of Essex and Sussex counties in England.
I cannot claim for my ancestors superior rank, wealth or
ability. They were not specially distinguished for any of
these, but they were men of useful and honorable lives, of

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 27
untarnished reputation, highly esteemed by their contempora
ries, thorough republicans in tho broad sense of that word, al
ways for their country in any contest for the right, and willing
to yield equal political and civil rights to all their countrymen
of every creed and color.

ARMS OF THE SHEEMAN FAMILY.

CHAPTER II.
My Boyhood Days and Early Life.
Born at Lancaster, Ohio, May 10, 1823 — Death of My Father and Its Effect on
Our Family — Early Days at School — A Dead Sheep in the Schoolroom-
Lesson in Sunday Sport — Some of My Characteristics — My Attack
on the Schoolmaster — Robbing an Orchard — A Rodman at
Fourteen, and My Experiences While Surveying— Debates
at Beverly — Early Use of Liquor — First Visit
to Mansfield in 1839 — The Famous Cam
paign of 1840 — I Begin the
Study of Law.
I WAS born at Lancaster, Ohio, on the 10th day of May, 1823,
the eighth child of Charles and Mary Sherman. My first
distinct recollection of events is connected with the scenes
and incidents that followed the death of my father on the
24th day of June, 1829. I have a dim recollection before that
time of being sent to school with my elder brothers to keep
me out of mischief, and of my father praising me for learning
the alphabet, but all other impressions of my infancy were
absorbed in the great family tragedy. We were warned to
keep quiet, and to remain out of doors, so as not to disturb
mother, who was critically ill, and, as our grandmother was
then supreme in the household, we knew that her will was
law, and that punishment invariably followed an offense.
During these enforced absences many were the wise resolves,
or, rather, the conceits, that the boys discussed for "helping
mother. "
But time, which mellows every misfortune, brought us
many changes. My sister, Elizabeth, was soon married to Gen
eral William J. Reese. My brother, Charles, came home a full-
fledged graduate, and, as we thought, very learned. Every
body was kind. The affairs of my father were settled. The
homestead and garden were secured to my mother, and
she had, in addition, a settled income from her father's estate
of $400 a year, while grandmother had her "fire lands," and
(28)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 29
an assured but small income besides. In those days a little
money went a great way ; but there were eleven children of us
to be cared for, — from Charles, aged eighteen, to Fanny, aged
three months. The separation of this family was imperative,
but the friends of my father were numerous, and their offer
ings were generous and urgent. Charles entered the family of
our cousin, Mr. Stoddard, an old and leading lawyer in Dayton,
Ohio, studied law, and in two years was admitted to the bar.
James, the next eldest brother, accepted a clerkship in a store
in Cincinnati, and from that time paid his own way, becoming
a merchant, first in Lancaster, and later in Des Moines, Iowa.
William Tecumseh was adopted into the family of Hon.
Thomas Ewing, who lived in the same square with us in Lan
caster. The two families were bound by ties and mutual aid
which were highly creditable to both. My father. Judge
Sherman, had been able to help Mr. Ewing in the beginning of
his professional career, and Mr. Ewing gratefully and gener
ously responded. They maintained the most intimate and
cordial relations during their lives and their families have
since continued them, the bond being strengthened by the
marriage of William Tecumseh to Mr. Ewing's daughter, Ellen.
Lampson P., the fourth son, was adopted into the family of
Charles Hammond, of Cincinnati, a distinguished lawyer of
marked ability, the reporter of the Supreme Court of Ohio,
and editor and chief proprietor of the "Gazette," the leading
newspaper published in his day in Cincinnati.
While the reduction of our family was thus taking place I
was kept at school at Lancaster, where I made considerable
advance in such studies as a lad from six to eight years of age
can pursue. I have forgotten the names of my tutors. The pres
ent admirable system of common schools in Ohio had not then
been adopted, but the private schools in Lancaster were con
sidered very good, and most of the boys of school age were
able at little cost to get the rudiments of an education.
In the spring of 1831, my father's cousin, John Sherman,
a prosperous merchant of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, accompanied by
his bride, visited my mother, and proposed to take me into his
family and to keep me at school until I was prepared to enter

30 RECOLLECTIONS
Kenyon College, five miles from Mt. Vernon. This was a
kindly offer and was gratefully accepted. But I remember
well the sadness I felt, and the tears I shed, over the departure
from home into the midst of strangers. The old-fashioned
stage coach was then the only medium of travel and the fifty
miles between Lancaster and Mt. Vernon were to me a weari
some journey. For days after I arrived in Mt. Vernon I was
moping either at the house or at the store, but ere long
became accustomed to the change, and commenced my studies
in the schools, which, as I remember them, were admirably
conducted by teachers of marked ability, among whom were
some who became distinguished in professional and business
life. One of the families that I became intimate with was
that of Mr. Norton, one of whose sons, J. Banning Norton,
who lately died in Dallas, Texas, was my constant companion.
We studied our lessons together, but frequently had quarrels
and fights. It was a "fad" of his to wear his finger-nails
very long. On one occasion I pummeled him well, but he
scratched my face in the contest. When I went home, marked
in this way, I was asked how I came to be so badly scratched
and the best answer I could make was that I had fallen on a
"splintery log," and this got to be a by- word in the school.
According to the usages of the time I was put early to the
study of Latin, which then seemed to be regarded as the neces
sary foundation for an education. I must confess that during
my stay in Mt. Vernon I was rather a troublesome boy, fre
quently involved in controversies with the teachers, and some
times punished in the old-fashioned way with the ferule and
the switch, which habit I then regarded as tyrannical and now
regard as impolitic. I do not believe that the policy of punish
ment adopted in the schools of those times would be expedient
to-day. It tended to foster a constant irritation between the
teacher and the pupil.
Among my school adventures at Mt. Vernon was one I
heartily regret. We had a teacher by the name of Lord. He
was a small man, and not able to cope with several of the boys
in the school. We called him "Bunty Lord." One evening
after school four boys, of whom I was one, while playing on

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 31
the commons, found a dead sheep. It was suggested that we
carry the sheep into the schoolroom and place it on Lord's
seat. This was promptly done and I wrote a Latin couplet,
purporting that this was a very worthy sacrifice to a very poor
Lord, and placed it on the head of the sheep. The next morn
ing Lord found the sheep and made a great outcry against the
indignity. Efforts were at once made to ascertain the actors
in this farce, and proof was soon obtained. My handwriting
disclosed my part in the case, and the result Was a prompt dis
charge of the culprits from school ; but poor Lord lost his
place, because of his manifest inability to govern his unruly
pupils. Another teacher whom I remember was of a very different
type. This was Matthew H. Mitchell. He was severe and dog
matic, allowing no foolishness in his school. He was strict
and impartial in his treatment of the boys, and, though we did
not like him, we respected his power.
I had one adventure during these early boyhood days which
nearly cost me my life, and which Uncle John (as I called Mr.
Sherman) converted into a religious warning. One Sunday
there was a freshet in Owl Creek, on the south side of the
town, and many people went to see it, I among the rest. I
was reckless, and, against the advice of others, went out on a
temporary foot-bridge which fell and I dropped into the raging
waters. How I escaped I hardly know, but it was by the
assistance of others. Uncle John said that I was punished by
the Almighty for violating the Sabbath. Ever after that I was
careful about Sunday sport.
I remember, while living at Uncle John's, witnessing the
wedding of his niece, Miss Leavenworth, to Columbus Delano.
I sat upon the stair steps during the ceremony, the first of the
kind I ever saw. I mention this because of my long acquaint
ance with Mr. Delano and his family. He became a great
lawyer and filled many offices of high public trust, and is now
(1895) living in vigorous health, eighty-six years old. I also
remember very well Henry B. Curtis and his family. He mar
ried a sister of Mrs. Sherman of Mt. Vernon, and had a number
of children. He was a brother of Colonel Samuel R. Curtis,

32 RECOLLECTIONS
distinguished in the Civil War, was an accomplished lawyer,
a careful business man and a gentleman in every sense of the
word. On the whole I regard my four years at Mount Vernon as
well spent. I advanced in my studies so that I could translate
Latin fairly well, I went through the primary studies, and
obtained some comprehension of algebra, geometry and
kindred studies. In the meantime the condition of our family
had greatly changed and generally improved. My sister
Amelia was happily married to Robert McComb, a merchant of
Mansfield. My father's only sister was married to Judge Par
ker, of Mansfield, to which place my grandmother had followed
her daughter, and my brother Charles had entered on his
career as a lawyer in the same town.
Uncle John had a family of small children growing up and
I felt I was in the way. My mother was anxious for me to
return home as all her boys were away. I wanted to go.
Uncle John, however, expressed his desire for me to stay and
enter Kenyon College, but I knew that Mrs. Sherman preferred
that I should leave as she had her young children to care for.
The result was my return to Lancaster at the age of twelve.
Mrs. Sherman is now living at Washington, D. C, at the age
of eighty-seven, with her son John. I shall always remember
with sincere gratitude her care and forbearance manifested
toward a rather wild and reckless boy at the disagreeable age
of from eight to twelve years. Affection may make a mother
bear with the torment of her own child at that age, but will
rarely induce an equal leniency toward that of another.
My return to Lancaster was a happy event in my life. I
renewed my old acquaintance with boys of my age, and was
on intimate terms with Philemon Ewing, Charles Garaghty,
Frederick Reese, W. P. Rice, W. Winthrop Sifford and others.
My brother, William Tecumseh, was three years my senior,
and he and his associates of his own age rather looked down
upon their juniors. Still, I had a good deal of intercourse with
him, mainly in the way of advice on his part. At that time he
was a steady student, quiet in his manners and easily moved
by sympathy or affection. I was regarded as a wild, reckless.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 33
lad, eager in controversy and ready to fight. No one could
then anticipate that he was to be a great warrior and I a
plodding lawyer and politician. I fired my first gun over his
shoulder. He took me with him to carry the game, mostly
squirrels and pigeons. He was then destined to West Point,
and was preparing for it. To me the future was all unknown.
I entered, with all the boys referred to and many others,
the Academy of Mark and Matthew Howe, then well estab
lished, and of great reputation, — and deservedly so. The
schoolrooms were large, and furnished Avith desks and chairs,
an improvement upon the old benches with boards in front.
The course of studios mapped out for me was much the same
as I pursued at Mount Vernon, with a specialty of the first six
books of Euclid, and of algebra. Latin was taught but little.
From the first, arithmetic, algebra and surveying were my
favorite studies, and in those I became proficient. Wo had an
improvised theatre in which we acted plays and ma,de
speeches. When I entered the school Matthew Howe was the regu
lator, teacher and dominie. He was the supreme autocrat,
from whom there was no appeal. All the boys respected him,
for he was certainly a good teacher, but they did not like his
domineering way. I got along with him pretty well for some
months, but one day after I had mastered my lessons I rested
my head on my desk when I was sharply reproved by him. I
said that I did not feel very well and had learned my lessons.
He called me to the black-board and directed me to demon
strate some problem in my lesson of Euclid. I went, and, as I
believed, had made the drawing and demonstrated the prob
lem. He said I had not, that I had failed to refer to a corol
lary. I answered that he had not required this in previous
lessons. Some discussion arose, when, with the ferule in his
hand, he directed me to hold out mine. I did so, but as he
struck my right hand, I hit him with all the force I could com
mand with my left. This created great excitement in the
school, all the students being present, my brother Tecumseh
among them. It was said at the time that the boys were dis
posed to take sides with me, but I saw no signs of it. The

34 RECOLLECTIONS
result was that I was expelled from the school, but, by the
intercession of my mother, and Mrs. Reese, after explanations, I
was restored, and during my two years with Mr. Howe I had
no other contention with him. He moved some years later to
Iowa, where he established another academy, and lived a long
and useful life. We had friendly correspondence with each
other, but neither alluded to our skirmish over a corollary in
Euclid. The pupils had the usual disposition among boys to play
tricks on each other. The academy was in a large square, the
greater part of which was an orchard of apple trees. Mr.
Howe lived on the corner of the square, some distance from
the academy. The boys were forbidden to climb the trees to
shake down the fruit, but were quite welcome to the fruit on
the ground. One fall, when the apples were ripe, the boys
conspired to play a trick upon some of the students and out
siders, — among them my brother Lampson, then on a visit
home from Cincinnati,- — who were easily persuaded to rob the
orchard, none more willing than "Lamp." Those in the plot
were to watch and prevent interference. When the time
came we had detailed two or three boys in the academy to fire
off muskets, well loaded with powder and nothing else, when
the signal was given. Everything moved on according to pro
gramme. The boys detailed to shake down the apples were iu
the trees, when, all at once, the firing of musketry commenced.
The boys dropped from the trees and scattered in every direc
tion. Some were caught in the pea vines of Mr. Howe's
garden, but most of them, with great labor, climbed over the
high fence around the ground and dropped on the outside
"with a thud," safe from powder! The dogs in the neighbor
hood lent their aid to the outcry, and everybody was con
vinced that ruffians had robbed Howe's orchard.
I suppose it will never occur that a generation of boys will
not do these things. At seventy-two I know it was wrong.
At thirteen I thought it was fun.
I now recall many pleasing memories of what occurred in
the two years "at home" at that period when the life of a boy
is beginning to open to the future. It is the period of greatest

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 35
danger and highest hope. At that time, 1835 to 1837, every
body was prosperous. The development created by our
system of canals had opened markets for our produce. The
public national debt had been paid. The pet banks chartered
after the destruction of the Bank of the United States started
upon a wild scheme of inflation. A craze to purchase public
land created an overflowing revenue. All causes combining
created a deceptive prosperity that could end only in one way.
All this was Greek to me. All I wanted, and the controlling
wish of my life, was to help mother. She was always kind,
loving and forbearing. No word of reproach ever fell from
her lips to me. She was the same to all her children, but if
there was any difference, or favor, it was for me. Even at
that early age I had day dreams for the future, and mother
was the central picture. If fortunes could be made by others
why could I not make one? I wished I was a man. It began
to appear to me that I could not wait to go through college.
What were Latin and Greek to me, when they would delay
me in making my fortune!
Near the close of 1836 I wrote to my brother Charles at
Mansfield, asking hiin to get me employment. He discouraged
me and said I should stick to my studies, but I insisted that I
was strong and could make my own living. At this time Ohio
had decided upon the improvement of the Muskingum River
from Zanesville to Marietta, and the Board of Public Works
had selected Colonel Samuel R. Curtis, a graduate of West
Point, as chief engineer. He was a brother of Mr. Curtis, of
Mount Vernon, and a friend of our family.
Charles had no difficulty in securing me employment as
junior rodman if, at the age of fourteen, I could perform the
duties required, — which Colonel Curtis doubted. The work
was not to commence until the spring, when I was to be given
a trial. I worked hard that winter, for hard work, I thought,
was the way to fortune. I studied the mode of leveling. I
saw a man on the Hocking canal operate his instrument, take
the rear sight from the level of the water in the canal, then
by a succession of levels backwards and forwards carry his
level to the objective point. Then the man was kind enough

36 RECOLLECTIONS
to show me how, by simple addition and subtraction, the result
wanted could be obtained. I was well advanced in arithmetic
and in mathematics generally, and was confident, even if I
was hardly fourteen years old, that I could do the work of a
junior rodman.
About the first of May, 1837, the day of deliverance came.
I was to be my own master and make my own living! A
fortune gilded with hope was before me. I was to go in the
stage thirty-six miles to Zanesville, and thence by stage-route
down the Muskingum River, twenty-eight miles to McConnels-
ville. When the stage arrived at my mother's house it was
rather full, but there was still room enough for me. All the
family, and my comrades, had gathered to see me off. My
baggage, all new, was thrown into the boot, and I took my
seat in the stage. My heart sank a little as the stage rolled
over the hill and down the valley beyond, but the passengers
wanted to know who I was, where I was going, and what I
was going to do, and I think they got all the information they
wanted, for why should I not tell them of my visions of hope,
sometimes called plans? Oh! the golden dreams of childhood,
the splendid anticipations of boyhood, the fields of conquest to
be won, the fortunes to be made, all to vanish into thin air by
the touch of reality.
I arrived at Zanesville long after dark, and very weary.
I had never been in so large a town liefoie. The hotel was
full of people, but no one noticed me. 1 was hungry, but
could only get the scraps left, as the supper hour was past.
I was to leave in the morning at daylight without breakfast.
I was shown into a small dark room, on the third floor, and
was to be called in the morning. I did not like the place and
was alone and in fear. I had more money than ever before.
Might I not be robbed? I took the precaution to deposit my
jack-knife on a chair within reach, to defend myself in case of
attack ! My fears were soon lost in sleep. In the morning I
was aroused to take my place in the stage, but forgot my
knife, my only weapon of defense, and it was lost to me for
ever. The bright morning revived my spirits. A hearty
breakfast at Taylorsville revived all my hopes and plans.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 37
I arrived at McConnelsville about noon and stopped at the
only tavern in the place. I called at the headquarters of
Colonel Curtis and introduced myself to him. He received me
very kindly and introduced me to the office clerks, and to
James M. Love, who, I was told, would take me within a week
to the engineer corps, then running their levels at Beverly,
sixteen miles away. I spent the week pleasantly with him,
and was intimately associated with him during my service of
two years. He subsequently studied law and practiced his
profession at Coshocton. When the Mexican War was pro
gressing he enlisted in one of the Ohio regiments, became a
captain, and, I think, a major, and rendered good service. He
subsequently migrated to Iowa and was appointed judge of
the District Court of the United States for that state. This
position he held for many years with distinction and honor.
He died July 2, 1891.
When the time came for joining the corps Love proposed
that we start in the morning for Beverly, but I insisted that,
as it was only sixteen miles to Beverly, we could easily make
the trip after dinner. I had never walked so far as sixteen
miles in my life, but had walked or run three or four miles in
an hour, and, by the rules of arithmetic, we could easily go six
teen miles in flve or six hours. He yielded to my wishes, and,
as our baggage had been sent by the stage, we started about
one o'clock, light of heart and foot. When we had climbed
the long hill south of McConnelsville, about a mile and a half,
I was a little tired, and I asked how far we had gone ; he said,
' a mile and a half ! ' I began then to appreciate my folly in
not starting in the morning. He said nothing, but kept at my
slower pace, giving me a rest occasionally. It was sundown
when we were six miles from Beverly, and I was completely
tired out. Still neither of us proposed to stop, as we could
have done at a farmer's house on the roadside. We reached
the town of Beverly about ten o'clock, weary and hungry.
This tramp taught me a lesson I never forgot,— not to insist
upon anything I knew nothing about. We found the corps
the next day in camp in one large tent on the east bank of
the Muskingum River.

38 RECOLLECTIONS
I had another experience, equally unpleasant, during our
first evening in camp. The members of our corps, five or six
in number, had been invited by Mr. Lindsley to attend a party
at his house near by. They accepted, and, as Love and I had
no invitations, we were left on guard in the tent containing
the instruments and supplies. When we were alone there
came up suddenly a storm of wind and rain, — not uncommon
along the valley, — which flattened the tent and flooded the
ground on which it stood. We were thoroughly soaked and
utterly helpless, and, for a time, in real danger. I remember
my utter collapse at this new misfortune, but all we could do
was to wait and hope for the return of the corps. I must con
fess that I quietly mingled my tears with the rain, but I did
not tell this to the boys when they returned after the storm
was over. No great damage was done. The tent was soon
raised and secured in place. The next morning I was given a
rod and instructed how to use it. I noticed that my associates
did not have much confidence in my ability to perform the
duties, and, especially the senior rodman, John Burwell. I
followed instructions, however, and reported my rod correctly.
After a day or two they gave me a book in which I was to
enter the levels. In a very short time they were satisfied that
I could perform my duties, and I was soon trusted to make up
the record of levels, and the necessary additions and subtrac
tions in my book.
This little corps was composed of men, some of whom
afterwards became proficient as engineers, lawyers or
preachers. Among them were John R. Straughn, Wright
Coffinberry, John Scott, John Burwell, and James M. Love.
The line of surveys was soon completed to Marietta, the locks
and dams were located, estimates of cost were carefully made,
the materials to be used were purchased and the excavations
and embankments to be made were computed. My associates
soon found that I could do the work assigned me, and in this
way I won their respect and forbearance.
After the surveys were completed, the members of the
corps were located at different places to take charge of the
work. Mr. Coffinberry was assigned to Lowell, and I was

OP JOHN SHERMAN. 39
attached to him as an assistant. John Scott, who had been at
West Point, and, I think, was a graduate, was assigned to Bev
erly, where a dam, lock and a short canal were to be con
structed. In the fall of 1837 he was dismissed, I think, for
intemperance. I was detailed, not exactly to take his place,
for which I Avas unfitted, but to look after some details, and to
keep the headquarters advised of the progress of the work. It
was soon found that I was able to measure embankments,
excavations, stone and other materials. The result was that I
was continued, at my early age, practically in charge of the
work I have mentioned. All plans came from headquarters
and I was carefully instructed from there what to do and how
to do it. This was a great and useful experience for me, and it
continued until the summer of 1839.
During most of the time I lived in the family of Mr. Paul
Fearing, an old and respected citizen of Beverly, who had long
been engaged in what was called the river trade. He trans
ported the produce of the country, chiefly pork, apples, wheat,
and corn, from the neighboring region on flats and scows down
the Muskingum, Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans, stopping
at the riverside towns, selling his commodities and buying
others. The boats were sold at New Orleans for lumber. The
captain and crew, generally consisting of two men, would re
turn by steamer with the proceeds of their traffic in sugar,
molasses and other productions of the south. This was the
early mode of traffic, but it had been largely broken up by
steamboats, so that at the time I refer to, Mr. Fearing's occupa
tion was gone; but he had a comfortable little fortune, and,
with his wife and only daughter, lived in a neat cottage on the
banks of the river at Beverly, where I became practically a
member of his family.
The community at Beverly was a very intelligent one, com
posed mainly of settlers from Massachusetts on the Ohio Com
pany's purchase. The valley of the Muskingum is exceedingly
fertile, but it is comparatively narrow and confined by pictur
esque hills and ridges, broken by water courses. The settle
ments were mostly in the valley, for the hill lands were rough,
covered by poor soil, and were occupied chiefly for grazing.

40 RECOLLECTIONS
The portion of the valley at Beverly, and south of it, was sin
gularly fertile and pleasing, and very valuable. Its owners and
occupants were mostly of New England birth and descent.
Their productions had a ready market down the river, and in
that age, before railroads, the valley had a great advantage in
transportation and supplies over the interior parts of the state.
The people were, as a rule, educated in good schools, and they
had a college at Marietta and a female college at Zanesville.
The proposed improvement of the Muskingum, they believed,
would give them another advantage, by securing them water
of a depth sufficient for boats in the dry seasons of the year, as
well as during the "freshets," which they then had to depend
upon, but which at best were not very reliable in their habits,
as I found to my cost. This was to be corrected by the "im
provement," which, in their delusive hope, was to give them
cheap water transportation all the year around.
At that time railroads were in their infancy. They have
since practically -destroyed or crippled all internal navigation
on inland rivers, reaching their iron arms over the United
States, traversing north and south, east and west — a vast
gridiron of roads, in value greater than the market value of
all the land in the United States in 1837. Before the first rail
road was built . in Ohio the Muskingum improvement was
completed, but it proved to be a bad investment. The canals
of Ohio and this improvement were, perhaps, the necessary
forerunner of the railroads to come, but the money expended
on them was practically lost. And I believe that the experi
ment now being made by the United States in the improvement
of the Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers will end in a like
result on a grander scale. By the demolition of the forests
which covered this great valley, the supply and distribution of
the waters and rivers in this region will be so diminished at
certain seasons as to render these water-ways worthless for
navigation. Engineers may make dams that will hold water,
and locks that may lift a steamboat, but if the clearing away
of forests prevents the usual fall of rain and causes its absorp
tion into the earth, and if the dispersion of water by its use
and waste in cities, are to continue, the dam will not be filled,

JOHN SHERMAN AT THE AGE OF 19.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 41
and the lock will be like a stranded vessel, fit only as a quarry
for cut stone, or for a railway arch over a street of asphalt in
a growing city. Captain Fearing railed against the steamboats
as many now inveigh against the railroads, but these two great
agencies will divide the commerce of the world between them.
The railroads will possess the land, the steamboats the ocean
and the great fresh waters of the world. Possibly steaijiboats
may be utilized on short stretches of rivers, but even on these
they will have to compete with railroads having wide-reaching
connections which they do not possess. The money expended
to levee the Mississippi may be lost by the United States, but
the planters will receive some benefit from it in the protection
given to their crops. The steamboats in interior waters will
be exchanged for iron whalebacks, and new forces of a new
nature, as yet only partly developed, such as electricity, will
contest with steam as a motive power.
During the period of my stay on the Muskingum improve
ments I had very excellent opportunities for study, of which I
regret to say I did not avail myself as well as I might have
done. Still, I occupied my leisure in reading novels, histories,
and such books as I could readily get. Many books were sent
to me from Lancaster. I purchased a number, and found
some in Beverly which were kindly lent to me. I read most
of the British classics, as they are called, the Spectator, Shakes
peare, Byron, and Scott. I read all I could find of the history
of America. I tried to brush up my Latin, but without much
success. I had the frequent company of my associates on the
corps, all of whom were bright, able men, several years in
advance of me in age. We were frequently called to head
quarters at McConnelsville, a trip usually made on horseback,
and where we always had not only a cheerful, but a very in
structive time. Colonel Curtis was highly esteemed by us all,
and his treatment of me was kind and fatherly. He frequently
complimented me upon my work, and when he came through
Beverly he visited me.
Among the diversions at Beverly we had occasional debates.
One of these was upon the dangerous subject of temperance, a
topic not then much discussed, for drinking of something

42 RECOLLECTIONS.
stronger than water was almost as universal as eating, and con
sidered equally necessary. However, there sprang up about
that time a movement in favor of temperance. It was thought
best to discuss the subject at a public meeting, a school-teacher
and I taking the side of temperance, and two other young
men opposing us. The meeting was well attended, largely by
the men employed on the public work who habitually received
a certain number of "jiggers" of whisky a day, at regular
hours. Whisky, not being taxed, was worth from fifteen to
twenty-five cents a gallon. It was not an expensive luxury,
and was regarded by all the workingmen on the improvement
as a necessity. At the end of the debate, which I do not re
member to have been a very notable one, the audience decided
we had the best of the argument. The discussion created a
great excitement. The workingmen took up the cry that the
Cumberland Presbyterians, the prevailing sect there, and other
Christians, were interfering with their habits and comfort, and
when the young schoolmaster appeai'ed the next day, they
raised a shout and pursued him with sticks and stones.
He escaped with difficulty across the river, thus getting out of
the way. I heard of the trouble, but went up to the canal and
made my usual measurements. Not a word was said to me
and no unkindness shown. I understood afterwards that this
was caused by a warning given them by the contractor, who,
hearing of the assault upon the schoolmaster, told them that 1
was a part of the government and it would not do to attack
me ; that to disturb me would have a very bad effect upon them
all. So, I was forgiven, and, indeed, I never had any contro
versy during my time there with anyone connected with the
work, from John McCune, the contractor, to the humblest
water carrier about the works.
Early in the winter of 1838, I think in November, I had
made up my mind to go to Cincinnati on the usual leave after
the close of the works. As an excuse, and to procure means
of paying for the trip, I purchased, partly on credit, a barge
and loaded it with barreled salt, apples and other commodities,
intending before the freeze-up to avail myself of the usual
rise in the river to float to the Ohio and thence to Cincinnati.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 43
All went smoothly, the boat was loaded and floated as far as
Luke Shute, when the river was found to be too low to pro
ceed. Consequently the boat was tied up and placed under the
care of a man who slept aboard. We waited for the river to
rise, but it did not come. Both the Muskingum and Ohio
Rivers were very low that season and finally froze up before the
freshet came. This closing of navigation created a great de
mand for salt in Cincinnati, as that article could not be
obtained from the up-river country, and it advanced to a price
that would have yielded me a little fortune had my boat not
been among those thus detained. I undertook to carry some
of the salt by flatboats, but they were frozen up. The pack
ing season in Cincinnati was going forward and salt bore a
high price, but I knew it would fall the moment the river
opened. It was apparent that I would lose on the salt, but I
still clung to my purpose to go down the river. Finally the
freshet came, some time in January, I think, and then, with
three men on the barge, I floated down the river, tying up
at nights for safety, and stopping occasionally to sell apples
to the Kentucky farmers, 1 arrived at last in Cincinnati and
soon found that salt had greatly fallen in value, so 1 sold
the salt, boat and cargo upon the best terms I could get. The
result was a loss of about one hundred dollars. However, I
had a very pleasant visit in Cincinnati with my brother
Lampson, who was connected with the "Cincinnati Gazette."
He was a member of the family of Mr. Charles Hammond, his
daughter, and son-in-law Mr. L'Hommedieu. Mr. Hammond
had been a warm friend of my father's and was certainly one
of the ablest writers of his day and generation, as well as an
accomplished lawyer. He was much pleased at my adventure
and especially with my rough shoes and warm Kentucky jeans.
He told me not to be discouraged, and flattered me with the
statement that a young fellow who could, at fifteen years of
age, do what I had done would make his way in the world.
At that time I saw Judge Burnett at his residence. He had
been a colleague of my father on the supreme bench, and dur
ing all his manhood had been distinguished as a lawyer and a
man of marked ability. He wore a long queue, preserved the

44 RECOLLECTIONS
habits of the gentleman of the old school, and was proud of
being a Federalist. His book called " Burnett's Notes " is per
haps the most valuable collection of historical data pertaining
to the early history of Ohio now extant.
At this time I visited what was called Powers' "Hell." My
brother Lampson and I took the boatmen with us, and " Lamp.,"
who was fond of playing practical jokes, and knew the place
better than I did, took care to warn one of the roughest of my
boatmen to seize hold of a bar which was before him, and
which " Lamp." knew would be charged later with electricity,
and to hold on to it for dear life. We heard a rumbling sound
inside, and finally saw flashes resembling lightning, and we
naturally seized on whatever was before us to await the open
ing of " Hell." After more sheet lightning the veil was drawn
aside and there were before us representatives of human beings
in every attitude of agony. At the same moment the electric
current was passed through certain bars before us, on one of
which the boatman held a firm grip, but no sooner was he
charged with electricity than his hair flew on end, he looked
the picture of terror, shouted in a loud voice, " 0, hell ! " and
broke for the door. Soon after we followed also, and that, to us,
was the end of a scene that ought never to have been exhibited.
I returned to Beverly in a steamboat and soon settled all the
bills of the salt speculation, but had to call upon Mr. McComb
and my brother, Charles, for a small sum to make up the deficit.
I repaid this sum later on, but Mr. McComb never failed, when
ever I made a business proposition that seemed hazardous, to
say, with a great haw-haw: "Well, John, that is one of your
salt speculations."
The election in the fall of 1838 resulted in the choice of a
Democratic governor and state legislature, which, according to
the politics of the time, involved an entire change of state
officials and employes. Mr. Wall became a member of the
Board of Public Works, and was assigned, among other works,
to the charge of the Muskingum improvement. In the course
of a few months, I think about the last of June, 1839, Col.
Curtis was removed, and Mr. Macaboy was appointed superin
tendent in his place. At first it was uncertain whether changes

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 46
would be made in the subordinates of the corps. Some of its
members had become so much attached to Col. Curtis that they
thought it right and proper to send him a letter expressing in
substance their regret at his removal, their high estimate of his
services, and thanks for his kindness to them. This was signed
by Mr. Coffinberry, Mr. Burwell, Mr. Love and myself. I am
not certain that others did not express the same friendly feel
ings, but, at all events, the four whose names I have mentioned
were summarily dropped from the service.
Thus, after two years of faithful work with small pay, I was,
at the age of sixteen, turned adrift on account of politics.
I find among my papers, dingy with age, the correspondence
with Col. Curtis, and also the subsequent correspondence be
tween Mr. Wall and myself, in respect to my removal. My
letter to Mr. Wall was a disclaimer of any intention of disrespect
to him in our letter to Col. Curtis, and his reply was that we
alleged that Col. Curtis was removed without a cause, which he
denied. I have no doubt, from a present reading of the papers,
but that he would have retained me as a juvenile offender if I
had made a suitable apology, but the instinct of a boy to stand
up for his party was too strong. I was a Whig of sixteen, and
it was glorious to be a victim of persecution.
I also find among my papers of that time, which I thought
worthy of preservation, a multitude of essays on as many dif
ferent subjects, and some efforts at poetry, all of which I con
sign to flames. Most boys have had the same experience. The
only benefit I derived was the habit I formed of writing upon
such subjects as attracted my attention by reading, a habit I
continued when studying law, in preparing a case for trial, and
in preparation for a debate in Congress.
I returned at once to Lancaster. The great financial depres
sion, commencing in 1837, was now at its height. It was said
that Ohio State six per cent, bonds had been sold at fifty cents
On the dollar. Many banks were embarrassed and refused to
discount notes, while several failed, and their circulating notes
became worthless. I found that Lancaster had especially suf
fered, that many of its leading business firms had suspended or
were on the brink of failure. I was then in excellent health.

46 RECOLLECTIONS
tall and slender and willing to work. I received temporary
employment from Dr. Kreider, who was either Clerk of the
Court or Recorder of Deeds, I do not remember which. He
gave me a dollar and a half a day, which I regarded as a great
favor, but the records were soon made up and I had nothing
to do. It was at this period of my life that I fell into very bad
habits. Many of the boys about my age who were with me at
Howe's school were still about Lancaster, and were out of em
ployment like myself. We would meet on the street, or at the
post office, or some place of resort, to talk over old times, and
got into the habit of drinking poor wine, mostly made of
diluted whisky and drugs. The general habit of drinking spir
its was then more common than now, but I had not been subject
to this temptation, as Col. Curtis was very strict in prohibiting
all such drinking. With the jolly good fellows I met at Lan
caster who had nothing to do, I could not refuse to join in
drinking the health of each other, and thus 1 was conscious
frequently of being more or less intoxicated. On one occasion,
in the fall of 1839, I went home very sick from drinking. My
mother received me with much surprise and sorrow, but neither
complained nor scolded, and, with the utmost kindness, put me
to bed and watched over and cared for me. I was not stupid
enough to be unconscious of my degradation and her affection,
and then and there resolved never to be in such a condition
again, and from that time to this I am not conscious of having
been under the influence of liquor. I have partaken of wine
and spirits at weddings, feasts and dinners, I have used it as a
medicine, and in response to toasts and compliments, but never
to an extent to addle my brain or disturb my walk.
At that time intemperance was a common vice. Of the
young men who were my contemporaries a very large propor
tion became habitual drunkards and died prematurely. Ko
reform in my time has been so general and beneficial as that
of the disuse of drinking intoxicating liquors, commencing in
1841. Formerly liquors were put on the sideboard or table, and
the invitation "take a drink" was as common then as "take
a seat" is now. This method of treating was shared in by

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 47
preachers of the Gospel, and by all who observed the courtesies
of social life. Now these conditions have greatly changed.
Whisky is banished to the drug store, the grocery and the
saloon, and even there it is under surveillance and so high
ly taxed as to furnish a large proportion of the national
revenue. Some time in the autumn of 1839 I visited Mansfield for the
first time, on some business for General Reese, and it was then
arranged that early in the next spring I should return to study
law with my brother Charles. Mansfield was then a very unat
tractive village, badly located on parallel ridges and valleys,
but precisely in the center of the very large county of Richland,
then containing 900 square miles. The county covered a part
of the high table-land that separated the waters of Lake Erie
and the Ohio River. It was an almost unbroken forest during
the War of 1 81 2, with a few families living in log houses, pro
tected by block houses of logs from the incursions of Indians,
many of whom lived in the county. After the war it was rap
idly settled, chiefly from Pennsylvania, and divided into farms
of 160 acres or less, according to the new congressional plan of
townships six miles square, sections one mile square, and sub
divisions of forty, eighty, and one hundred and sixty acres.
The topography of the county was high and rolling, from 900
to 1,350 feet above the sea, with innumerable springs of the
purest water, and small streams and creeks, all rising in the
county and flowing north or south into the Muskingum or San
dusky Rivers. The timber was oak, sugar, elm, hickory and
other deciduous trees. This valuable timber v^as the chief ob
struction to the farmers. It had to be deadened or cut away to
open up a clearing for the cabin and the field. The labor of
two or three generations was required to convert it into the
picturesque, beautiful and healthy region it now is.
• The village of Mansfield has been converted into a flourishing
city of more than 15,000 inhabitants, with extensive manufac
turing establishments and a network of railroads reaching out
to Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburg, Columbus, Cincinnati and
Indianapolis. There was no sign of this development when I
first visited the place.
8.-5

48 RECOLLECTIONS
On my return to Lancaster I applied myself closely to study
and reading, mainly of history. .1 read Hume, Smollett and
Miller's histories of England, Gibbon's " Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire," and such histories of the United States as I
could procure. It was at this time that the memorable " Log
Cabin and Hard Cider Campaign" of 1840 commenced. General
Harrison had been nominated in December, 1839, at Harrisburg,
by the Whig party. He was a distinguished general in the War
of 1812, but had lived mainly a quiet, modest life on his farm at
South Bend, near Cincinnati. The Democratic papers ridiculed
him as a feeble old man, living in a cabin and drinking hard
cider. The Whigs turned these sarcasms with great effect upon
their adversaries. They compared the old soldier and his excel
lent war record, living in a cabin with the latch string out and
eating corn bread, with "Matty Van, the used up man," living
in a palace, with roast beef every day, eating from silver plate,
with gold spoons, and drawing a salary of $25,000 a year. This
was no doubt demagoguisni, but there was baclc of it the great
questions of protection to American industries, sound and sta
ble currency, and the necessity of economy in public expendi
tures. A great meeting was held in Columbus in February,
1840. In the procession were log cabins, filled with farmers and
hauled by a number of horses and oxen, and hard cider was on
tap for all who chose to drink. Songs were improvised, espe
cially by Greiner, the poet of the canvass. One of these songs,
with the refrain, "The Log Cabin Candidate will March to
Washington," became famous and prophetic.
Some time in March, 1840, taking the stage for Mansfield, I
saw signs of political excitement all along the way, even at
that early period of the canvass. My sister Susan, two years
younger than I, was with me. We met with no adventure
worthy of notice until we arrived at our destination, when, in
ascending the hill to the public square, the coach slipped and
fell over on its side. This we considered a bad omen. It was
not, however, an unusual accident, as the roads were always
bad in March, and the coaches of that day not worthy of the
name. We were heartily welcomed into the family of Robert
McComb, who had married my sister, Amelia.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 49
I was to study law, but under the laws of Ohio I could not
be admitted to practice until I arrived at the age of twenty-
one years. Our liberal laws presumed that a man of ordinary
capacity could master this profession in two years. What was
I to do during the two spare years? This question was left to
the decision of my uncle, Judge Parker, husband of my father's
only sister. He was a peculiar character, and, as I will have
occasion to refer to him again, I will give of him a brief biog
raphy. He was born in Nova Scotia. His father was a mer
chant of some wealth who early decided that his son should be
educated in Ohio, and chose for him the college at Athens.
There young Parker not only received his collegiate diploma,
but became thoroughly attached to western habits and opinions.
He studied law with my father at Lancaster, and, when ad
mitted to the bar, went to Mansfield, where he practiced law.
He was genial, social, and especially fond of the society of
young people. I have often seen him stop on the streets of
Mansfield to watch boys playing marbles. He was conceded to
be an able lawyer, perhaps the best land lawyer and special
pleader iu that part of Ohio. But he was not an advocate,
partly owing to occasional stuttering, but in jury cases em
ployed my father until the latter became a judge of the supreme
court. Mr. Parker had for some years before 1840 retired from
active practice, and was engaged with Robert McComb as a
general merchant. During, or about 1842, he was elected by
the legislature of Ohio presiding judge of the Court of Com
mon Pleas, and became eminently popular, and deservedly so.
He was to be my guide and counselor.
A few words in regard to my brother, Charles Taylor, will
explain our relations, the confidence he reposed in me, and my
deep obligations to him. He was then a bachelor thirty years
old, with quite a lucrative practice, mainly in collecting debts
due to NoAV York and other eastern merchants. Our banking
system was then as bad as it could be, exchange on New York
was always at premium, and there was no confidence in our
local banks. Charles Avas substantially the banker in Mansfield
and surrounding counties for eastern merchants. He was a

50 RECOLLECTIONS
good speaker when he addressed a judge, and his briefs were
clear statements of the law of the case, but when forced to
speak to a jury he was exceedingly shy and sensitive. He
avoided jury trials. He was a fair speaker on popular topics,
and took great interest in current politics as a Whig. He was
a member of the Harrisburg convention that nominated Gen
eral Harrison for President, and made several creditable speeches
in that canvass. He was married in the fall of 1840 to Miss
Elizabeth Williams, of Dayton, Ohio, and I became a member
of his family soon after.
The infiuence of the special traits and tendencies of Judge
Parker and my brother Charles upon my life was soon manifest.
My course of study, outlined by Judge Parker, commenced with
Blackstone, followed soon after by Coke on Littleton. As a
compromise I was allowed to read Kent's Commentaries, but
Chitty's Pleadings had to go along with Kent. The disinclina
tion of Charles to have anything to do with contested litigation
became more marked, and I was compelled, long before my ad
mission to the bar, to look after such cases as grew out of his
practice. The pleadings then in vogue were the declarations,
pleas and replications of the English common law. These I
prepared after I had been a student for a year, and, in cases
within the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace, I habitually
appeared either in prosecution or defense.
As a matter of course, I was often outwitted and defeated,
much to my chagrin. In one case submitted to arbitration, a
pettifogger of bad repute by the name of Baldwin secured an
award palpably unjust. I felt more keenly than my client the
injustice done him, and never forgave Baldwin until he was
indicted for perjury and driven out of the county in disgrace.
While pursuing my studies, I was able in various ways to
make enough money to support myself. I wrote deeds and
agreements, and drew the first map of Richland county, show
ing subdivisions in farms, the course of creeks and rivulets,
and roads. I was also employed to collect small debts, and,
towards the close of my probation, I Avas intrusted with large
collections, one of which was in closing the business of an old
firm with outstanding credits of more than $20,000.

OF .lOMN SHERMAN. 51
In those days of primitive barter the merchant was the
banker of all the farmers dealing with him. The farmer sold
to the merchant most of his surplus products, including live
stock and pork, and purchased all his supplies, mainly of cloth
ing, tea, coffee, and the like, and the merchant made advances
on the growing crop. At the close of a year the account was
settled, generally Avith a balance in favor of' the merchant.
Little money was used. It was a traffic in commodities. It
was not unusual for the merchant to drive horses and cattle to
Pittsburg or further east, and send the proceeds to the
eastern merchant.
In the fall of the year it was quite common for the farmer
to load upon his wagon his surplus wheat and haul it fifty
miles to Sandusky and Milan, receiving in return salt and
farming implements, and the balance in money. Wheat was
then the cliief production of the farm, and was about the
only article that would command cash. At this season the
highway was often blocked with long trains of wagons that
would not give way for other vehicles. At night the wagons
would be parked on the roadside near a creek, and the farmers
and their boys would have a regular joyous picnic on provi
sions brought from home. This was the life of a farmer before
the days of railroads, and I am not sure but it was a more
happy one than now. Then the village blacksmith or shoe
maker, the tinker, the carpenter and the mechanic of every
trade had his shop and was a far more important and inde
pendent citizen than now, when grouped into large manufac
turing and machine works.
While a student, I was frequently sent by my brother to
Wooster, the nearest bank, with large sums of money to pur
chase exchange on Ncav York for his clients. These trips I
always made on horseback. Once, as 1 was to start quite early
in the morning, I received nearly $2,000 in bills the night
before, in two packages, and placed them in my overcoat. In
the morning I threw my overcoat over my arm and went for
my horse. Before mounting I felt for the money and found it
was gone. I started in alarm for the house and on my way
found one package of $1,000 lying on the sidewalk at the

52 RECOLLECTIONS
corner of the street where I had passed, but the other was
nowhere to be seen. I felt sure it was picked up by some one.
I at once gave notice to my brother, and he took immediate
measures to trace the finder. I cannot express the chagrin
and anxiety which I suffered on account of my carelessness,
but Charles uttered no reproach, but prepared to replace the
loss. Fortunately within a month the lost money was traced
to an "early drunkard," who found the package on the pave
ment while going for his morning grog. He was watched and
at night was seen to take some money from his trunk. A
search warrant soon led to the restoration of the money, except
a small sum he had spent. This incident attached me the
more to my brother.
The social life in Mansfield, while I was a student, was very
pleasant and instructive. The freedom, and yet propriety of
intercourse among the young people, was notable. We had
social meetings, parties, dances, and an occasional ball during
the winter, but in summer, riding in carriages and on horseback
was the recreation of the day. Fleming's Ravine, about five
miles from Mansfield, was the general gathering place for young
and old. A small stream had cut a deep ravine with rocky
banks on either side. An old mill with its overshot wheel
spanned the ravine and filled it with noisy rattle. The adjacent
woods, where the fire was lit and the coffee made, and the farm
lands stretching beyond, made a picturesque scene often de
scribed and always admired. Here we had dances, frolics, speech
es and fun, with healthy exercise in the open air. These frolics
were often made the subject of description in the newspapers.
On a notable occasion of one of these visits to Fleming's Ra
vine, Mr. Franklin Barker, a law student, wrote for one of the
local papers a pleasing description of the scene under the name
of "The Fairy's Tale." He paraphrased Byron as follows:
There was a sound of revelry by day
And Richland's capital gathered then
Her beauty and her chivalry and fair eyes
Ix)oked love to eyes that spoke again."
Many of the persons present were named, or so described as
to be recognized. There was a good deal of egotism and

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 53
assumption in the narrative which created much feeling
among those who had not the good fortune to attend. Though
I was present, and greatly enjoyed the picnic, I thought it was
a good opportunity to prick the bubble of self esteem assumed
by Barker, and wrote for the rival newspaper a counter de
scription signed "A Looker On." This excited a good deal of
interest at the time, but it has probably faded, after half a cen
tury, from the memory of the few who survive; it then created
a rivalry and left its mark upon the future. The destruction
of the mill by a flood, the cutting away of the wood and other
causes, have changed this, so that the gathering place of the
young of my day is a thing of the past.
During my study of law, the bar at Mansfield was considered
a very able one, including among its members James Stewart,
Thomas W. Bartley, Jacob Brinkerhoff, Charles Sherman and
others. All of those named became judges, either of the courts
of Ohio or of the United States. During the same period there
were also many law students in the offices of these gentlemen,
among them Samuel J. Kirkwood, George W. Geddes, Thomas
H. Ford, Henry C. Hedges, Willard Slocum, Joseph Newman,
Patrick Hull and others, who aftei-wards became distinguished
in civil or military life. These students, myself among -the
number, organized a moot court, presided over by Joseph New
man, then in active practice as a partner of Mr. Stewart. We
held famous moot courts in which cases were tried with all the
earnestness, industry and skill that could have been evoked by
real cases. In these trials Mr. Kirkwood and I were usually
pitted against each other, although he studied late in life, and
was then more than thirty years old. He was then a Dem
ocrat, but moved to Iowa in 1856, became a Republican war
governor of that state and United States Senator. I have
always regarded our contests in this moot court as the most
important part of my legal training.
The coul-se of study pursued under the direction of Judge
Parker continued until my admission to the bar, though much
interrupted by the variety and nature of my employment. I
read, in addition to the routine works prescribed by Judge
Parker, a great variety of literary and historical works, and

54 RECOLLECTIONS
had substantially practiced my profession a year or more in
advance of my admission to the bar.
I arrived at the age of twenty-one on the 10th day of May,
1844, and promptly on time on that day I was presented to the
Supreme Court "on the circuit," then sitting at Springfield,
Ohio, for admission to the bar. Several other students were
presented, and, according to the custom of that time, we were
all referred to a committee composed of General Samson
Mason, Hon. Charles Anthony and one other lawyer whose
name I do not recall. All were leading lawyers of that place,
and had been busily occupied in the court. We met that evening
at the office of one of these gentlemen to pass the ordeal for
which we had been preparing for years. A foAV questions were
put to us which were answered, when some question was asked,
the answer to which led to a decided difference of opinion
among the examiners, and a practical suspension of our exam
ination. It soon occurred to them that they were more inter
ested in the cases coming on "to-morrow" than in our
efficiency as incipient lawyers. I Avas asked under whom I
studied. I answered Judge Parker, and they all agreed that
anyone who was certified by him ought to be admitted.
My old and dearest friend, and boon companion. Dr. J. C.
Buckingham, of Springfield, was then entering upon his pro
fession. He was an admirable penman. He obtained leave of
the clerk of the court, to write out my certificate of admission
as a member of the bar, and this he did in beautiful form,
handsomely illustrated. He attached to it an enormous seal,
and it was duly signed by the clerk of the court. I have kept
it as a memento of him, but have never had occasion to present
it to anyone. He, poor fellow, died prematurely at Springfield,
when in the full employment of his duties as a physician, and
with the most hopeful prospects of success in his profession.
I must not forget that in my boyhood days I had a strong
penchant for military parade. I remember well the respect
always shown to the Revolutionary veterans, who survived to
the period of my boyhood. At CA^ery meeting, political or
otherwise, where these soldiers appeared to share in the assem
blage of citizens, they were received with profound respect.

SUPREME COURT OT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

CZyi^

y/iix„^ ay^ ^y^T-di?

^^^>c,<yi.X^

u»M, dn 'niofion jfiuit mcuie io ido iSuud tn (dc-j ^da^, 6v X^Ce- t^i^ .sr?*-.- .- ^/ci-««— «-'-'=«^-g;>-—

t/um tfcimiiiect ama aaa^/tecl, ao uti Gzii&^neu anci i^oumieokiP o* Ime G^a^teme ^oati o/ (uo yCMiiieJ
Griaie^, om me ^ / ' aau o/ ,;7'<=&««.c-<..«^, iTi, ide neaP of ouP ,t£ou^ one <:&a<ianc/ eiadi Aanc^tec^
^n(/ /t/iv' /^¦-''''^'^^ , ance o/ ide Q^nc^i^enc/ence o/ iAe '^^Uec^ G5%^ o/ Q^mezica me yO '^ 
3fn IfBtlTnong tOljerCOf, %, fftmam <3/doma<i "Wazzd^, "W^zd of doidf^ '^ouzi, dazfe ¦^660'
aula aet mu dana a?u/ ajfcxec^ Me (^eadof ,}acc^ '^oazi, ai me '^^ of '^^^idina^on, idia J2//' — '
«,t^^ cm /de 7^P cf cap ^uiza one (douiianc^ eiadi dunc^zeJ aTtc^ fifu=/if^iro . _,
^/ (M/. <^. ^ <^

«^

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 55
Hats came off. Thoy were given the best seats, and every
mark of honor was shown them. What boy did not feel the
gushings of patriotic emotion when one of these old veterans
appeared upon the stage. To a less degree, similar marks of
respect were shown to the soldiers of the War of 1812; but,
though this was as great and important an event in our history,
it did not light the spark of patriotic fire like the Revolu
tionary War.
Before the war for the Union broke out, military spirit died
away, especially in Ohio. Military organizations had fallen into
disuse and popular contempt. We had, it is true, in times far
apart, what were called militia musters, but Jack Falstaff's
regiment was nothing to our militia. I had the honor to be a
member of the staff of Colonel Urie, of Ashland, when the
venerable General Wilson was the Commander-in-Chief of the
militia of that part of Ohio. He Avas a hero of the War of
1812, and, as I remember, a gallant and fine-looking old gentle
man. The regiment — so called — without guns, uniform, or
anything proper for a soldier, was with some difficulty formed
into line, but a wavering line, across the public square at
Mansfield and along East and West Market streets, when, by
some misunderstanding of orders, the right of the regiment
marched to the right, and the left to the left. With some
difliculty, and a good deal of swearing, they were brought back
into line and dismissed. Militia day was a day of drunkenness
and fighting. No wonder that years passed without muster.
Such was the military condition of the United States when the
War of the Rebellion sounded the tocsin of alarm, and our
generation was called upon to meet the gravest struggle in
American history.

CHAPTER III.
Ohio, Its History and Resources.
Occupation by thu Indians — Washington's Expedition to the Head of the Oliio
River- Corameiiceinent of the History of the State— Topography, Character
istics, etc., in 1787 — Arrival of the First Pioneers — The Treaty of Green
ville-Census of 1802 Showed a Population of 45,028 Persons —
Occupation of the "Connecticut Reserve "— Era of Internal
Improvement — Value of Manufactures in 1890 — A^ast
Resources of the Buckeye State — Love ot the
"Ohio Man" for His Native State.
THE life of a man is greatly influenced by the place of
his birth, the surroundings of his boyliood, and the
habits and customs of the community in which he
lived. As I have been all my life a resident of Oliio,
and for more than forty years have boon one of its represen
tatives in Congress, or the Cabinet, I feel that a brief sketch of
the history and resources of the state may not be out of place
in this biography. No adequate history of the state has been
written, though many works have given general outlines. The
materials are copious, but I can only state a few events that
mark the changes in its civilization. That it was once occu
pied by a race now entirely extinct is evidenced by numerous
mounds, earthworks and lines of fortifications so extensive as
to have required to construct them a dense population with a
knowledge of mathematics far beyond that of any tribe or race
existing on the American continent, when discovered by Colum
bus. The works of the mound builders can be seen, and have
been described, but no ray of light has been cast upon, or
plausible suggestion made to account for, the origin, existence
or disappearance of this race.
Long after the settlement on the Atlantic Coast of the Thir
teen Colonies, the territory now included in the State of Ohio
was a part of a vast unknown region noiih und west of the
Ohio River. It was roamed over by numerous tribes of In
dians living in tents of bark or skins, whose residence was
(56)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 57
generally as tra,nsitory as that of the wandering tribes of Arabia.
Many of those Indian tiibca Avere composed of a few families
under the domination of a chief who went out from his kin
dred as Abraham did, and planted his tents Avhere fancy led
him, and moved at his whim or Avith his game. Every one of
the Indian tribes that had been driven by the white man from
the east and the south chose his camping and hunting grounds
in the region of the 0-hi-o, often driving aAvay a weaker tribe.
Their contests with white men had given them some knowledge
of fire-arms, and some of them had been marshaled under
arms in the Avars between the English and the French, but, as
a rule, the Indians encountered by our race since the landing
at Jamestown were all of the same type of wandering savages.
The difference between these tribes can be accounted for by
their location, whether on the seashore or in the forest or plain,
and by the strength of the tribe, from the powerful Six Na
tions to the feeble band in possession of some chosen valley.
Whatever may be said of the irrepressible conflicts between
the white man and the Indians, waged often with savage and
relentless cruelties on lioth sides, it may as truly be said that
the same savage conflicts have been carried on between the
different tribes of Indians, which often ended by the exterm
ination of the weaker tribe, or the absorption of the feeble
remnant with the stronger tribe. This was certainly the case
with the Indian tribes of the northwest territory. Ohio was
the battleground for destructive warfare betAveen the Indian
tribes long before the white man gained a foothold on its soil.
In 1755, when the war with France commenced, the English
settlements covered the Atlantic Coast, but did not extend
across the Alleghany Mountains, though a few hardy pioneers
may have wandered into the wilderness beyond. But French
missionaries, inspired with religious zeal, had penetrated all
the northwest territory, including the great lake?. In 1673
Marquette and Joliet, "two of these missionaries, after yeais
spent with the Indians on the shores of the lakes, winning
their confidence by humility and care, followed the lines of the
Fox and Wisconsin Rivers from the shores of Lake Michigan,
and discovered the great river "with a joy that could not be

58 RECOLLECTIONS
expressed," and floated upon its waters to the mouth of the
Arkansas. It is impossible to read the interesting narratives of these
missionaries, of their life among the Indians of the northwest,
and their enthusiastic description of the new and wonderful
land they had discovered, without a feeling of admiration and
reverence. The adventures and trials of these zealous priests
read like romance; but their description of natural scenes, of
great rivers, mountains and plains, now familiar to fifteen mil
lion of people, attest the accuracy of their statements and the
courage and zeal with which they pursued their task.
The discovery of Marquette was diligently followed by
Chevalier de la Salle, a knight of fortune, of wonderful endur
ance, who, after overcoming incredible difficulties, conducted
an expedition by the way of the lakes and the Mississippi
River to its mouth. Thus the King of France, by the piety and
zeal of a priest and the courage of an adventurer, was able to
base his claims to fully half the continent of North America
upon grounds recognized as valid by European law, namely, the
discovery of the St. Lawrence, the occupation of Canada, and
the discovery of the Mississippi from its source to its mouth.
The great body of the continent is drained by these two
rivers. Their discovery and occupation was suflicient at
that time to give to France the right of exclusive possession
of that vast territory, for the title of the Indian tribes was
not considered valid by Christian powers. While the priests
of France were seeking to save the souls of the Indians, the
Kings of France were seeking to rob them of their property.
The French, during this period, erected a line of posts
from the mouth of the Mississippi, by way of the Wabash,
Maumee and the lakes, to Montreal, and finally, in 1753, es
tablished a line of posts from Lake Erie to the junction of the
Monongahela and Alleghany Rivers, where Pittsburg now
stands, and claimed the Avhole country north of the Ohio from
its source to its mouth.
And here, for the first time, comes into view the majestic
form of George Washington, then a young man of twenty-two.
He was sent by Governor Dinwiddle, of Virginia, to visit the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 59
several Indian tribes at the head of the Ohio River and the
French forces at Venango. In the dead of winter he made his
trip into the wilderness, and soon ascertained that it was the
fixed purpose of the French authorities to occupy all the
country to the sources of the Ohio, including a large section of
what is now a part of Pennsylvania and New York. The
commander, St. Pierre, declared his purpose of seizing every
Englishman within the Ohio Valley. The result of the expedi
tion of Washington left no choice to the English government,
except to abandon their claim to the northwest territory, or to
declare war. The English title was based upon their occupa
tion of the shores of the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to
Georgia. It was claimed that this occupation carried the right
to possession westward from sea to sea.
In the earliest grants to the colonies, especially to Virginia
and Connecticut, their western boundaries extended to the
South Sea. Where the South Sea lay, and what was the
breadth of the continent, was not defined by these kingly
grants. James I and his councilors then knew but little about
America. There was no way to settle this disputed title be
tween the two great powers but by war. A Virginia company
had built a fort on the south side of the Ohio, below the site of
the present city of Pittsburg. In 1754 the French troops oc
cupied the point at the junction of the Monongahela and Alle
ghany, where the city of Pittsburg now is, and erected a fort.
Then followed the well-known war of the French and Eng
lish, Braddock's defeat, the heroism of Washington, the cap
ture of Quebec and the cession of Canada and the northwestern
territory to Great Britain. It is impossible to overrate the
importance of these events upon the future of America. The
result was that the region east of the Mississippi River and
north of the Ohio River was the property of Great Britain and
the inheritance of the English race. The great northwest was
theirs, and fairly won.
The extinction of the French title to the Ohio territory was
at once followed by the claims of several colonies to parts of
this territory under grants from the British crown; but the
English government declared all the land west of the sources

60 RECOLLECTIONS
of the Atlantic rivers as under the dominion of the king for
the use of the Indians, and all persons were forbidden to settle
or remain within it. This dispute was postponed by the War
of the Revolution. An event during the war, apparently of
small importance, had a controlling influence in securing to the
United States the northwestern territory.
The State of Virginia, claiming title under a grant from the
British crown to the regions west of the AUeghanies, in 1778,
organized an expedition, under Colonel George Rogers Clark,
to punish and repel incursions of Indians, and capture the old
French posts then held by the English. This he accomplished,
so that when negotiations for peace were entered upon in 1782
our plenipotentiaries could maintain the title of the United
States to the northwestern territory, not only by grants to the
English colonies, but by conquest in war, and actual possession
at the time of the negotiations. The British insisted on mak
ing the Ohio River a boundary of the United States. Mr.
Adams said that sooner than yield the western territory he
would exhort his countrymen to continue the war as long as
they could keep a soldier in the field. Mr. Jay was equally
determined, and finally the line of the lakes was agreed to.
1'he treaty of peace recognized the St. Lawrence, the lakes
and the 49th parallel of latitude as the dividing line between
the United States and Canada. But the question arose whether
the western territory was the property of the United States as
the result of their joint stnigglo for indoiiondence, or of Ihe
several states under the grants of the I'jiiglish crown. This
dangerous controversy delayed the formation of the federal
government; but it was happily settled by the cession of the
territory to the United States, with or without conditions and
reservations, by the several state.s claiming western lands.
As a part of this cession and settlement, and almost equal
in importance to the constitution of the Ifnited States, was the
celebrated ordinance organizing the northwestern territory.
This ordinance guaranteed the subdivision of the territory into
states, and secured to them, by a perpetual compact, the forms
and substance of a repulilican government, a proper dispositiiju
of the public lands, and the formal prohibition of slavery in

OF JOHN SHERMAN. Gl
the territories, and may be properly considered the commence
ment of the history of the State of Ohio.
We may here pause to consider the condition, topography
and characteristics of the Territory, now the State, of Ohio in
1787, when the first territorial government was organized by
Congress. It was bounded on the south and east by the Ohio
River, touching on its northeast border the States of Pennsylva
nia and New York; on the north by Lake Erie, and on the west
by an arbitrary line not then defined, and contained about 40,000
square miles. Its topography may be described as an elevated
plain, its highest elevation being 1,540 feet above the sea, its low
est depression being 440 feet above the sea, and its mean altitude
about 800 feet above the sea. It is traversed by the comb of a
watershed between the river and the lakes, running from
northeast to southwest across the state, much nearer the lake
than the river, at an elevation above the sea of from 1,000 to
1,300 feet. The shed on either side is penetrated by rivers of
clear, pure water, in valleys of great fertility, and usually with
hillsides of a gentle slope and fertile soil.
In 1787 it was an unbroken wilderness covered with great
forests and sparsely inhabited by savage tribes of Indians, only
here and there tempered by the civilizing teachings of the
missionary. One of the earliest descriptions I find of the
famous Miami Valley is as follows:
" The land beyond the Scioto, except the first twenty miles, is rich and
level, bearing walnut trees of huge size, the maple, the wild cherry and the
ash; full of little streams and rivulets; variegated by beautiful natural
prairies, covered with wild rye, blue grass and white clover. Turkeys
abounded, and deer and elks, and most sorts of game; of buffaloes, thirty or
forty were frequently seen feeding in one meadow. Nothing is wanting
but cultivation to make this a most delightful country."
This favored land was thrown open for settlement at a time
when the people of the states had been impoA'erished by the
war, when there was neither money, credit nor commerce,
when the government of the Continental Congress had fallen
into contempt, and the new government was passing the ordeal
of a vote in states jealous of each other. It was the only land
subject to sale by the United States, for Kentucky was covered
S.-6

62 RECOLLECTIONS
by Virginia grants. Western New York was the property of
land companies, and all beyond was a terra incognita. There
was a struggle for Ohio land among all the northern states, in
cluding Virginia and Maryland. Companies were formed, com
posed mostly of officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary War,
to secure from Congress favorable land grants. Virginia and
Connecticut had their ample reserves, New York had a large
unoccupied region in her own territory, and the other northern
states demanded their shares in the common property of the
United States. The result was that all the states established
settlements in Ohio, and, for the first time in our history, the
descendants of the Puritans of New England, the Dutch of
New York, the Germans and Scotch-Irish of Pennsylvania, the
Jersey Blues, the Catholics of Maryland, the Cavaliers of Vir
ginia and the loyal refugees of Canada united their blood and
fortunes in establishing a purely American state on the soil of
Ohio. Among these early settlers were the foremost men of all
the states, the Revolutionary stock that won independence,
who carried their love of liberty and the principles and in
stincts of their localities to a soil more fertile than any of the
old states, and with natural resources, climate and facilities for
settlement and cultivation as favorable as any within their
reach. The limits of this sketch will not permit details
of the progress of this migration. The first difficulty it en
countered was the toilsome way to the promised land. All
roads, such as they were, crossed the Alleghany Mountains, or
followed the longer route by the lakes. A voyage now easily
made in a day then occupied sixty days on foot or on horseback,
and every article of civilized life had to be transported with
painful labor over rude paths and roads, relieved sometimes by
barges and canoes on creeks and rivers.
When the first pioneers reached their destination, their land
was already occupied. Every part of Ohio was then in the
possession of Indians. The war they had maintained with
the pioneers of Kentucky only prepared them for the des
perate struggle with new invaders. The first settleraent of the
New England colony was made in Marietta, April, 1788. From

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 63
that day to the close of the war with Great Britain in 1815
there were hostilities in some part of Ohio with the Indians.
There is not a county in Ohio that was not at some time the
scene of a battle with the Indians, or a skirmish, or a massacre.
The interesting " Historical Collections," recently published
by Henry Howe, give many details of this local warfare. But,
aside from the danger that lurked at all times over the cabin of
the pioneer, there were more regular battles with the Indians
fought on the soil of Ohio than in any other state of the Union.
The defeat of General Harmer with 1,300 men, in 1790, in two
battles in the Scioto valley, laid open to predatory warfare all.
the settlements in Ohio, and some in Kentucky. Every attempt
at negotiation was defeated by British interference.
In the following year, 1791, a force of over 2,000 men was
organized at Cincinnati under General St. Clair, and marched
against the Indians at the head waters of the Maumee. While
encamped they were attacked by the Indians and ignominiously
defeated, losing a large number of officers and men. They re
treated in disorder, abandoning their baggage and artillery,
and throwing away their arms and accoutrements. The loss in
this disastrous campaign was more than 900 men, of whom 600
were killed. This calamity spread terror throughout all the
settlements as far as Pittsburg, and arrested for a time the
migration to Ohio.
The successive defeats of Harmer and St. Clair greatly im
pressed General Washington with the necessity of marching an
overwhelming force against the Indians, and he appealed to
Congress for the necessary aid ; but there was a manifest re
luctance in Congress to vote supplies, even if the failure to do
so involved the abandonment to the Indians of all the territory
northwest of the Ohio. The supplies, however, were granted,
and General Wayne, a Revolutionary hero, was placed in
command. In August, 1794, with a force of over 3,000 men, he advanced
to the confluence of the Maumee and the Auglaize, and there
destroyed the Indian villages and their abundant crops.
Following the Indians down the Maumee to a fort recently
built by the British, the forces of General Wayne attacked the

64 RECOLLECTIONS
Indians and inflicted upon them a disastrous defeat. This vic
tory settled forever the occupancy of this territory by the white
man, and the irreversible fate of the poor Indian, though, as it
will appear hereafter, he struggled for this, his favorite region,
for twenty years more.
In looking back over a period of one hundred years it is impos
sible to suppress a sense of injustice, and a feeling of sympathy
for the Indian in his unequal struggle. After their defeat by
General Wayne, a geneiral conference of all the Indian tribes in
the northwest was proposed, and agreed upon, to be held dur
ing the following year at Greenville. The full details of this
conference are given by Judge Burnet, in his "Notes on the
Northwestern Territory." General Wayne, in many "council
fires," explained to the chiefs of the numerous tribes the terms
of the treaties made at Forts Mcintosh and Harmer, and de
manded that they be ratified with additional concessions and
grants. Many of the replies, in the figurative language of the
Indians, are eloquent appeals to their "Great Father" and their
"Elder Brothers" to allow them to possess in peace the land of
their fathers ; that they were not represented when these
treaties were made, and that their terms had not been observed
by theii' white brethren.
It was the same old story of injustice and wrong, of might
against right. They were compelled to accept the terms offered
them. The result was the cession by the Indians to the United
States of 25,000 square miles of southern and eastern Ohio and
many other tracts west of Ohio. The Indians were to receive
in return $20,000 in presents, and an annuity of $9,500, to be
distributed among the tribes. By this treaty confidence was
restored to the settlements, and the tide of migration was re
newed, and continued until the breaking out of the War of
1812. But the treaty of Greenville did not put an end to
Indian hostilities. They still occupied northwestern Ohio, and
that part of the reserve west of the Cuyahoga River. Occa
sional aggressions by both races led to outrages and murder,
usually followed by encroachments on Indian territory. In
1805 the remainder of the Western Reserve was ceded by treaty.
In 1818 the northwest part of Ohio was purchased by the United

MR. SHERMAN AT THE AGE OF TWENTY-THREE.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 65
States by treaty, subject to certain reservations, all of which
were subsequently ceded to the United States, the last by the
Wyandots in 1842, when the remnant, about 700 souls, moved
to Kansas The most important, and by far the most dangerous, con
spiracy of Indians since the treaty of Greenville was organized
by the "Prophet," a crazy enthusiast denounced as an impostor
and accused of witchcraft, and his brother, Tecumseh, a war
rior of approved courage, possessed of all the craft of the
Indian, with remarkable intelligence and comprehensive views.
They united most of the tribes who had participated in that
treaty, and threatened with death all the chiefs who were con
cerned in the subsequent treaties. This excited the attention
of General Harrison, then Governor of the Territory of In
diana, who, in 1811, after many ineffectual conferences with
Tecumseh and the "Prophet," organized a force of 800 men
and marched against the "Prophet's" town, in what is now Cass
county, Indiana. The battle of Tippecanoe ensued, in which
the Indians were totally defeated and the town burned. The
loss of the troops was so great that General Harrison made a
sjieedy retreat. The war with Great Britain soon followed, and
Tecumseh entered the British service. He participated in most
of the battles in Ohio and Michigan during that war, and was
killed at the battle of the Thames on the Sth of October, 1813.
With him ended all organized Indian hostilities in Ohio.
Prior to 1798 all the laws governing the northwestern terri
tory were selected from the laws of the states by the territorial
judges appointed by the President. In that year it was ascer
tained that the territory contained 5,000 white male inhab
itants, when they were authorized, as a matter of right, to
organize and elect representatives to a general assembly, who,
with a legislative council, were authorized to pass laws, subject
to the veto of the governor. The general assembly was duly
organized on the 16th of September, 1799, and was remarkable
for the ability and distinction of its members, most of whom
had been soldiers in the Revolutionary War. This was the be
ginning of home rule in Ohio. The life of the territorial leg
islature was brief. Early in January, 1802, a census was taken

66 RECOLLECTIONS
of the inhabitants in the eastern division of the Territory, now
the State of Ohio, by which it was found that it contained
45,028 persons. Congress promptly authorized the people to
form a constitution and state government. This authority was
speedily acted upon, a convention of thirty-five members was
elected, and a constitution adopted November, 1802, without
being submitted to the people.
This constitution remained unaltered in a single particular
for fifty years. It was regarded at the time, and ever since, as
a model framework of state government, clear and brief in its
provisions, but comprehensive enough to meet the necessities
of a people growing in population from 45,000 to 1,980,329 in
1850. The present constitution of Ohio was framed by a con
vention, which met at Columbus, on the 6th of May, 1850, and
adjourned on the 10th of March, 1851. This constitution was
ratified by a majority of the people, and is still in force.
The decennial growth of the population of Ohio is here
shown :
•1802  45,028
1810  230,760
1820  • . . 381,295
1830  937,908
1840  '  1,519,467
1850  1,980,329
1860  2,339,511
1870  2,665,200
1880  3,198,062
1890  3,672,316
In 1802 Ohio was the eighteenth in rank among her sister
states; in 1810 the thirteenth; in 1820 the fifth; in 1830 the
fourth; in 1840 the third, and so continued until the recent
census, when the marvelous growth of Chicago placed Illinois
in advance of Ohio. This remarkable growth was accompanied
by rapid changes in the habits and conditions of the people.
Within a century they had their struggle with the Indians;
then their contest with nature in a new country covered by
forests — the "age of the pioneers;" then the period of internal
improvements, when roads and canals and means of trans
portation were the great objects of desire; then the marvelous

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 67
development of railroads, followed by manufactures. These
changes, following in succession, are the most striking fea
tures of the history of Ohio. I have already referred to the
pioneers who planted the first settlement, who bore the brunt
of Indian warfare, and firmly founded free institutions in
Ohio. After this period, and the organization of the state govern
ment, the great migration to Ohio commenced which, within a
century, was destined to extend across the continent. The
settler was generally poor, bringing all his earthly possessions,
with wife and children, in a covered wagon, slowly traversing
difficult roads to the new and only land, then open to settle
ment. But the land was cheap, the title clear, the soil good,
and all were on the same footing, willing to help each other.
The task before him was discouraging. He found his quarter-
section in the unbroken forest, its boundary blazed on the
trees by the surveyor, and all around him a wilderness. His
first work was to erect a rough cabin of logs for a shelter ; his
next to clear an opening for a crop. Every new settler was a
welcome neighbor, though miles away. The mail, the news
paper, the doctor and the preacher were long in coming. In
this solitary contest with nature the settler had often to rely
upon his gun for food, upon simple remedies for new and
strange diseases, and upon the hope that his crop would be
spared from destruction by wild beasts.
This was the life of the early settler in every county in
Ohio, as each in its turn was organized and opened to settle
ment. A life so hard, was yet so attractive that many
pioneers, when a few neighbors gathered around them, pre
ferred to sell their clearings and push further into the wilder
ness. In the meantime the older settlements attracted
newcomers. Mechanics and tradesmen came among them.
Then towns sprang up, and incipient cities, with corner lots
and hopeful speculations, tempted eastern capitalists to invest
their money in Ohio.
Ohio, in these early days, was the only outlet of the popu
lation of the northern and middle states. Emigrants from the
south, following lines of latitude, went into Kentucky and

68 RECOLLECTIONS
Tennessee. The great west, with its vast prairies and plains,
was not then accessible. Had it been so, the forests of Ohio
might have been left in solitude for many years to come.
During all this period, which we may properly call the pioneer
stage, the settlers had no market for their produce, except to
supply the demand of incoming immigrants. Grain and fruit
would not bear the expense of transportation. The only way
to obtain ready money was to convert corn and grain into
hogs, horses and cattle, which were driven on the hoof to
Pittsburg and eastern cities. But little money circulated,
and that was chiefly irredeemable bank notes. The clothing of
the people was mainly of linsey-woolsey, home-made. The
spinning wheel, big and little, was to be found in every house
hold. Settlers near the banks of the Ohio River, and its
tributaries, had the advantage of floating their surplus prod
ucts in rough barges down the Ohio to New Orleans for a
market, so that the southern part of the state advanced
rapidly, while the northern part was still in the possession of
the Indians.
When the Indian title was extinguished settlers came from
Pennsylvania into the counties immediately west of it, which
are still, in the habits of the people, in the location of houses
and barns and the cultivation of the soil, the precise counter
part of the region from which the settlers came. The "Con
necticut Reserve" was slowly filled by the northern route of
the lakes, almost exclusively from New England, and the
habits and customs of that region were transported to their
new homes, so that the "Western Reserve" to-day is a striking
type of old Connecticut in habits, and with the same ideas.
The lakes became the highway of commerce, and the inhabit
ants of the interior carried their surplus grain and prod
ucts in long lines of wagons to the new towns along the
lake shore, where it was exchanged for the necessaries of life
and enough money to pay taxes. All trade in the interior
was by barter with merchants, who became the bankers of
the people.
The construction of the Erie Canal, and the introduction of
steamboats on the rivers and lakes, was the beginning of a

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 69
great revolution. Then followed in Ohio the era of internal
improvement by the construction of two lines of canal across
the state, one from Cleveland, on Lake Erie, to Portsmouth, on
the Ohio River, and the other from Toledo, on Maumee Bay, to
the city of Cincinnati, with the lateral canal to Pittsburg, and
the improvement of the Muskingum River by locks and canals.
Salmon P. Chase, then a young attorney at Cincinnati, in
his introduction to his compilation of the laws of the state,
published in 1833, thus describes the effect of these improve
ments upon the prosperity of Ohio:
" They have afforded to the farmer of the interior an easy access to
market, and have enhanced tho value of his farm and his productions. They
have facilitated intercourse between different sections of the state, and have
thus tended to make the people more united, as well as more prosperous.
They have furnished to the people a common object of generous interest
and satisfaction. They have attracted a large accession of population and
capital. And they have raade the name and character of Ohio well-known
throughout the civilized world, as a name and character of which her sons
may be justly proud."
This period of prosperity continued for twenty years, when,
in 1846, a still greater revolution was introduced by the build
ing of railroads. The first object of this was to furnish
cheaper transportation of the produce of the farmer to the
Ohio River and Lake Erie. The first railroads were from the
interior, north and south. They were little better than tram
ways, supported by cross-ties Avith longitudinal stringpieces
covered with thin strips of iron. The carriages were propelled
by feeble engines, and it Avas thought a matter of great
importance when, by this new motive power, a bushel of
wheat could be transported from the interior to distances of
from fifty to a hundred miles for from six to ten cents. While
a young attorney, 1 thoiiglit it a grievous injustice that my
client, one of the new railroad companies, was compelled by
a jury to pay $2,000 for the right-of-way over twenty miles of
farm land. It was soon discovered that railroads were to be
so successful that they would supersede for the transportation
of persons and passengers all kinds of water transportation,
and that lines running long distances east and west would

70 RECOLLECTIONS
have the benefit of the through travel and traffic. In rapid
succession several lines of railroad were built from the eastern
cities across the state to the northwest, west and southwest.
Within twenty years from the first construction of railways
they had almost superseded all former modes of communica
tion, and had reduced the rates of travel and transportation to
less than one-half of the former rates.
After the close of the Civil War the construction of rail
roads rapidly increased, so that in 1890 the total miles of rail
way track in Ohio was 10,464, and the valuation for taxes was
$102,950,642, a development in a single branch of industry far
greater than in any other. This improvement led to the
adoption of a system of free turnpikes in most of the counties
in Ohio, constructed by local taxation, so that now Ohio is as
well supplied with well-constructed turnpikes and railroads as
any state in the Union, and perhaps, as well as many European
states. Another great change in the industry of the people of Ohio
rapidly followed the construction of railroads. Manufacturing
establishments of almost every kind were rapidly constructed,
mostly since the war.
It appears by censuses, prior to 1890, that in 1850 the total
value of manufactures of Ohio was $62,692,279 ; in 1860 it was
$121,000,000; in 1870 it was $269,713,610; in 1880 it was $348,-
298,300. In 1890 it was over $500,000,000. During the single
year 1889 there were incorporated over 400 new companies
with a capital stock of $25,584,500. Almost every article
needed for use by the people is thus produced at home, and
great quantities of machinery, especially of farming machines
of every variety, are exported to every state in the Union and
to many foreign countries. The manufacturing industry has
thus become second only to that of agriculture, and it is be
lieved that, under the great impetus given by our protective
laws, the time is not far distant when the value of manufac
tured products will be equal to, or greater than, the productions
of the farm.
The most striking result of the change in the industries of
Ohio is the rapid increase of city population, compared with

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 71
farming population. The following table will show the popu
lation of twenty cities, by the censuses of 1850 and 1890 :
. , I860. 1890.
Akron  3,206 27,601
Canton  2,603 26,189
Chillicothe  7,100 11,288
Cincinnati  115,435 296,908
Columbus  17,882 88,150
Cleveland  17,034 261,353
U'^yton  10,977 61,220
Findlay  1,256 18,553
Hamilton  3,210 17,565
fronton  10,939
I'"'>ii  757 15,987
Mansfield  3,557 13,473
Newark  3,654 15,283
Portsmouth  4,011 12,394
Sandusky  5,087 18,471
Springfield  5,108 31,895
Steubenville  6,140 13,394
Tiffin  2,718 10,801
Toledo  3,829 81,434
Zanesville  7,929 21,009
221,553 1,053,910
While the aggregate population of Ohio has increased 185
per cent, since 1850, that of the cities named has increased 475
per cent.
The growth of cities and manufactures has been accom
panied by the discovery and development of a diversity of
mineral resources of great and increasing value.
The mining of coal was insignificant in 1850, while the
product of coal in 1890 is estimated at exceeding 12,000,000 tons.
Recently petroleum was discovered near Marietta and Lima,
places in Ohio remote from each other, thus supplying a new
element for commerce and a new agent for manufactures. Its
properties and innumerable uses have already been tested in
Pennsylvania. The annual supply by the census of 1890 was
12,471,466 barrels, second only to that of Pennsylvania, and has
not yet reached its maximum.

72 RECOLLECTIONS
About the same period came the discovery of natural gas at
Findlay, in Hancock and surrounding counties. This subtle
and mysterious creation of nature has been applied locally as
fuel for manufactures, and as light and heat in many cities
and towns. The duration of its supply, however, cannot be
determined. The lakes on the north and the river on the south secure to
the people of Ohio cheap water transportation for the importa
tion and exportation of raw materials and finished products,
while the physical features of the country north and south of
Ohio, in a measure, compelled the construction of the great
routes of railway over its soil.
From the beginning Ohio has taken a leading part in fur
nishing facilities for education to the rising generation. In
early days, when the population was sparse and scattered, day
schools were established, by voluntary effort, in counties, towns
and neighborhoods where the population was sufficient to
justify it. At an early period the State of Ohio established the
common-school system, by which every child between the ages
of seven and fourteen years is furnished with the rudiments of
a good education. Some of these schools have been so far ad
vanced that in them any child showing proficiency can secuie,
without cost, an education fully equal to that furnished by the
colleges of the country forty years ago. The amount expended
in 1890 for the support of public schools was $11,407,499. The
number of teachers employed was 19,526. The number of
persons enrolled between the ages of six and twenty-one was
1,123,985. The number of scholars who attended was 797,439.
The average attendance was 549,269. The excellence of the
system of common schools in Ohio is admitted on all hands to
be equal to that of any other state or section.
The charitable institutions of the state, including children's
homes, are equal to the best in any country in the world.
The building of churches and places of public worship com
menced with the first settlement in Ohio, and has kept pace
fully with the growth of population. In every community,
great or small, churches are open for the worship of the Al
mighty God. The broadest toleration is not only permitted,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 73
but favored, by a universal public sentiment. Every denomi
nation of Christians who number enough to make a congrega
tion can readily secure a house of worship, not only by gifts
from its members, but by contributions made by other profess
ing Christians. The same charity is extended to Jews and
Gentiles professing any creed or having any form of worship.
The standing, ability and influence of the men engaged in
the professions in Ohio will compare favorably with any in the
Union, and especially is this true of the lawyers of this state.
Many of the lawyers who engaged in the fervent discussions
which led to the Revolution and then participated in the war,
thrown upon their own resources after the war, were among
the early founders of the new settlements in Ohio. They
chiefly framed the first laws of the state. Judge Burnet, one
of them, had intrusted to him the preparation of most of the
laws of the territorial government. The principal lawyers ap
peared in the constitutional convention and in the legislatures
subsequent, and contributed more than their share in ingraft
ing upon our statutes the republican principles and ideas found
in the first constitution and laws of the state. They shared
with other settlers in all the hardships of pioneer life. In
numerable anecdotes ot their voyages through the forests of
southern and eastern Ohio, and the swamps of northwestern
Ohio, are preserved among the traditions of the bar.
It was the habit in those early days for the principal law
yers of the state to follow the judges in their rounds from
county to county, attending the courts and aiding local at
torneys in the trial of important causes. They rode on horse
back, with their clothing and books in their saddlebags, and,
where a better lodging could not be found, camped in the
woods by the roadside. The early judges of the Supreme
Court, some of whom were transferred to the Supreme Court of
the United States, rode in the same manner on their circuit,
administering justice impartially, but firmly, for the salary
of $1,000 a year, only raised to $100 a month about the year
1820. The doctors and preachers shared the general life and
condition and the same homely fare as their patients and
hearers.

74 RECOLLECTIONS
A life like this developed individual character and pro
duced many men of odd characteristics, strange manners and
peculiar dress and conversation. The almost universal use of
whisky during the pioneer period in the family circle and in
social life, and the habit of treating and drinking, led to
many wild scenes and fights, but, unlike their brethren of
the south, the contestants commonly were content with the
weapons nature gave them. It was not unusual, when a
quarrel arose, to gather around them, form a circle and give
them fair play and a free fight. There can be no doubt that
in those early days many rude scenes and fights and violence
of many kinds occurred, and such crimes were indulged with
more charity than now prevails. But it is equally true that
thefts and the meaner crimes were more rare than now,
and when disclosed were punished with greater severity than
acts of violence. The stealing of a horse was considered a
worse crime than manslaughter without malice or premedi
tation. But all these habits and ideas have been greatly changed
for at least fifty years. The habit of drinking spirituous liquor
at the homestead, in the family circle, or on the farm, has
almost entirely ceased. As a rule, it is confined to saloons
and bar-rooms, mostly in the cities and large towns, and a "free
fight" in the presence of spectators could not now occur in
any community in the state. The enforcement of the criminal
laws is as certain as in any other community. The discipline
of penitentiaries and reformatories and houses of correction is
founded upon the best examples of such institutions in the
older states, and the most civilized countries of Europe.
There is one other quality developed by the people of Ohio
which will be readily conceded by all. The people from the
earliest days were born politicians, vigorous in the defense of
their opinions, and firm in the maintenance of all their rights.
The events in their history developed a military instinct
which led them to take an active part whenever their country
became involved in war. Tn the pioneer age nearly every
able-bodied man served either in Indian wars or in the War of
1812. In the Mexican War the State of Ohio furnished her

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 75
full quota of soldiers, and tendered thousands more. In the
political contests that preceded the Civil War the lines
between the two parties were sharply drawn, though when
war Avas commenced by the firing upon Fort Sumter the peo
ple were practically united for its prosecution until the Union
was restored by the unconditional surrender of the Confed
erate armies. Questions arose involving individual rights
upon which the Democratic party was divided, but it is due
to history to say that in the great struggle for national life
the people of Ohio, without distinction of party, with few
individual exceptions, were on the side of the Union.
The share taken by the several states in the Civil War is
familiar to all. Invidious comparisons ought not to be made.
It will be conceded that Ohio did its full part in this supreme
contest. She furnished to the Union army 319,659 soldiers, or
more than one-tenth of the national armies, out of a then
population of 2,339,000, some of whom served in every con
siderable battle of the war. She furnished from among her
sons the leading commanders of the Union army, and a long
list of distinguished officers who were conspicuous in every
battle of the war. The war Governors of Ohio were con
spicuous in their zeal and ability in organizing recruits, and in
care and attention to their comfort and wants. The people of
Ohio, both men and women, contributed freely in many ways
for the relief of the sick and wounded during the war, and
after its close provided homes for needy soldiers, and for the
children of those who fell.
I have carefully refrained from mentioning the names of
the many illustrious citizens of Ohio who contributed most
to the organization, growth and development of that state and
of the United States, lest I omit others equally worthy of
honorable mention. The Governors of Ohio have been selected
for conspicuous service to the state, or to the United States,
and, though the powers of that officer, under the constitution
of Ohio, are not so great as in many of the states, they were
distinguished for ability, integrity and high personal char
acter. The roll of statesmen who have served Ohio in the
Senate and House of Representatives of the United States

76 RECOLLECTIONS
includes many of commanding influence in the national coun
cils, two of whom have been Presidents of the United States,
two Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States,
and many others have occupied seats as Justices of the
Supreme Court, as heads of departments of the executive
branch of the government, and Representatives of the highest
rank in our diplomatic service.
It is not intended to make a comparison of the merits of
individuals or parties, nor of Ohio with other states, old or
new. I concede that all the states, old or new, have con
tributed to the strength of the republic, the common hope and
pride of all American citizens. Local or state pride is entirely
consistent with the most devoted loyalty to the Union. All I
have sought is to present truthfully a mere outline of the
history and resources of a state carved within a century out of
a wilderness, having at the beginning no inhabitants but
savage men and wild beasts, no mark of civilization except
that made by an extinct race leaving no name or date or
history, and now converted into the peaceful home of four
millions of human beings, possessed of a full share of property
and wealth, a soil rich and fertile, well cultivated by independ
ent farmers, yielding more than the entire production of all
the colonies that rebelled against Great Britain, and producing
by varied industries and developed resources more than all the
states produced when the constitution was adopted.
In intelligence, means of education, temperance, order and
religious observance, Ohio may fairly take its place among the
most favored communities in the world. It is a type of what
can be accomplished under favorable circumstances by a free
people under a free government, where each citizen enjoys the
full and undisputed possession of equal rights and opportuni
ties. Ohio commenced its existence on the western border
line of civilization on the continent. The center of population
has already passed its borders, so that it now takes its place,
not in the west, but in the east. The new communities that
have been founded in the west are largely composed of the
sons and daughters of Ohio, who, following the example of
their ancestors, seek new fields for enterprise and industry.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 77
I have observed that wherever I traveled in the west, however
remote the place, I found the "Ohio man" well advanced
among his fellow-citizens, and actively contributing his full
share to the growth and prosperity of the community in which
he lived, but retaining his love for his native state, and always
proud to say he was born in Ohio.
S.— 7

CHAPTER IV.
Admission to the Bar and Early Political Life.
Law Partnership with my Brother Charles — Changes in Methods of Court Practice —
Obtaining the Right-of-Way for a Railroad — Excitement of the Mexican AVar
and its Effect on the Country — My First Visit to Washington— At a
Banquet with Daniel Webster— New York Fifty Years ago— Mar
riage with Margaret Cecilia Stewart— Beginning of My Political
Life — Belief in the Doctrine of Protection — Democratic
and Whig Conventions of 1852 — The Slavery
Question — My Election to Congress in 1854.
AFTER I was admitted to the bar I felt the natural ela
tion of one who had reached the end of a long journey
after weary waiting. I spent two or three weeks in
visiting my relatives in Dayton and Cincinnati, attend
ing the courts in those cities, where I observed closely the con
duct of judges and lawyers in the trial of cases, and returned
to Mansfield full of confidence, and with a better opinion of
myself than I have entertained since.
The first object I sought to accomplish was the removal of
my mother and her two unmarried daughters, Susan and
Fannie, from Lancaster to Mansfield. At this time all her sons
were settled at homes distant from Lancaster, and her other
daughters were married and scattered. By an arrangement
between my brothers, Charles and Tecumseh, and myself, I was
to keep house with mother in charge, Susan and Fannie as
guests. This family arrangement was continued until Susan
and I were married and mother died.
To return to my admission to the bar. I felt that I was
now a man. I had heretofore banked mainly on the treasures
of hope. My brother, Charles Sherman, admitted me as an
equal partner in his lucrative practice, and thus I gained a
foot-hold in the profession. Fortunately for me, his timidity
required me to attend stoutly contested cases brought to us.
The old distinction between law and equity proceedings was
then preserved, and Charles was a very good equity counselor.
(78)

^

CHARLES T. SHERMAN,
EIDEST BROTHER OF SENATOR AND GENERAL SHERMAN.

RECOLLECTIONS OP JOHN SHERMAN. 79
With this line of distinction between us we never had any dif
ficulty in arranging our business, or in dividing our labor. He
was then agent and attorney for New York and eastern cred
itors, the confidential adviser of our leading business men, and
the counselor of a very interesting sect, then quite numerous
in Richland county, called Quakers, or Friends, who could not
conscientiously take the usual oath, but in witnessing all nec
essary legal papers, and in contests, made their affirmations.
There was, therefore, left to me the pleadings, oral or written,
and the struggle of debate and trial. The practice of the bar
in Ohio had greatly changed from that of the early decades of
this century. As 1 have stated, the judges, in the earlier
decades, accompanied by leading lawyers, mounted on horses,
went from county to county and disposed of the docket. The
local lawyers had but little to do. Now all this is changed.
Each county has its bar and its leading lawyers, and only when
the case is of great importance a "foreign" lawyer is called in.
The change has been caused by the abnormal growth of popu
lation. In 1830 the total population of the state was only
938,000, that of many of the counties being very small. In
1850 the population had more than doubled, amounting to
1,980,000. In 1890 it was 3,672,000, well distributed among
the counties according to their capacity for supporting this
increase. Other remarkable changes have also taken place during the
same period. The entire mode of conducting business in early
days has been abandoned. Cash payments and short accounts
have taken the place of barter and credit. The Ohio banking
law of 1846, followed and superseded by the national banking
act of 1863, produced a radical change in the forms, credit and
solvency of paper money, and, more than any other cause, has
encouraged the holding of small savings of money in savings
banks and like institutions. These favorable conditions tended
to limit credits, to encourage savings, and to change the
• vocation and habits of lawyers.
Change in methods have also affected the legal profession.
The adoption of a code of laws, and of new and simple plead
ings, rendered useless half the learning of the old lawyers.

80 RECOLLECTIONS
driving some of them out of practice. I knew one in Mans
field who swore that the new code was made by fools, for fools,
and that he never would resort to it. I believe he kept his
word, except when in person he was plaintiff or defendant.
Yet, the code and pleadings adopted in New York have been
adopted in nearly all the states, and will not be changed except
in the line of extension and improvement.
These reforms, and the many changes made in the organi
zation of our state and federal courts, have to a considerable
extent lessened the fees and restricted the occupation of law
yers. But it can be said that the leading members of the legal
profession proposed and adopted these reforms, and always ad
vocated any legislation that tended to simplify and cheapen
litigation and at the same time protect life, property or
reputation. While these causes were operating against lawyers, agents
of nature, hitherto unknown, undiscovered, and wonderful,
were being developed, which were to completely revolutionize
the methods of travel, the transportation of goods, and the
modes of production, thus opening new fields for the employ
ment of lawyers. Instead of assault and battery cases, suits
for slander and the collection of debts, the attention of law- .
yers was directed to the development of railroads, banking
institutions and other corporations.
The construction of railroads caused a most remarkable
revolution in the habits and industries of our people. The
first built in Ohio ran from Lake Erie or the Ohio River, north
or south into the center of the state. Among them was the
Sandusky & Mansfield road, originally a short line from San
dusky to Monroeville, intended to be run by horse power. It
was soon changed to a steam road, the power being furnished
by a feeble, wheezing engine, not to be compared with the loco
motive of to-day. It was then extended to Mansfield, and sub
sequently to Newark, but was not completed until 1846. It
was built of cross-ties three feet apart, connected by string
pieces of timber about six by eight inches in dimensions, and a
flat iron bar two and one-half inches wide and five-eighths of
an inch thick. The worthlessness and danger of such a railroad

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 81
was soon demonstrated by innumerable accidents caused by
the spreading of rails, the "snaking" of the flat bars of iron
through the cars, aud the feebleness of the engines. Both road
and engines soon had to be replaced. In every case which I
recall the original investment in the early railroads was lost.
It Avas thought when the first railroad from Sandusky to
Mansfield was completed that the road would save the farmer
five or six cents a bushel on his wheat in its transit to the lake,
and yield a handsome profit to the stockholders of the railroad.
That was the great benefit anticipated. No one then thought
of the movement by railroad, over vast distances, of grain,
stock, and merchandise, but regarded the innovation as a sub
stitute for the old wagon trains to the lake.
The construction of this railroad was considered at that
time a great undertaking. It was accomplished mainly by the
leading business men of Mansfield, but the road turned out to
be a very bad investment, bankrupting some and crippling
others. I was employed by the company to collect the stock
and to secure by condemnation the right-of-way from Ply
mouth to Mansfield. Much of the right-of-way was freely
granted withont cost by the owners of the land. As the chief
benefit was to inure to the farmers, it was thought to be very
mean and stingy for one of them to demand money for the
right-of-way through his farm. I went over the road from
Mansfield to Plymouth with a company of five appraisers, all
farmers, who carefully examined the line of the railroad, and
much to my mortification, assessed in the aggregate for twenty
miles of railway track, damages to the amount of $2,000. I
honestly thought this an exorbitant award, but the same dis
tance could not be traversed now at a cost for right-of-way for
ten times that sum.
The present admirable roads in Ohio have been built mainly
by the proceeds of bonds based upon a right-of-way.
In the meantime other railroads of much greater impor
tance were being built, and the direction of the roads, instead
of being north and south, was from east to Avest, to reach a
business rapidly developing west of Ohio of far greater impor
tance than the local traffic of that state.

82 RECOLLECTIONS
Among the most valuable of these railroads was the
Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago, now a part of the system of
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, by which it is leased.
This road was built in sections by three different corporations,
subsequently combined by authority of the legislatures of
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, iind Illinois, "^riie first section
was the Pittsburg & Ohio railroad from Pittsburg to Crest
line, twelve miles west of Mansfield.
There is perhaps a no more remarkable material develop
ment in the history of mankind than that of railroads in the
United States since 1845. The number of miles of such roads is
now 171,804.72, the actual cost of which with equipment
amounting to $9,293,052,143. The value of these railroads and
their dependent warehouses and stations is probably greater
to-day than was the A'^alue of the entire property of the United
States in 1840.
Contemporaneous with railroads came the telegraph, the
cable, and the telephone. The first telegraph wire was strung
between Baltimore and Washington in 1844. The first tele
graph line through the State of Ohio was from Cleveland
via Mansfield to Columbus and Cincinnati, and was established
in 1848. At the close of the session of the supreme court at
Mansfield in that year, Judge Hitchcock, who presided, asked
me the road to Mt. Gilead, in Morrow county, a county then
recently created. I pointed to the telegraph wire stretched on
poles, and told him to follow that. The old judge, who had
been on the supreme bench for over twenty years was quite
amused at the direction given. He laughed and said he had
been mislead by guideboards all his life, and now he was glad
to be guided by a wire.
The development and changes, soon after iny admission to
the bar, turned somewhat the tide of my hopes and expecta
tions. Our firm soon lost the business of collecting debts for
eastern merchants by the establishment of numerous and safe
banks under the state act of 1846. Several of the old banks,
especially those at Wooster, Norwalk, and Massillon had ut
terly failed, and, I believe, paid no part of their outstanding
notes. The new banks, founded upon a better system, one of

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 83
which was at Mansfield, rapidly absorbed the collection of
eastern merchants from the part of Ohio in which we lived.
This loss was, however, more than made good by our employ
ment as attorneys for the several railroads through Richland
county. My brother gradually withdrew from his business in
Mansfield, and became the general attorney for the Pittsburg,
Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad.
In the meantime 1 had taken a junior part in the trial of
several cases in which I was greatly favored by Mr. Stewart,
the most eminent member of his profession at Mansfield. He
gave me several opportunities for testing my qualities before
a jury, so that I gradually gained confidence in myself as a
speaker. My Uncle Parker was then judge of the court of common
pleas. So far from favoring me on account of my relation to
him, he seemed to me to wish to demonstrate his impartiality
by overruling my pleadings or instructing the jury against me.
I am quite sure now that this was fanciful on my part, for he
was universally regarded as being an excellent example of a
just judge without favor or partiality.
During the early period of practice at the bar I studied my
cases carefully and had fair success. I settled more cases by
compromises, however, than I tried before a jury. I got the
reputation of being successful by full preparation and a thor
ough knowledge of the facts and law of the case. In address
ing a jury I rarely attempted flights of oratory, and when I
did attempt them I failed. I soon learned that it was better to
gain the confidence of a jury by plain talk than by rhetoric.
Subsequently in public life I preserved a like course, and once,
though I was advised by Governor Chase to add a peroration to
my argument, 1 did not follow his advice. While I defended
many persons for alleged crimes I never but once prosecuted a
criminal. My old friend, Mr. Kirkwood, was the prosecuting
attorney of the county, and I renewed with him my " moot
court " experience in frequent contests between real parties.
During this period I became a member of the order of
Odd Fellows in Mansfield. I took an active interest in the
order, and was at one time Noble Grand of the lodge. I have

84 RECOLLECTIONS
continued ever since to pay my dues, but have not been able to
attend the meetings regularly for some years. I have always
thought, without any reference to its supposed secrecy, that it
is an association of great value, especially in bringing young
men under good social influences with men of respectable char
acter and standing.
Among the political incidents of this period I recall the
excitement that grew out of the Mexican War. The general
feeling amOng all classes, and the universal feeling among the
Whigs was, that the Mexican War was purposely and unjustly
entered upon to extend the institution of slavery. There is,
now, no doubt that such was the object of the war. After the
battles at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma a call was made
upon the people of Ohio for two regiments of volunteers.
These were raised without much difficulty, one being placed
under the command of Col. Thomas L. lianier, the other under
my old commander. Col. Samuel R. Curtis. I was somewhat
tempted to enter the service, though I did not believe in the
justice of the war. My old friend. Gen. McLaughlin, raised a
company in Mansfield, and my comrade on the Muskingum Im
provement, James M. Love, raised one in Coshocton, and Col.
Curtis was to command the regiment. My brother, William
Tecumseh, then captain in the regular army, was eager to go
into the war. He had been stationed at Pittsburg, on recruit
ing service, but during the excitement visited us at Mansfield,
and chafed over the delay of orders to join the troops, then
under General Taylor. No doubt his impatience led him to be
assigned to the expedition around Cape Horn to occupy Cali
fornia, this, greatly to his regret, keeping him out of the war
with Mexico.
Whatever may have been the merits of this war in the
beginning, its fruits were undoubtedly of immense value to
this country. Without this war California might, like other
provinces of Mexico, have remained undeveloped. In the pos
session of the United States its gold and silver have been
discovered and mined, and, together with all the vast interior
country west of the Mississippi, it has been developed with a
rapidity unexampled in history.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 85
In the winter of 1846-7, 1 for the first time visited the cities
of Washington, New York and Boston. I rode in a stage
coach from Mansfield to the national road south of Newark,
and thence over that road by stages to Cumberland, the rail
roads not having yet crossed the mountains. From Cumber
land 1 rode iu cars to Baltimore, occupying nearly a day. From
Baltimore 1 proceeded to Washington.
On my arrival 1 went to the National Hotel, then the most
popular hotel in Washington, where many Senators and Mem
bers lodged. I found there, also, a number of charming young
ladies whose company was much more agreeable to me than
that of the most distinguished statesmen. We had hops, balls
and receptions, but I recall very few public men I met at that
time. Mr. Vinton, then the veteran Member from Ohio,
invited me to join for a few days his mess; he was then board
ing in a house nearly opposite the hotel, kept by an Italian
whose name I cannot recall. He was a famous cook. The
mess was composed entirely of Senators and Members, one of
the former being Mr. Crittenden, of Kentucky. I was delighted
and instructed by the free and easy talk that prevailed, a mix
ture of funny jokes, well-told stories and gay and grave dis
cussions of politics and law.
My stay at the capital was brief as I wished to go to New
York and Boston. In New York I received from a relative a
letter of introduction to Benj. R. Curtis, then an eminent
lawyer, and latterly a more eminent justice of the supreme
court. When I presented my letter I was received very kindly
and after a brief conversation he said he was able to do me a
favor, that he had a ticket to a grand banquet to be attended
by the leading men of Boston at Plymouth Rock, on the anni
versary of the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, and that Daniel
Webster would preside. 1 heartily thanked him, and on the
next day, prompt on time, I entered the train at Boston for
Plymouth. When I arrived at the hotel, which is also a
station-house of the railway, I did not know a single person in
the great assemblage. In due time we were ushered into the
dining hall where the banquet was spread. There was no
mistaking Webster. He sat in the center of a cross table with

86 RECOLLECTIONS
the British minister on his right and Jeremiah Mason on his
left. At the other end of the room sat Abbott Lawrence and
other distinguished men. The residue of the guests, mer
chants, poets, and orators of Massachusetts, filled every seat at
the tables. I sat some way down on the side and introduced
myself to my neighbors on the right and left, but my eye was
on Webster, from whom I expected such lofty eloquence as he
alone could utter.
Much to my surprise, when the time came for the oratory
to commence, Mr. Lawrence acted as toast master. We had
stories, songs, poetry and oratory, generally good and appropri
ate, but not from Webster. And so the evening waned.
Webster had been talking freely with those about him. He
displayed none of the loftiness associated with his name. He
drank freely. That was manifest to everyone. His favorite
bottle was one labeled " brandy." We heard of it as being
"more than a hundred years old." It did not travel down to
us. Webster was plainly hilarious. At this time the conduc
tor appeared at a side door and announced that in fifteen
minutes the cars would start for Boston. Then Webster arose
— with difficulty — he rested his hands firmly on the table and
with an effort assumed an erect position. Every voice was
hushed. He said that in fifteen minutes we would separate,
nevermore to meet again, and then, with glowing force and
eloquence, he contrasted the brevity and vanity of human life
with the immortality of the events they were celebrating,
which century after century would be celebrated by your
children and your children's children to the latest generation.
I cannot recall the words of his short but eloquent speech,
but it made an impress on my mind. If his body was affected
by the liquor, his head was clear and his utterance perfect.
I met Mr. Webster afterwards on the cars and in Washington.
I admired him for his great intellectual qualities, but I do not
wonder that the people of the United States did not choose
him for President.
Soon after the national Whig convention of 1852, of which
I was a member, I heard this story told by his secretary. In the
evening, when Mr. Webster was at his well-known residence

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 87
on Louisiana Avenue, near Sixth street, he was awaiting the
ballots in the convention. When it came by the telegraph,
"Scott 159, Fillmore 112, Webster 21," he repeated it in his
deep tones and said: "How will this read in history?" He
did not like either Scott or Fillmore, and was disappointed in
the votes of southern members. To be third in such a contest
wounded his pride. He died before the year closed. He was,
perhaps, the greatest man of intellectual force of his time, but
he had faults which the people could not overlook. Another
incident about Mr. Webster, and the house in which he lived,
may not be without interest. On Noav Year's day of 1860, Mr.
Corwin, Mr. Colfax and myself made the usual calls together.
Among the many visits we made, was one on a gentleman
then living in that house. As we entered, Mr. Corwin met
an old well-trained negro servant who had been a servant of
Mr. Webster in this house. I noticed that Mr. Corwin lost his
usual gayety, and as we left the house he turned to us, and,
with deep emotion, asked that we leave him at his lodg
ings; that his long as.sociations with Mr. Webster, especially
his meetings with him in that house during their association
as members of the cabinet of Fillmore, unfitted him to enjoy
the usual greetings of the day. I felt that the emotion of
such a man as Corwin was the highest possible compliment
to the memory of Daniel Webster.
From Boston I returned to New York. There, in the
families of two brothers of my mother, both then living, I
had a glimpse of New York society. With Mr. Scott, the son-
in-law of my uncle, James Hoyt, I made nearly one hundred
of the usual New Year's visits, then customary in New York.
This custom I am told has been abandoned, but the New York
of to-day is quite different from the New York of 1847. It
still retained some of the knickerbocker customs of the olden
time. The site of the Fifth Avenue Hotel was then a stone-
yard Avhere grave stones were cut. All north of Twenty-third
street, now the seat of plutocracy, was then sparsely occupied
by poor houses and miserable shanties, and the site of Central
Park was a rough, but picturesque body of woodland, glens
and rocky hills, with a few clearings partly cultivated. Even

88 RECOLLECTIONS
then the population of New York was about 400,000, or more
than three-fold that of any city in the United States,
and twenty-fold that of Chicago. Now New York contains
2,000,000 inhabitants, and Chicago, according to recent reports,
about 1,700,000. Many cities now exist containing over
100,000 inhabitants, the sites of which, in that year, were
within the limits of Indian reservations.
From New York I returned to Washington. Many inci
dents recur to me but they were of persons now dead and
gone, the memory of whom Avill not be recalled by the present
generation. Mr. Polk was then President. He was a plain
man, of ordinary ability and more distinguished for the great
events that happened during his presidency than for anything
he did himself. I attended one of his receptions. His wife
appeared to better advantage than he. I then saw Mr. Douglas
for the first time. I think he Avas still a Member of the
House of Representatives, but had attained a prominent
position and was regarded as a rising man. I wished very
much to see Henry Clay, the great favorite of the Whigs of
that day, but he was not then in public life.
There was nothing in Washington at that time to excite
interest, except the men and women in public or social life.
The city itself had no attractions except the broad Potomac
River and the rim of hills that surrounded the city. It then
contained about 30,000 inhabitants. Pennsylvania avenue was
a broad, badly paved, unattractive street, while all the otlier
streets were unpaved and unimproved. All that part of the
city lying north of K street and west of Fourteenth street,
now the most fashionable part of the city, was then a dreary
waste open, like all the rest of the city, as free pasturage for
cows, pigs, and goats. It was a city in name, but a village in
fact. The contrast between Washington then and now may
be referred to hereafter.
Upon my return from the east in February, 1847, I actively
resumed the practice of the law. I Avas engaged in several im
portant trials, but notably one at Mount Vernon, Ohio, where
the contesting parties were brothers, the matter in dispute a
valuable farm, and the chief witness in the case the mother of

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 89
both the plaintiff and defendant. It was, as such trials are apt
to be, vigorously contested with great bitterness between the
parties. Columbus Delano was the chief counsel for the plain
tiff, and I was his assistant. I remember the case more espe
cially because during its progress I was attacked by typhoid
fever. I returned home after the trial, completely exhausted,
and on the Fourth of July, 1847, found myself in a raging fever,
which continued more than two months before I was able to
rise from the bed, and then I was as helpless as a child. I was
unable to walk, and was lifted from the house into the carriage
to get the fresh air, and continued under disability until
October, when I was again able to renew my business.
During my practice thus far, I had been able to accumulate
in property and money more than ten thousand dollars. I had,
in addition to my practice, engaged in a profitable business
with Jacob Emminger, a practical mechanic, in the manufac
ture of doors, blinds and other building materials. We acquired
valuable pine-lands in Michigan and transported the lumber to
our works at Mansfield. We continued this business until I
was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, in March, 1877, when I
sold out my interest and also abandoned the practice of the law.
I spent the winter of 1847-8 at Columbus, where I made
many acquaintances who were of great service to me in after
life, and had a happy time also with the young ladies I met
there. Columbus was then the headquarters of social life for
Ohio. It had a population then of about fifteen thousand, with
few or no manufactures. It has now a population of more
than one hundred thousand, the increase being largely caused
by the great development of the numerous railroads centering
there, and of the coal and iron mines of the Hocking Valley.
It was also the natural headquarters of the legal profession,
the Supreme Court of Ohio,, then under the old constitution,
and the District Court of the United States holding their
sessions there.
On the first day of August, 1848, my grandmother, Eliza
beth Stoddard Sherman, died at Mansfield at the residence of
her daughter, Mrs. Parker. Her history and characteristics
have already been referred to. She was to our family the

90 RECOLLECTIONS .
connecting link between the Revolutionary period and our
times. She had a vivid recollection of the burning of the princi
pal towns of Connecticut by the British and Tories, of the. trials
and poverty that followed the War of the Revolution, of the early
political contests between the Federalists and Republicans, of
the events of the War of 1812, and of her journey to Ohio in
1816. She maintained a masterly care of her children and
grandchildren. She. was the best type I have known of the
strong-willed, religious Puritan of the Connecticut school, and
was respected, not only by her numerous grandchildren, but by
all who knew her.
My brother-in-law, Thomas W. Bartley, was District Attor
ney of the United States during the administration of Mr.
Polk, and, as he expected a change would be made by the
incoming administration of Taylor, he advised me to become a
candidate for his place, as that was in the line of my profes
sion. I told him I doubted if my experience of the bar would
justify me in making such an application, but he thought
differently. I wrote to Mr. Ewing upon the subject and he
answered as follows : Washington, D. C, Dec. 31, 1848.
John Sherman, Esq., Mansfield, Ohio.
My Dear Sir :— I believe you would be able to perform the duties of
District Attorney, but your youth would be an objection to your appoint
ment, and in competition with one so long known, and so highly estimated,
as Mr. Goddard is both professionally and politically, would probably make
your prospects but little encouraging. If you conclude to withdraw your
name, signify the fact and the reason by letter to Mr. Goddard and it may
be of use to you hereafter. I am, with great regard,
Yours, T. Ewing.
I complied with his advice, though Mr. Goddard, I think,
declined and Mr. Mason was appointed.
On the thirty-first of the same month I was married to Mar
garet Cecilia Stewart, the only child of Judge Stewart, whom I
had known since my removal to Mansfield. She had been care
fully educated at the Female College at Granville, Ohio, and at
the Patapsco Institute, near Baltimore, Maryland. After the
usual wedding tour to Niagara Falls, Montreal and Saratoga,
we settled in Mansfield, and I returned to my profession,
actively pursuing it until elected a Member of Congress.

i.
i

¦}

>

^i

[Kfl^i^

u

.f ^xT-l-^^^'^t.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 91
It is not worth Avhile to follow my professional life into
further detail. 1 shall not have occasion to mention that subject
again. Sufficient to say that 1 Avas reasonably successful therein.
During this period Henry C. Hedges studied law with my brother
and myself, and Avhen admitted to the bar became my partner.
Mr. Stewart was elected by the legislature a judge of the Court
of Common Pleas, and after the adoption of the new constitu
tion of 1851, he Avas elected by the people to the same office.
I had determined in the fall of 1853 to abandon Mansfield
and settle in Cleveland, then rapidly growing in importance as
the leading city in the northern part of the state. I went so
far as to establish an office there and place in it two young
lawyers, nominally my partners, but the great political currents
of that time soon diverted me from the practice of the law
into the political contests that grew out of the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise. "The direful spring of woes unnumbered."
Before entering upon an account of my political life it
seems appropriate for me to state my political bias and posi
tion. I was by inheritance aud association a Whig boy, with
out much care for or knowledge of parties or political principles.
No doubt my discharge from the engineer corps by a Democratic
Board of Public Works strengthened this bias. I shouted for
Harrison in the campaign of 1840. In 1842 I was enthusiastic
for "Tom CorAvin, the wagon-boy," the Whig candidate for
Governor of Ohio. In that canvass Governor Corwin addressed
a great meeting at Mansfield. I heard his speech, and was full
of enthusiasm. Mr. Corwin was certainly the greatest popular
orator of his time. His face was eloquent, changeable at his
will. With a look he would cause a laugh or a tear. He would
move his audience at his pleasure. 1 vividly remember the
impression he made upon me, though I cannot recall anything
he said. At the close of the meeting I was requested by the
committee in charge to take Mr. Corwin in a buggy to Bucyrus.
This I cheerfully did. I noticed that Mr. Corwin was very
glum and silent, and to cheer him up I spoke of his speech and
of the meeting. He turned upon me, and with some show of
8.-8

92 RECOLLECTIONS
feeling, said that all the people who heard him would remember
only his jokes, and warned me to keep out of politics and at
tend to my law. He told me that he knew my father, and was
present at his death at Lebanon, where he, Mr. Corwin, lived.
And then, brightening up, he gave me an interesting account of
the early settlement of Ohio, and of the bar and bencli, and of
his early life as a wagon boy in Harrison's army. His sudden
fit of gloom had passed away. I do not recall any circum-
stancethat created a deeper impression on my mind than this
interview with Mr. Corwin. His advice to keep out of politics
was easy to follow, as no one could then dream of the possi
bility of a Whig being elected to office in Richland county,
then called "the Berks of Ohio." Mr. Corwin was defeated at
that election.
I took but little part in the campaign of 1844, when Mr.
Clay was a candidate for President, but I then made my first
political speech to a popular audience and cast my first vote.
The meeting was held at Plymouth, and Honorable Joseph M.
Root, the Whig candidate for Congress, was to be the orator.
For some reason Mr. Root was delayed, and I was pressed into
service. Of what I said I have not the remotest recollection,
but my audience was satisfied, and I was doubly so, especially
when Mr. Root came in sight. After that I made a few neigh
borhood speeches in support of the Whig candidate for gov
ernor, Mr. Mordecai Bartley, a gentleman who for several years
had lived in Mansfield, but had long since retired from public
office after eight years' service in the United States House of
Representatives. Mr. Bartley received 147,738 votes, Mr. Tod,
Democrat, 146,461 votes and Mr. King, Third Party, 8,411 votes;
so close were parties divided in Ohio in 1844.
At this time I had but two definite ideas in respect to the
public policy of the United States. One was a hearty belief in
the doctrine of protection to American industries, as advocated
by Mr. Clay, and, second, a strong prejudice against the Demo
cratic party, which was more or less committed to the annexa
tion of Texas, and the extension of slavery. I shared in the
general regret at the defeat of Mr. Clay and the election of Mr.
Polk. I took some part in the local canvasses in Ohio prior to

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 93
1848, but tliis did not iu llio least commit me to active political
life. I was appointed a delegate to the national Whig con
vention, held in Philadelphia, in 1848, to nominate a presidential
candidate. I accepted this the more readily as it gave me an
opportunity to see my future Avife at her school at Patapsco,
and to fix our engagement for marriage upon her return home.
The chief incident of the convention was the struggle between
the friends of General Scott and General Taylor.
When the convention was being organized. Colonel Collyer,
chairman of the Ohio delegation, said there Avas a young gen
tleman in that convention who could never hope to get an
office unless that convention gave him one, and nominated me
for secretary of the convention. Mr. Defrees said there was a
delegate from Indiana in the same condition and moved that
Schuyler Colfax be made assistant secretary. We then
marched together to the platform and commenced our political
life, in which we were to be closely associated for many years.
The nomination of General Taylor, cordially supported by
me, was not acceptable to all the Whigs of Ohio. The hostility
to slavery had grown chiefly out of the acquisition of Texas as
a slave state. An anti-slavery party headed in Ohio by Salmon
P. Chase cast 35,354 votes for Van Buren. General Taylor was
defeated in Ohio mainly by this defection, receiving 138,360
votes. General Cass received 154,775 votes. General Cass re
ceived the vote of Ohio, but General Taylor was elected Presi
dent, having received a majority of the electoral vote.
General Taylor proved a very conscientious and acceptable
President. His death, on the ninth day of July, 1850, pre
ceded the passage of the compromise measures of Henry Clay,
commonly known liy his name. They became laws with the
approval of Millard Pillmoie.
It was my habit during tliis period to attend tho annual
state conventions of the Whig party, not so much to influence
nominations as to keep up an acquaintance with the principal
members of my party. I had not the slightest desire for pub
lic office and never became a candidate until 1854. In the
state convention of 1850 I heartily supported the nomination
of General Scott for President, at the approaching election of

94 RECOLLECTIONS
1852. In this convention an effort was made to nominate me
for attorney-general in opposition to Henry Stanbery. I
promptly declined to be a candidate, but received a number of
votes from personal friends, who, as they said, wanted to intro
duce some young blood into the Whig party.
I then began seriously to study the political topics of the
day. I was classed as a conservative Whig, and heartily sup
ported the compromise measures of 1850, not upon their
merits, but as the best solution of dangerous sectional divi
sions. Prior to this time I do not remember to have given any
study, except through the newspapers of the day, to the great
national questions that divided the political parties.
In the spring of 1852 I was designated by the state conven
tion as a delegate at large in association with Honorable Sam
uel F. Vinton to the national Whig convention of that year.
I was an earnest advocate of General Scott, and rejoiced in his
nomination. Here, again, the slavery question was obtruded
into national politics. The clear and specific indorsement of
the compromise measures, though supported by a great major
ity, divided the Whig party and led to the election of Franklin
Pierce. In this canvass I took for the first time an active part.
I was designated as an elector on the Scott ticket. I made
speeches in several counties and cities, but was recalled at
Wooster by a telegram stating that my mother was danger
ously ill. Before I could reach home she was dead. This event
was wholly unexpected, as she seemed, when I left home, to be
in the best of health. She had accompanied her daughter, Mrs.
Bartley, to Cleveland to attend the state fair, and there, no
doubt, she was attacked with the disease of which she died. I
took no further part in the canvass.
I wish here to call special attention to the attitude of the
two great parties in respect to the compromise measures.
The Democratic national convention at Baltimore was held
on the first of June, 1852. The resolutions of that convention
in reference to slavery were as follows:
" 12. Jiesolved, That Congress has no power under the constitution to
interfere with, or control, the domestic institutions of the several states, and
that such states are the sole and proper judges of everything appertaining

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 95
to their own affiiirs, not prohibited by the constitution; that all efForts of
tlie Abolitionists or otiiers, made to induce Congress to interfere witli ques
tions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated
to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences, and that all such
efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people,
and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not to
be countenanced by any friend of our political institutions.
" 13. Jiesolved, That the foregoing proposition covers, and is intended
to embrace, the whole subject of slavery agitation in Congress, and, there
fore, the Democratic parly of the Union, standing on this national plat-
J'orm, will abide by, and adhere to, a faithfid execution of the acts knoion
as the co7npro7nise 7neasi(,res settled by the last Congress, Hhe act for re
claiming fugitives J'rom service labor, ^ inchided; which act, being designed
to carry out an express provision qf the constitution, cannot, with fidelity
thereto, be repealed, nor so changed as to destroy or impair its efficiency.
" 14. Jiesolved, That the Democratic party will resist all attempts at
renewing in Congress, or out of it, the agitation of the slavery question,
tmder whatever shape or color the attempt may be made."
The Whig convention, which met at Baltimore on the 16th
of June, 1862, declared as follows: —
"8. 77i,at the series of acts ofthe 32nd Congress, the act knoimi as The
Fugitive Slave Jyain Included, are receii^ed and acquiesced in by the Whig
party qf the Un.ited, States as a settlement in princijylo and sub.stance nf the
da7igerotcs and exciting questions which they embrace, and so far as they
are concerned, we will mainta,in, them, and insist upon their strict enforce
ment, until time and experience shall demonstrate tlie necessity of furtlier
legislation to guard against the evasion of the laws on the one hand, and the
abuse of their powers on the other — not impairing their present efliciency;
and we deprecate all further agitation of the question thus settled as dan
gerous to our peace, and will discountenance all efforts to co^itinue or
reneio stcch agitation whenever, toherever or however the attem,pt may be
made, and we will maintain the system as essential to the nationality of the
Whig party iuid the integrity of the Union."
It will be noticed that these platforms do not essentially
differ from each other. Both declare in favor of acquiescence in
the compromise measures of 1850. The Democratic party
more emphatically denounces any renewal in Congress, or out
of it, of the agitation of the slavery question under whatever
name, shape or color, the attempt may be made. The Whig
platform, equally positive in its acquiescence in the settle
ment made, knoAvn as the compromise measures, declared its

96 RECOLLECTIONS
purpose to: "Maintain them, and to insist upon their strict
enforcement until time and experience shall demonstrate the
necessity of further legislation to guard against the evasion of
the laws."
It would seem that under these platforms both parties were
committed to acquiescence in existing laws upon the subject of
slavery, and to a resistance of all measures to change or mod
ify them.
I took quite an active part in this canvass and wrote to Mr.
Seward, then the great leader of the Whig party, inviting him
to attend a mass meeting in Richland county, to which I
received the following reply : Auburn, Sept. 20, 1852.
John Sherman, Esq., Mansfield, Ohio.
Dear Sir : — • I have the honor of receiving your letter urging me to
accept the invitation of the Whig central committee to address a mass
meeting in Richland county, Ohio, on the second of October. I appreciate
fully the importance of the canvass in which we are engaged, and I have some
conception of the responsibilities of the Whigs of Ohio. I wish, therefore, that
it was in my power to comply with tlie wishes, expressed in several quarters,
by going among them to attempt to encourage them in their noble and
patriotic efForts, but it is impossible. Public and professional engagements
have withdrawn me from my private affairs during the past two years, and
tlie few weeks of interval between the last and the next session of Congress
are equally insufficient for the attention my business requires and for the
relaxation of public labors which impaired health demands. I am, dear sir,
with great respect, your friend and huiiiblc servant, WlI.I.IAJI II. SliWARO.
The election of 1852 resulted in the overwhelming defeat of
J General Scott, and the practical annihilation of the Whig
party. Franklin Pierce received 244 electoral votes, and Gen
eral Scott but 42.
The triumphant election of Mr. Pierce, on the platform
stated, justified the expectation that during his term there
would be no opening of the slavery controversy by the Demo
cratic party. If that party had been content with the com
promise of 1850, and had faithfully observed the pledges in its
platform, there would have been no Civil War. Conservative
Whigs, north and south, would have united Avith conservative
Democrats in maintaining and enforcing existing laws. The

Jk^/tu^.. ;^5^i..A_ ^^^r7t3 Z .
^ ^l!r A.^eZluS A-y ^*<f-yff Oji^y:^ A^-^c ^-^ <jfc
/^Pt^ ^x«.iuy' Z^-v^ <%»'^'^"^

f^^

1«r ^^ 

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 97
efforts of the opponents of slavery and of aggressive pro-
slavery propagandists would have been alike ineffective. The
irrepressible conflict would have been indefinitely postponed.
Yet, as will appear hereafter, the leaders of the 33rd Congress
of both parties, and mainly on sectional lines, openly and fla
grantly violated the pledges of their party, and renewed a
contest that was only closed by the most destructive Civil War
of modern times, and by the abolition of slavery. As this
legislation brought me into public life, I wish to justify my
statement by the public records, with all charity to the authors
of the measures avIio no doubt did not anticipate the baleful
events that would spring from them, nor the expanded and
strengthened republic which was the final result. "Man pro
poses, but God disposes."
When the 33rd Congress met, on the 6tli day of December, 1853,
the tariff issue was practically in abeyance. The net ordinary
receipts of the government for the fiscal year ending June 30,
1853, were $61,587,031.68. The net ordinary expenditures of the
government for the same year, including interest on the public
debt, were $47,743,989.09, leaving a surplus of revenue over
expondituvos of $13,843,042.59, of which $6,833,072.65 was ap
plied to the payment of the public debt, leaving in the treas
ury, unexpended, about $7,000,000.00. The estimates for future
years were equally favorable to the public credit. The financial
and political condition of the United States was never more
prosperous than when this Congress met. The disturbance of
this condition can be attributed only to the passage of the act
to organize the territories of Nebraska and Kansas approved
by President Franklin Pierce, May 30, 1854. The 32nd section
of that act contained this provision: —
"That the constitution and all laws of the United States which are
locally inapplicable, shall have the same force and effect within the said
Territory of Kansas as elsewhere within the United States, except the eighth
section of the act preparatory to the admission of Missouri into the Union,
approved March sixth, eighteen hundred and twenty, which, being inconsis
tent with the principle of non-intervention by Congress with slavery in the
states and territories, as recognized by the legislation of eighteen hundred
and fifty, commonly called the compromise measures, is hereby declared
inoperative and void ; it being the true intent and meaning of this act not

98 RECOLLECTIONS
to legislate slavery into any territory or state, nor to exclude it therefrom,
but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their
domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the constitution of
the United States: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be con
strued to revive or put in force any law or regulation which may have
existed prior to the act of sixth of March, eighteen hundred and twenty,
either protecting, establishing, prohibiting or abolishing slavery."
This act contained a similar clause relating to Nebraska.
To understand the effect of this provision it is necessary to
review the status of slavery in the United States under the
constitution and existing laws.
The articles of Confederation make no mention of slavery
or slaves. During and after the Revolution the general feel
ing was that slavery would be gradually abolished by the
several states. In the Ordinance of 1787 for the government
of the territories of the United States, northwest of the Ohio
River, it was expressly provided that:
"There shall be no slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said terri
tory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall
have been duly convicted; provided, always, that any person escaping into
the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any of the
original states, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to
the person claiming his or her labor or service as aforesaid."
This provision applied to all the territory of the United
States that was subject to the jurisdiction of the Continental
Congress. The constitution of the United States did not mention
either slaves or slavery. Its two provisions relating to the
subject were the following:
" The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now
existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress
prior to the year one thousand, eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty
may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each
person." .
" No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof,
escaping into another shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein,
be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim
of the party to whom such service or labor may be due."

OF .lOHN SHERMAN. 99
The first clause quoted was intended to enable Congress to
prohibit the introduction of slaves after the year 1808, and this
was promptly done. The second provision was intended to
authorize the recaptu^re of slaves esca.ping from their owners
to another state. It was the general expectation of the
framers of the constitution that under its provisions slavery
would be gradually abolished by the acts of the several states
where it was recognized.
The first great controversy that grew out of slavery was
whether Missouri should be admitted into the Union as a slave
state, and whether slavery should exist in the western terri
tories. The following provision became part of the law of March
6, 1820, approved by President James Monroe, and known as
the compromise measure of that year :
"That, in all that territory coded by France to the United States under
the name of ' Louisiana,' which lies north of 86 deg. 30 min. north latitude,
not included wltliin the limits of the state contemplated by this act, slavery
and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes
whereof tlio ])arty shall have been duly convicted, shall be and is hereby,
forever prohibited: J'rorlded, a,hnays. That any person escaping into the
same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any other state or
territory of tho United States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and
conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service, as aforesaid."
This compromise measure fixed the boundary line between
free and slave states in all the territories then belonging to
the United States. Slavery was thus forever prohibited within
the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska. This happy solution
was regarded as something more than a mere enactment of
Congress. It was a territorial division between the two great
sections of our country, acquiesced in by both without question
or disturbance for thirty-four years. The memorable contro
versy that arose in the 31st Congress in 1850 in respect to the
territory acquired from Mexico did not in the least affect or
relate to the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas. The subject-
matter of the several bills originally embraced in Mr. Clay's
report of the committee of thirteen, defined the northern
boundary of the State of Texas on the line of 36 deg. 30 min.

100 RECOLLECTIONS
north latitude, provided for the addition of the State of Cali
fornia, for territorial governments for New Mexico and Utah,
and for the surrender of fugitive slaves.
In the resolution annexing Texas to the United States
there is this express recognition of the Missouri Compromise
line: "New states of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in addi
tion to said State of Texas, and having sufficient population, may hereafter,
by the consent of said state, be formed out of the territory thereof, which
shall be entitled to aclmissi07i under tho provisions of the Federal constitu
tion; and such states as may be formed out of that jiortioii of said territory
lying south of 36 deg. 30 min. north latitude, commonly known as the Mis
souri Compromise line, shall be admitted into the Union with or without
slavery, as the people of each state asking admission may dosire."
The convention providing for the admission of California
expressly stipulated by a unanimous vote that slavery should
be forever prohibited in that state. The bill providing for a
territorial government for Noav Mexico, the great body of the
territory of which lay south of tho parallel of latitude 36 deg.
.30 min., provided, "That, when admitted as a state, the said
territory, or any portion of the same, shall be received into the
Union, with or without slavery, as their constitution may
prescribe at the time of their admission."
The act organizing the Territory of Utah, lying entirely
north of the 37th degree of latitude, contains no provision
recognizing the right of the people of that territory to permit
slavery within its borders. The situation of the state and its
population precluded the possibility of establishing slavery
within its borders.
It will be perceived that by the compromise measures of
1820 and 1850, the existence or prohibition of slavery was fixed
by express laws, or by conditions which it was fondly believed
defined the limits of slavery, and thus set at rest the only
question that threatened the union of the states. This settle
ment was indorsed and ratified by the two great parties in
their national platforms of 1852, with the solemn pledge of
both parties that they Avould resist the re-opening of these
questions.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 101
The Senate of the 33rd Congress was composed of 36 Demo
crats, 20 Wliigs and 2 Kroo Soilers. The House was composed
of 159 Democrats, 71 Whigs, and 4 Free Soilers, with Franklin
Pierce as President of the United States.
I need not narrate the long struggle in both Houses over the
bill to organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas. It was
a direct invitation for a physical struggle between the north
and south for the control of these territories, but it finally
passed on the 30th of May, 1854.
This act repealed in express terms the Missouri Compromise
of 1820, and falsely stated the terms of the compromise
measures of 1850, which, as I have shown, had no reference
whatever to the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas. It re
opened, in the most dangerous form, the struggle between
freedom and slavery in the western territories, and was the
congressional beginning of the contest which culminated in
the War of the Rebellion.
It is difficult, at this distance of time, to describe the effect
of the a,ct of 1854 upon popular opinion in the northern states.
The repeal was met in Ohio by an overwhelming sentiment of
oi)position. All Avho voted for the bill were either refused a
nomination or were defeated by the people at the polls.
Party lines were obliterated. In every congressional
district a fusion was formed of Democrats, Whigs and Free
Soilers, and candidates for Congress Avere nominated solely
upon the issues made by the Kansas and Nebraska bill.
I had carefully observed the progress of the bill, had read
the arguments for and against it, and was strongly convinced
that it was the duty of every patriotic citizen to oppose its
provisions. The firm resolve was declared by the state con
vention of Ohio, composed of men of all parties, that the
institution of slavery should gain no advantage by this act of
perfidy. It was denounced as a violation of a plain specific
pledge of the public faith made by acts of Congress in 1820
and in 1850. With this feeling there ran current a conviction
that the measure adopted was forced by southern domination,
and yielded to by ambitious northern dough-faces anxious to
obtain southern support.

102 RECOLLECTIONS
Unfortunately the drift of parties was on sectional lines.
The whole south had become Democratic, so that a united
south, acting in concert with a few members from the north,
could control the action of Congress. I believe that a feeling
did then prevail with many in the south, that they were supe
rior to men of the north, that one southern man could whip
four Yankees, that their institution of slavery naturally pro
duced among the masters, men of superior courage, gentlemen
Avho could command and make others obey. Whether such a
feeling did exist or not, it was apparent that the political lead
ers in the south were, as a rule, men of greater experience,
were longer retained in the service of their constituents, and
held higher public positions than their associates from the
north. Besides, they had in slavery a bond of union that did
not tolerate any difference of opinion when its interests were
involved. This compact power needed the assistance only of a
few scattered members from the north to give it absolute con
trol. But now the south was to meet a different class of
opponents. There had been growing all over the north, es
pecially in the minds of religious people, a conviction that
slavery was wrong. The literature of the day promoted this
tendency. The repeal of the- Missouri Compromise aroused
the combative feeling of the north until it became general
among all parties and sects. Still, the north recognized the
legal existence of slavery in the south, and did not propose to
interfere with it, and was entirely content to faithfully observe
the obligations of the constitution and the laws, including
those for the return of fugitive slaves. A smaller, but very
noisy body of men and women denounced the constitution as
" a covenant with hell and a contract with the devil." A much
larger number of conservative voters formed themselves
into a party called the Free Soil party, who, professing to
be restrained within constitutional limits, yet favored the
abolition of slavery in the territories and District of Colum
bia. They invoked the moral influence and aid of the
government for the gradual prohibition of slavery in the
states. " Liberty is National, Slavery is Sectional," was their
motto.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 103
The strong controlling feeling of the great body of the
Whigs and of the Democrats of the north, who opposed the
Nebraska and Kansas law was that the law was a violation of
existing compromises, designed to extend slavery over free ter
ritory, that it ought to be repealed, but, if repeal Avas imprac
ticable, organized effort should be made to make both
territories free states. " Slavery shall gain no advantage over
freedom by violating compromises," was the cry of a new
party, as yet without a name.
It was on this basis in the summer of 1854, I became a can
didate for Congress. Jacob Brinkerhoff and Thomas H. Ford,
both residents of Richland county, Ohio, and gentlemen of
experience and ability, were also candidates, but we agreed to
submit our pretensions to a convention in that county, and I
was selected by a very large majority. A district convention
was held at Shelby, in July. Mr. James M. Root, for several
terms a Member of Congress, was my chief competitor, but I
was nominated, chiefly because I had been less connected with
old parties and would encounter less prejudice with the dis
cordant element of a new party.
I made a thorough canvass through the district, composed
of the counties of Huron; Erie, Richland and Morrow. I vis
ited and spoke in every town and township in the district.
William D. Lindsley, a Member of the 33rd Congress, was my
competitor. He was a farmer, of popular manners, but defect
ive education. When first a candidate a letter of his was
published in which he spelled the word " corn " " korne." The
Whig newspapers ridiculed him for his faulty spelling, but
Democrats, who were offended at this criticism said they would
show the Whigs how to plant corn, and the incident proved a
lienefit rather than an injury to Lindsley. He had been elected
to Congress in 1852 against a popular Whig by a majority of
754. He had voted against the Nebraska bill, but had cast one
vote that opened the Avay to the consideration of that bill,
which action was made the subject of criticism. This did not
enter as a national element in the canvass. The real issue
was whether the Democrats and Free Soilers would vote
for a Whig. Among the Free Soilers I was regarded as too

104 RECOLLECTIONS
conservative on the slavery question. They were not content
with the repeal of the offensive provisions of the Nebraska
act, but demanded the prohibition of slavery in all the terri
tories and in the District of Columbia. This feeling was very
strong in the important county of Huron.
When I spoke in North Fairfield I was interrupted by the
distinct question put to me by the pastor of the church in
which I spoke, and whose name I do not recall, whether I would
vote for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.
I knew this was a turning point, but made up my mind to be
frank and honest, whatever might be the result. I answered
that I would not, that the great issue was the extension of
slavery over the territories. I fortified myself by the opinions
of John Q. Adams, but what I said fell like a wet blanket on
the audience. I understood that afterwards, in a church meet
ing, the preacher commended my frankness and advised his
people to vote for me.
This canvass, more than any other, assumed a religious
tone, not on sectarian, but on moral grounds. Our meetings
were frequently held in churches, and the speaker was invited
to the pulpit, with the Bible and hymn-book before him, and
frequently with an audience of men, women and children,
arranged as for religious worship.
The probable course of Democrats opposed to the Nebraska
bill was more a matter of doubt. They were in the main
content with Mr. Lindsley and voted for him. But out of the
general confusion of parties there arose what Avas known as
the "Know-nothing" order, or American party, opposed to the
Catholics, and to free immigration. It was a secret organiza
tion, with signs and grips. There were perhaps one thousand
of them in my district, composed about equally of Democrats
and Whigs. They were indifl'erent, or neutral, on the political
issue of the day.
The result of the election in October was against the
Democratic party in Ohio. Every Democratic candidate for
Congress was defeated. Twenty-one Members, all opposed
to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, but differing in
opinion upon other questions, were elected to Congress. The

efr-

THE STATE OF OHIO, EXECUTIVE OFFICE.

@®'sisiB!3®[B a!i!iB e®iniifliaii3®iia"[]!i3=®[aflE!? m iriag 8T/a?@ m ©ao®,
^/o detedu y^et/.j^., mat, at tne/ G't/itue/it G/eciion'. dcta 01/ tde/ G^^j
<»ic/ (§^a£4(/aif of €cfodeP /aJt,  ^^/-i^/ ¦ -^^jf^^^^-^^ ,^,^.^
wa4 ccu^ e/ectea a ^Ce/ncrieiftattve/ in/ tde/ P%*-^-:^k^^s««-*=^!^__
i^ongtifi of tde/ '^mt'tee^ (^ttUf,ti,fioiii/ tde/ P%>-<>— ^^;;^^.^.^^g^ 
j^cnatfiwnai Ql/iitztct, zvimi}z/ tde/ &tate/ afoicoaccf.
3n iiTCStimOUQ tOliertJOf, <^dafC' /MuuUa ou£iai/eJm^
name, am/ auueJ/M '^eat w^u 0/ me @r}a&/ 0/ C/Aiit
/bk /t/ ^cjut/i&i ft/u'.?rt(/; at, Mt/ ^</a t^ ^otttm^tM, //4a>
.....^feW-tSS;^.^  <i^yf.orf<Sn«tf**;vrs!??»»*i?...

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 105
composition of the delegation was somewhat peculiar, as the
party had no name, and no defined principles except upon the
one question of the extension of slavery. On the day of elec
tion everyone was in doubt. Mr. Kirkwood, who supported
Mr. Lindsley, told me it was the strangest election he had ever
seen, that everyone brought his ticket in his vest pocket, and
there was no electioneering at the polls. He expressed his
opinion, but not with much confidence, that Mr. Lindsley was
elected. When the votes were counted, it was found that I
had 2,823 majority, having carried every county in the district.
Richland county, in which I lived, for the first time cast a
majority adverse to the Democratic party, I receiving a
majority of over 300 votes.
During the summer of 1855, the elements of opposition to
the administration of President Pierce organized as the Repub
lican party. County conventions vvere generally held and
largely attended. The state convention met at Columbus on
the 13th day of July, 1855. It was composed of heterogeneous
elements, every shade of political opinion being represented.
Such antipodes as Giddings, Loiter, Chase, Brinkerhoff, and
Lew Campbell met in concert. The first question that
troubled the convention was the selection of a president. It
was thought impolitic to take one who had been offensively
conspicuous in one of the old parties. The result was that
I was selected, much to my surprise, and, for a time, much to
my chagrin. Mr. Allison, since a distinguished Member of the
United States Senate, was elected secretary of the convention.
I had never presided over any assembly excepting an Odd
Fellows' lodge. When I assumed the chair I no doubt soon
exposed my inexperience. A declaration of principles was
formulated as follows:
1. Resolved, That the people who constitute the supreme power in the
United States, should guard with jealous care the rights of the several
states, as independent governments. No encroachment upon their legislative
or judicial prerogatives should be permitted from any quarter.
2. Resolved, That the people of the State of Ohio, mindful of the bless
ings conferred upon them by the " Ordinance of Freedom," whose anniver
sary our convention tliis day commemorates, should establish for their polit
ical guidance the following cardinal rules:

106 RECOLLECTIONS
(1). We will resent the spread of slavery under whatever shape or color
it may be attempted.
(2). To this end we will labor incessantly to render inoperative and void
that portion of the Kansas and Nebraska bill which abolishes freedom in tjie
territory withdrawn from the influence of slavery by the Missouri Com
promise of 1820; and we will oppose by every lawful and constitutional
moans, tho extension of slavery in any iiatii)iial territory, and the further
iiicrcaao of slavery territory or slave slates in tills republican confederacy.
3. Resolved, That the recent acts of violence and Civil War in Kansas,
incited by the late Vice President of the United States, and tacitly en
couraged by the Executive, command the emphatic condemnation of every
citizen. 4. Resolved, That a proper retrenchment in all public expenditures, a
thoroughly economical administration of our state government, a just and
equal basis of taxation, and single districts for the election of members of
the legislature, are reforms called for by a wise state policy and justly
demanded by the people.
5. Resolved, That a state central committee, consisting of five, be
appointed by this convention, and the said committee, in addition to its usual
duties, be authorized to correspond with commiltocs of otlier slates for tlie
purpose of agreeing upon a time and place for holding a national convention
of the Republican party for the nomination of President and Vice President.
Joshua R. Giddings was the solitary member of the com
mittee opposed to the resolutions, not, he said, because he
objected to the resolutions themselves, but he thought they
were a little too tender. They were not strong enough for the
old guard and still they were better than none. If it offended
his brother to eat meat he would eat no more while time
lasted. He was opposed to this milk for babes. He dis
agreed with his colleagues, but had had the misfortune to
disagree with people before. He was used to disagreement
and hoped everybody would vote for the platform.
Lewis D. Campbell said his friend from Ashtabula wanted
to make an issue with Frank Pierce. He did not wish to raise
an issue with the dead. He hoped everybody would vote for the
platform. He did not consider the resolutions milk for babes,
but strong meat.
The platform was adopted by a unanimous vote.
The real contention was upon the nomination of governor.
Salmon P. Chase was nominated, but there was dilTerence of
opinion concerning his somewhat varied political associations

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 107
and some criticism of them. In 1845 he had projected what was
called a liberty convention. Tn 1848 he had been a member
of the Fi:ee Soil convention held at Buffalo and since 1849 had
been a Senator of the United States. Thomas H. Ford, my
townsman, was nominated as lieutenant governor, as the
representative of the Whig party. Jacob Brinkerhoff, also of
Mansfield, was nominated as judge of the Supreme Court. He
had been a Member of Congress from 1843 to 1847 as a Demo
crat, but early took decided ground against the extension of
slavery. He was the reputed author of what is known as the
" Wilmot Proviso."
On the 8th day of August this famous proviso Avas offered
as an amendment to a bill authorizing the President of the
United States to employ $3,000,000 in negotiations for a peace
with Mexico, by purchase of territory, by David Wilmot, of
Pennsylvania, a Member of the House. "That, as an express
fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory from
the Republic of Mexico by the United States, neither slavery
nor involuntary servitude should ever exist in any part of said
territory. " This i^roviso was adopted by the House, but was
rejected l)y tho Senate. It was the basis of tho organization
known as the Free Soil party of 1848, and of the Republican
party in 1856.
The other candidates on the ticket' were fairly distributed.
The canvass of 1855 was conducted mainly by Senator
Chase and Colonel Ford. I participated in it to some extent,
but was chiefly engaged in closing my business in preparation
for the approaching session of Congress. The result of the
election was as follows: Chase, 146,770 votes; Medill, 131,019;
Allen Trimble, 24,276.
The election of Senator Chaise, upon a distinctly Republican
platform, established the fact that the majority of the voters of
Ohio Avere Republicans as defined by the creed of that party.
In the summer of 1855 I made my first trip to Iowa, accom
panied by Amos Townsend and James Cobean. At that time
Iowa was a far-off state, thinly populated, but being rapidly
settled. We passed through Chicago, which at that time con
tained a population of about 50,000. The line of railroad

108 REOOLLECTIONS
extended to the Mississippi River. From thence we traveled in
a stage to Des Moines, now the capital of Iowa, but then a
small village with about 1,000 inhabitants. The northern and
western parts of the state were mostly unsold public lands, open
to entry. My three brothers, James, Lampson and Hoyt, were
living in Des Moines. James was a merchant in business.
Lampson was the editor and proprietor of a newspaper, and
Hoyt was actively engaged in the purchase and sale of land.
With Hoyt for guide we drove in a carriage as far north as
Fort Dodge, where a new land office had been recently estab
lished. The whole country was an open plain with here and
there a cabin, with no fences and but little timber. We
arrived at Fort Dodge on Saturday evening, intending to spend
some time there in locating land. The tavern at which we
stopped was an unfinished frame building with no plastering,
and sash without glass in the windoAvs. On the next day, Sun
day, Cobean invited us to join him in drinking some choice
whisky he had brought with him. We did so in the dining-
room. While thus engaged the landlady came to us and told
Cobean that she was not very well, and would be glad if he
would give her some whisky. He handed her the bottle, and she
went to the other end of the room and there poured out nearly
a glass full and drank it. Cobean was so much alarmed lest
the woman should become drunk that he insisted upon leaving
the town immediately, and we acquiesced and left. After
wards we learned that she became very drunk, and the land
lord was very violent in denouncing us for giving her whisky,
but we got outside the county before the sun went down. I
had frequent occasion to be in Fort Dodge afterwards, but
heard nothing more of the landlord or his wife.
Tho road to Council Bluifs from Des Moines was over a
high rolling prairie with scarcely any inhabitants. The
village of Omaha, opposite Council Bluffs, contained but a few
frame houses of little value. The settlement of Iowa and Ne
braska after this period is almost marvelous. Iowa now (1895),
contains over 2,000,000 and Nebraska over 1,200,000 people.
The twelve states composing the north central division of the
United States contained 5,403,595 inhabitants in 1850, and now

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 109
number over 24,000,000, or more than quadruple the number in
1850, and more than tho entire pojiulation of the United States
in that year. I have frequently visited these states since, and
am not surprised at their wonderful growth. I believe there
is no portion of the earth's surface of equal area which is sus
ceptible of a larger population than that portion of the United
States lying north of the Ohio River, and between the Alle
gheny Mountains and the Missouri River.

CHAPTER V.
Early Days in Congress.
My First Speech in the House — Struggle for the Possession of Kansas —
Appointed as a Member ot the Kansas Investigating Coininittoo— The
Invasion of March 30th, 1855 — Exciting Scenes in the Second
District of Kansas — Similar Violence in Other Territorial
Districts — Return and Report ot the Committee — No
Relief Afforded the People of Kansas — Men of
Distinction in the 34th Congress — Long
Intimacy with Schuyler Colfax.
IN 1854 the Whig party had disappeared from the roll of
parties in the United States. It was a bad name for a
good party. English in its origin, it had no significance
in American politics. The word " Democratic," as applied
to the opposing party, was equally a misnomer. The word
" Democracy," from which it is derived, means a government
of the people, but the controlling power of the Democratic
party resided in the southern states, where a large portion of
the people were slaves, and the ruling class were slaveholders,
and the name was not applicable to such a people. The Repub
lican party then represented the progressive tendency of the
age, the development of the country, the opposition to slavery
and the preservation of the Union. It was about to engage in
a political contest for the administration of the government.
It was in the minority in the Senate, and had but a bare plu
rality in the House. It had to contest with an adverse Execu
tive and Supreme Court, with a well-organized party in posses
sion of all the patronage of the government, in absolute con
trol of the slaveholding states, and supported by strong minor
ities in each of the free states.
This was the condition of parties when the 34th Congress
met in the old halls of the Senate and House of Representa
tives on the 3rd of December, 1855. The Senate was composed
of 43 Democrats and 17 Republicans. There were four vacan
cies. The House was composed of 97 Republicans, 82 Demo
crats, and 45 classed as Third Party men, mostly as Americans.
(110)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. lH
Eight Members were absent, and not yet classified. An unu
sual proportion of the Members were new in public life, the
result of the revolution of parties caused by the Nebraska bill.
The Senate was already organized with Mr. Bright, of Indiana,
as president jnv tempore.
The first duty of the House was to elect a speaker, a major
ity of the Members present being necessary to a choice. The
balloting for speaker continued until February 2, 1856, when
Nathaniel P. Banks was elected under the plurality rule.
During these two months the House was without a speaker,
and also without rules except the general principles of parlia
mentary law. The clerk of the last House of Representatives
presided. Innumerable speeches were made, some of them
very long, but many brief ones were made by the new Mem
bers who took the occasion to air their oratory. Timothy
Day, one of my colleagues, a cynical bachelor and proprietor
of the Cincinnati "Commercial," who sat by my side, was con
stantly employed in writing for his paper. When a new
voice was heard he would put his hand to his ear, listen awhile
and then, turning impatiently to his writing, would say to me:
"Another dead cock in the pit." This cynical suppression of
a new Member rather alarmed me, but on the 9th of January,
as appears from the "Globe," I ventured to make a few re
marks. When I sat down I turned to Mr. Day and said: "An
other dead cock in the pit." He relieved me by saying: "Not
quite so bad as that." The first speech I made in the House
contained my political creed at the time. I here insert a para
graph or two:
" I desire to say a few words ; and I would preface them with the
remark, that I do not intend, while I have a seat in this House, to occupy
much of its time in speaking. ]5ut I wish to state now why I have voted,
and shall continue to vote, for Mr. Banks. I care not whether he is a mem
ber of the American party or not. I have been informed that he is, and I
believe that he is. But I repeat I care not to what party he belongs. I
understood him to take this position, — that the repeal of the Missouri Com
promise was an act of great dishonor, and that under no circumstances what
ever will he — if he have the power — allow the institution of human slavery
to derive any benefit from that repeal. That is my position. I have been a
Whig, but I will yield all party preferences, and will act in concert with men

112 RECOLLECTIONS
of all parties and opinions who will steadily aid in preserving our western
territories for free labor; and I say now, that I never will vote for a man for
speaker of this house, unless he convinces me, by his conduct and by his voice,
that he never will, if he has the power to prevent it, allow the institution of
slavery to derive any advantage from repealing the compromise of 1820.
"I believe Mr. Banks will be true to that principle, and, therefore, I
vote for him without regard to his previous political associations, or to his
adherence to the American party. 1 volo for him Biiiqily boi;auBo he has
had the manliness to say here, that, having the power, he will resist the
encroachments of slavery, even by opposing the admission of any slave state
that may be formed out of the territory north and west of Missouri."
Notwithstanding the promise I made not to occupy much
of the time of the House in speaking, and the cynicism of my
friend Day, I did partake frequently in the debate on the
organization of the House. I became involved in a contest
with Mr. Dunn, of Indiana, who had steadily refused to vote
for Mr. Banks for speaker, to which I deemed proper to
refer. He said he was not to be deterred from performing his
duty, as he understood it, by the criticisms of the "neophyte"
from Ohio. I replied at considerable length and with some
feeling. In my reply I repeated my position in respect to the
repeal of the Missouri Compromise, declaring: "If the repeal
was wrong all northern and southern men alike ought to help
to reinstate that restriction. Nothing less than that will sat
isfy the country; and if it is not done, as it probably will not
be, we will maintain our position of resisting the admission of
Kansas as a slave state, under all possible circumstances."
Later on in the debate I declared:
"I am no Abolitionist in the sense in which the term is used; I have
always been a conservative Whig. I was willing to stand by the compro
mises of^ 1820 and 1850; but, when our Whig brethren of the south allow this
administration to lead them off from their principles, when they abandon the
position which Henry Clay would have taken, forget his name and achieve
ments, and decline any longer to carry his banner — they lose all their claims
on me. And I say now, that until this wrong is righted, until Kansas is
admitted as a free state, I cannot act in party association with them.
Whenever that question is settled rightly I will have no disposition to dis
turb the harmony which ought to exist between the north and south. I do
not propose to continue agitation ; I oidy apjiear here to demand justice, —
to demand compliance with compromises fully agreed upon and declared by
law. I ask no more, and I will gnbmit to no less."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 113
This was a narrow platform, but it was the one supported
by public opinion. I believed that a majority of the Members
called Americans, especially those from the south, were quite
Avilling that Kansas should be admitted as a free state, but
local pride prevented such a declaration. It is easy to perceive
now that if this had been promptly done the slavery question
would have been settled for many years. But that opportunity
Avas permitted to pass unused. The people, both north and
south, were thoroughly aroused. No compromise was possible.
The contest could only be settled by the force of superior num
bers. That was the logic of the Nebraska bill, which was an
appeal to the people of both sections, already greatly excited,
to struggle for, and, if necessary, to fight for the possession of
a large and beautiful territory. It forced the irrepressible
conflict in the most dangerous form.
On the one side were the border ruffians of Missouri, here
after described, backed by the general sentiment of the south,
and actively supported by the administration and by lead
ing Democrats who had held high positions in the public
service. On the other side were a large number of free state
men in the western states, who looked forward to the open
ing of Nebraska and Kansas as a new field of enterprise.
They were quite ready to fight for their opinions against
slavery. They were supported by a general feeling of resent
ment in the north, caused by the repeal of the Missouri Com
promise. Long before the meeting of Congress the actual struggle for
the possession of Kansas commenced. After the passage of the
Kansas bill we had reports in the newspapers of gross frauds
at pretended elections of rival legislatures, of murder and other
crimes, in short, of actual civil war in Kansas ; but the accounts
were contradictory. It was plainly the first duty of Congress
to ascertain the exact condition of affairs in that territory.
This could not be done until a speaker was elected.
On the 24th day of January, 1856, President Pierce sent to
the House of Representatives, still unorganized, a message
upon the condition of affairs in Kansas. A question was made
whether a message from the President could be received before

114 RECOLLECTIONS
a speaker had been elected, but it was decided that the naessage
should be read. The first paragraph is as follows :
" Circumstances have occurred to disturb the course of governmental
organization in the Territory of Kansas, and produce there a condition of
things which renders it incumbent on me to call your attention to the sub
ject, and urgently to recommend the adoption by you of such measures of
legislation as the grave exigencies of tlie case appear to rccjulre."
The President then gave his exposition of the condition of
affairs in that territory. This exposition was regarded as a
partisan one in favor of the so-called pro-slavery legislative
assembly, which met the 2nd day of July, 1855. He recom
mended "that a special appropriation be made to defray any
expense which may become requisite in the execution of the
laws or the maintenance of public order in the Territory of
Kansas." This was regarded as a threat of the employment of the
army to enforce the enactments of a usurping legislature.
Congress took no action upon the message until after the
organization of the House. On the 14th of January, 1856, a
motion was made by Mr. Houston that the message of the
President, in reference to the Territory of Kansas, be referred
to the committee of the whole on the state of the Union. This
motion was agreed to. No further action was taken upon the
message, but it remained in abeyance. Congress was not pre
pared to act without full information of the actual condition of
affairs in that territory.
On the 19th of March, 1856, the House of Representatives
adopted a series of resolutions offered by Mr. Dunn, of Indiana,
as follows :
"Resolved, That a committee of three of the Members of this House, to be
appointed by the speaker, shall proceed to inquire into and collect evidence
in regard to the troubles in Kansas generally, and particularly in regard to
any fraud or force attempted, or practiced, in reference to any of the elec
tions whioh have taken place in said territory, either under ihe law organiz
ing said territory, or under any pretended law which may be alleged
to have taken effect therein since. That they shall fully investigate and
take proof of all violent and tumultuous proceedings in said territory at
any time since the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska act, whetlier engaged in
by residents of said territory, or by any person or persons from elsewhere

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 115
going hito said territory and doing, or encouraging others to do, any act of
violence or public diHtiirbaiuie against tho laws of the- United States, or the
rlgiits, peace, and safety of the residents of said territory ; and for that pur
pose said committee shall have full power to send for and examine and take
copies of all such papers, public records, and proceedings, as in their judg
ment will be useful in the premises ; and also, to send for persons and
examine them on oath, or affirmation, as to matters within their knowledge
touching tho matters of said investigation ; and said committee, by their
chairman, shall have power to administer all necessary oaths or aiBrmations
connected with their aforesaid duties.
^'¦Resolved, fu7-ther, That said committee may hold their investigations
at such places and times as to them may seem advisable, and that they may
have leave of absence from the duties of this House until they shall have
completed such investigation. That they be authorized to employ one or
more clerks, and one or more assistant sorgeants-at-arms, to aid them in tlieir
investigation ; and may administer to them an oath or affirmation faithfully
to perform the duties assigned to them respectively, and to keep secret all
matters, which may come j their knowledge touching such investigation as
said committee shall direct, until the report of the same shall be submitted
to this House ; and said committee may discharge any such clerk or
assistant sergeant-at-arms for neglect of duty or disregard of instructions in
the premises, and employ others under like regulations.
"Resohied, further, Tiiat if any person shall in any manner obstruct or
hinder said committee, or attemjit so to do, in their investigation, or shall
refuse to attend on said committee, and to give evidence when summoned
for that purpose, or shall refuse to produce any papers, book, public record,
or other proceeding in their possession or control, to said committee, when so
required, or shall m.ake any disturbance where said committee are holding
their sittings, said committee may, if they see fit, cause any and every such
person to be arrested by said assistant sergeant-at-arms, and brought before
this House, to be dealt with as for a contempt.
"Resolved, further, That for the purpose of defraying the expenses of
said commission, there be and hereby is appropriated the sum of ten thou
sand ($10,000) dollars, to be paid out of the contingent fund of this House.
"Resolved, further, That the President of the United States be and is
hereby requested to furnish to said committee, should they be met with any
serious opiiosition by bodies of lawless mon in tho discharge of their duties
aforesaid, such aid from any military force as may, at the time, be con
venient to them, as may be necessary to remove such opposition, and enable
said committee, without molestation, to proceed with their labors.
" Resolved, fxwther. That when said committee shall have completed said
investigation, they report all the evidence so collected to this House."
On the 25th of March, 1856, the speaker appointed Lewis
D. Campbell, of Ohio, William A. Howard, of Michigan, and

1 ] 6 RECOLLECTIONS
Mordecai Oliver, of Missouri, as the special committee of the
House under the above resolution. On the same day Mr. Camp
bell requested to be excused from the committee referred to,
and I was appointed by the speaker in his place, leaving Mr.
Howard as chairman.
I accepted the position assigned me with much dilHdence.
I knew it was a laborious one, that it would take me away
from my duties in the House, expose me to a great deal of
fatigue and some danger, yet I felt that the appointment on so
important a committee was a high compliment when given to
a new Member, and at once made preparations for the task
before me. ,
The committee organized at the city of Washington, on the
27th of March, 1856.
Mrs. Sherman expressed a strong desire to accompany me.
I tried to frighten her from going, but this made her more
resolute, and I consented. She remained with or near us dur
ing our stay in Kansas and Missouri, and for a time was accom
panied by Mrs. Oliver, a charming lady, to whom we were much
indebted for kindness and civility where most of her sex were
unfriendly. The investigation continued from our arrival at St. Louis, on
the 12th day of April, 1856, until our arrival at Detroit, on the
17tli day of June following, and was conducted in all respects
like a judicial trial. The testimony taken filled an octavo
volume of 1,188 pages.
Mr. HoAvard, during our stay in Kansas, was not in very
good health, but he never relaxed in his labor until the testi
mony closed. He was a man of marked ability, a good lawyer,
conservative in all his ideas and tendencies, and thoroughly
fair and impartial. At his request I accompanied him, with
our excellent corps of assistants, to his home in Detroit, where
his health so failed that he was confined to his bed for a week.
This threw upon me the preparation of the report. The reso
lutions, under which we were acting, did not require a report
from the committee, but only required a report of all the
evidence collected, to the House of Representatives, but we
felt that such a report without a summary of the evidence

KANSAS INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE.

BSORDECAT OLIVER,
COMUISSIONCH.

W. BLAIR LORD,
BTENOQRAPHCR.

WM. A. HOWARD,
CHAIRMAN^

JOHN UPTON,
BLBGEANT-AT-ARMS.

JOHN SHERMAN,
COMMlsejONEn

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 117
and principal facts proven would not be satisfactory to the
House. The majority and minority reports contained 109 pages of
printed matter and entered into full details as to the condition
of affairs in that territory, and of every election held therein.
When the act to organize the Territory of Kansas was passed.
May 30, 1854, the greater portion of the eastern border of the
territory was included in Indian reservations not open for set
tlements, and in no portion were there more than a few white
settlers. The Indian population of the territory was rapidly
decreasing, while many emigrants from different parts of the
country, were anxiously waiting the extinction of the Indian
title, and the establishment of a territorial government, to
seek new homes on the fertile prairies which would be opened
to settlement. It cannot be doubted that if the free condition
of Kansas had been left undisturbed by Congress, that territory
would have had a rapid, peaceful, and prosperous settlement.
Its climate, its soil, and its easy access to the older settlements,
would have made it the favored course for the tide of emigra
tion constantly flowing to the west, and in a brief period it
would have been admitted into the Union as a free state, with
out sectional excitement. If so organized, none but the kindest
feelings would have existed between its citizens and those of
the adjoining State of Missouri. Their mutual interests and in
tercourse, instead of endangering the harmony of the Union,
would have strengthened the ties of national brotherhood.
The testimony taken by the committee clearly showed that
before the proposition to repeal the Missouri Compromise was
introduced into Congress, the people of western Missouri were
indifferent to the prohibition of slavery in the territory, and
neither asked nor desired its repeal.
When, however, the prohibition was removed by the action
of Congress, the aspect of affairs entirely changed. The whole
country was agitated by the reopening of a controversy which
conservative men in different sections believed had been set
tled in every state and territory by some law beyond the
danger of repeal. The excitement which always accompanied
the discussion of the slavery question was greatly increased by

118 RECOLLECTIONS
the hope, on the one hand, of extending slavery into a region
from which it had been excluded by law; and, on the other, by
a sense of wrong done by what was regarded as a breach of
public faith. This excitement was naturally transferred into
the border counties of Missouri and the territory, as settlers
favoring free or slave institutions moved into them.
Within a few days after the organic law passed, and as soon
as its passage could be known on the border, leading citizens
of Missouri crossed into the territory, held "squatter meetings,"
voted at elections, committed crimes of violence, and then re
turned to their homes. This unlawful interference was con
tinued in every important stage in the history of the territory;
every election was controlled, not by the actual settlers, but by
the citizens of Missouri; and, as a consequence, every officer in
the territory, from constable to legislator, except those ap
pointed by the President, owed his position to non-resident
voters. None were elected by the settlers, and no political
power whatever, however important, was exercised by the
people of the territory.
In October, 1854, the Governor of Kansas, A. H. Reeder, and
other officers appointed by the President, arrived in the terri
tory. Settlers from all parts of the country came in great
numbers, entering their claims and building their cabins. The
flrst election was for delegate to Congress and was held on the
29th of November, 1854. The governor divided the territory
into seventeen election districts, appointed judges, and pre
scribed proper rules for the election. The report of the com
mittee enters into full details as to this election and all sub
sequent thereto in each district. The conduct of the election
in the second district, held at the village of Douglas, nearly
flfty miles from the Missouri line, is a fair specimen of all the
elections in Kansas. The report says:
" On the second day before the election large companies of men came
into the district in wagons and on horseback, and declared that they were
from the State of Missouri, and were going to Douglas to vote. On the
morning of the election they gathered around the house where the election
was to be held. Two of the judges appointed by the governor did not
appear, and other judges were selected by the crowd ; all then voted. In

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 119
order to make a pretense of right to vote, some persons of the company kept
a pretended register of squatter claims, on which anyone could enter his
name, and then assert he had a claim in the territory. A citizen of the dis
trict, who was himself a candidate for delegate to Congress was told by one
of the strangers that he would be abused, and probably killed, if he chal
lenged a vote. He was seized by the collar, called a damned Abolitionist,
and was compelled to seek protection in the room with the judges. About
the time the polls were closed these strangers mounted their horses and got
into thoir wagons and cried out, 'All aboard for Westport.' A number were
recognized as residents of Missouri, and among them was Samuel H. Wood
son, a leading lawyer of Independence. Of those whose names are on the
poll-books, 35 were resident settlers and 226 were non-residents."
In January and February, 1855, the governor, A. H. Reeder,
caused a census to be taken of the inhabitants and qualified
voters in Kansas. On the day the census was completed he
issued his proclamation for an election to be held March 30,
1855, for members of the legislative assembly of the territory.
The proclamation prescribed the boundaries of the districts,
the places for polls, the names of judges, the apportionment
of members, and the qualification of voters. Had it been
observed, a just and fair election would have reflected the
will of the people of Kansas. Before the election, however,
false and inflammatory rumors were busily circulated among
the people of western Missouri. They grossly exaggerated and
misrepresented the number and character of the emigration
then passing into the territory. By the active exertions of
many of the leading citizens, the passions and prejudices of
the people of that state Avere greatly excited. Several resi
dents of Missouri testified to the character of the reports cir
culated among and credited by the people. These efforts were
successful. By an organized movement, which extended from
Andrew county, in the north, to Jasper county, in the south,
and as far eastward as Boone and Cole counties (Missouri), com
panies of men were collected in irregular parties and sent
into every council district in the territory, and into every rep
resentative district but one. The men were so distributed as
to control the election in every district. They went to vote,
and with the avowed design to make Kansas a slave state.
They Avere generally armed and equipped, carrying with them
s.-io

120 RECOLLECTIONS
their own provisions and tents, and so marched into the
territory. As this election was for a legislature, the validity of which
was contested, the committee took great pains to procure testi
mony as to the election in each election district. The election
in the second district is a fair specimen. In that district, on
the morning of the election, the judges appointed by the gov
ernor appeared and opened the polls. Their names were
Harrison Burson, Nathaniel Ramsay and Mr. Ellison. The
Missourians began to arrive early in the morning, some 500 or
600 of them in wagons and carriages and on horseback, and
under the lead of Samuel J. Jones, then postmaster of West-
port, Missouri, Claiborne F. Jackson and a Mr. Steeley, of Inde
pendence, Missouri. They were armed with double-barreled
guns, rifles, bowie-knives and pistols, and had flags hoisted.
They held a sort of informal election off at one side, at first for
Governor of Kansas Territory, and shortly afterwards announced
Thomas Johnson, of Shawnee Mission, elected governor. The
polls had been opened but a short time when Mr. Jones marched
with the crowd up to the window and demanded that they be
allowed to vote, without swearing as to their residence. After
some noisy and threatening talk, Claiborne F. Jackson ad
dressed the crowd, saying they had come there to vote ; that
they had a right to vote if they had been there but five min
utes, and he was not willing to go home without voting ; this
was received with cheers. Jackson then called upon them
to form into little bands of fifteen or twenty, which they did,
and went to an ox-wagon filled with guns, which were dis
tributed among them, and proceeded to load some of them on
the ground. In pursuance of Jackson's request, they tied
white tape or ribbons in their button lioles, so as to distinguish
them from the "Abolitionists." They again demanded that the
judges resign. Upon their refusing to do so they smashed in
the window, sash and all, presented their pistols and guns, and
at the same time threatened to shoot. Some one on the outside
cried out not to shoot, as there were pro-slavery men in the
house with the judges. They then put a pry under the corner
of tho house, which was built of logs, lifted it up a few inches,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 121
and let it fall again, but desisted upon being again told that
there were jn-o-slavery men in the house. During this time the
crowd repeatedly demanded to be allowed to vote without
being sworn, and Mr. Ellison, one of the judges, expressed him
self willing, but the other two judges refused; thereupon a
body of men, headed by Sheriff Jones, rushed into the judges'
room with cocked pistols and drawn bowie-knives in their
hands, and approached Burson and Ramsay. Jones pulled out
his watch and said he would give them five minutes to resign
in, or die. When the five minutes had expired and the judges
had not resigned, Jones now said he would give them another
minute and no more. Ellison told his associates that if they did
not resign there would be one hundred shots fired in the room
in less than fifteen minutes, and then snatching up the ballot-
box ran out into the crowd, holding up the ballot-box and
hurrahing for Missouri. About that time Burson and Ramsay
Avere called out by their friends, and not suffered to return. As
Mr. Burson went out he put the ballot poll-books in his pocket
and took them with him, and as he was going out Jones
snatched some papers away from him, and shortly afterwards
came out himself, holding them up, crying, "Hurrah for
Missouri ! " After he discovered they were not the poll-books
he took a party of men with him and captured the books from
a Mr. Umberger, to whom Burson had given them. They then
chose two new judges and proceeded with the election. They
also threatened to kill the judges if they did not receive their
votes, or resign. They said no man should vote who would
submit to be SAVorn ; that they would kill any man who would
offer to do so. Some of the citizens who were about the win
dow, but had not voted when the crowd of Missourians marched
up, upon attempting to vote were driven back by the mob,
or driven off. One of them, Mr. I. M. Mace, was asked if
he would take the oath, and upon his replying that he would
if the judges required it, he was dragged through the crowd
away from the polls, amid cries of " kill the damned nigger-
thief," "cut his throat," "tear his heart out," etc. After they
got into the outside of the crowd they stood around him with
cocked revolvers and drawn bowie-knives, one man putting

122 RECOLLECTIONS
a knife to his breast so that it touched him, another holding a
cocked pistol to his ear, while another struck at him with
a club. The Missourians declared they had a right to vote, if they
had been in the territory but five minutes. Some said they
had been hired to come there and vote, and got a dollar a day,
"and by God they would vote or die there." They said the
30th day of March was an important day, as Kansas would be
made a slave state on that day. They began to leave in the
direction of Missouri in the afternoon, after they had voted,
leaving some thirty or forty around the house where the elec
tion was held, to guard the polls till after the election was over.
The citizens of the territory were not armed, except those who
took part in the mob, and a large portion of thein did not
vote. Three hundred and forty-one votes were polled there
that day, of which but some thirty were citizens. A protest
against the election was prepared and sent to the governor.
A similarly organized and conducted election was held in
each of the other districts of the territory, varying only in
degrees of fraud and violence. Tn the fifteenth district it was
proven that several hundred Missourians appeared and voted.
Several speeches were made at the polls, and among those Avho
spoke was Major Oliver, one of our committee. He urged all
persons to use no harsh words and expressed a hope that noth
ing would be said or done to wound the feelings of the most
sensitive on the other side, giving some reasons, based on the
Missouri Compromise, why they should vote, but he himself
did not vote. The whole number of votes cast in that district
was 417. The number of legal voters was about 80. Of the
names on the poll-book but 62 were on the census roll. But a
small portion, estimated at one-fourth of the legal voters, voted.
The validity of the so called pro-slavery legislature rested
upon this election. It is hardly necessary at this late day
to say that such a legislative body could not rightly assume
or lawfully exercise legislative functions over any laAV-abiding
community. Their enactments Avere, by every principle of laAv
and right, null and void. The existence of fraud at the elec
tion was admitted by every one, but it was defended on the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 123
ground that the New England Emigrant Aid Society had
imported a great number of emigrants into Kansas for the sole
purpose of making that territory a free state. This claim was
thoroughly investigated and the organization and history of
the society examined. The only persons who emigrated into
the territory under the auspices of this company in 1855, prior
to the election in March, was a party of 169 persons who came
under the charge of Charles Robinson, and of whom sixty-
seven were women and children. They came as actual
settlers, intending to make their homes in the territory, and
for no other purpose. Some of them returned, but most of
them became settlers. A few voted at the election in Law
rence but the number was small. The names of these emi
grants were ascertained and thirty-seven of them were found
upon the poll-books. This company of peaceful emigrants,
moving with their household goods, was distorted into an
invading horde of pauper Abolitionists, who were, with others
of a similar character, to control the domestic institutions of
the territory, and then overturn those of a neighboring state.
Tho invasion of March 30 loft both parties in a state of
excitement, tending directly to produce violence. The suc
cessful party was lawless and reckless, while assuming the
name of the " Law and Order" party. The Free State party, at
first surprised and confounded, was greatly irritated, but soon
resolved to prevent the success of the invasion. In some
districts, protests were sent to the governor; in others such
action was prevented by threats, in others by want of time,
and in others by the belief that a new election would bring
a new invasion. About the same time, all classes of men com
menced carrying deadly weapons about their persons. Under
these circumstances, a slight or accidental quarrel produced
unusual violence. Lawless acts became frequent and passed
unpunished. This unhappy condition of the public mind was
further increased by acts of violence in western Missouri,
where, in April, a newspaper, called the "Parkville Luminary,"
was destroyed by a mob, and numerous acts of violence and
homicides committed. Some innocent persons were unlaw
fully arrested and others ordered to leave the territory. The

124 RECOLLECTIONS
first one notified to leave was William Phillips, a lawyer of
Leavenworth, and upon his refusal the mob forcibly seized
him, took him across the river, carried him several miles into
Missouri, and then tarred and feathered him, shaving one side
of his head and committing other gross indignities upon his
person. Judge Lecompte, chief justice of the territory, Colonel
L. N. Burns, of Weston, Missouri, and others, took part in and
made speeches at a bitterly partisan meeting, the tendency
of Avhich was to produce violence and disorder.
After the most careful examination of the poll-books and
the testimony taken, we were convinced beyond all doubt that
the election of the 30th of March, 1855, was utterly void. It
was the result of an organized invasion from the State of
Missouri, a lawless seizure of the conduct of the election, and
the open voting by thousands of persons who neither resided
in nor pretended to be inhabitants of Kansas. Not content
with voting they made false returns of votes never cast, and
excluded legal voters because they were "Abolitionists."
A more wanton and shameless overthrow of popular rights
cannot be found in history.
The so-called legislative assembly, thus elected, met at
Pawnee, on the 2nd of July, 1855. It attempted to make laws
for Kansas, and to that end adopted, in substance, the laws of
the State of Missouri in gross as .the laws for the territory,
but, to retain its power, it provided that every officer of the
territory, executive and judicial, was to be appointed by the
legislature, or by some officer appointed by it.
The legality of this legislature was denied by the great
majority of the people who never acquiesced in or obeyed its
enactments, thus taking the only course open to them to secure
a lawful government.
While the alleged legislative assembly was in session, a
movement was instituted to form a state government, and
apply for admission into the Union as a state. The first step
taken by the people of the territory, in consequence of the
invasion of March 30, 1855, was the circulation, for .signature,
of a graphic and truthful memorial to Congress. Every alle
gation in this memorial was sustained by the testimony. No

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 125
further step was taken, as it was hoped that some action by
the general government would protect them in their rights.
When the alleged legislative assembly proceeded to construct
the series of enactments referred to, the settlers were of
opinion that submission to them would result in entirely
depriving them of the rights secured to them by the organic
law. Their political condition was freely discussed in the terri
tory during the summer of 1855. Several meetings were held
in reference to holding a convention to form a state govern
ment, and to apply for admission into the Union as a state.
Public opinion gradually settled in favor of such an applica
tion to the Congress to meet in December, 1855. The first gen
eral meeting was held in Lawrence, on the 15th of August,
1855. Other meetings were held in various parts of the terri
tory, which indorsed the action of the Lawrence meeting, and
delegates were selected in compliance with its recommenda
tion. An election was called by a proclamation addressed to
the legal voters of Kansas, requesting them to meet at their
several precincts at the time and places named in the procla
mation, then and there to cast their ballots for members of a
constitutional convention, to meet at Topeka, on the fourth
Tuesday of October.
Elections were held at the time -and places designated, and
the returns were sent to the executive committee.
The result of the election was proclaimed by the executive
committee, and the members elect were required to meet on
the 23rd of October, 1855, at Topeka. In pursuance of this
proclamation and direction the constitutional convention met
at the time and place appointed, and framed a state constitu
tion. A memorial to Congress was also prepared, praying the
admission of Kansas into the Union as a state under that con
stitution. The convention also provided that the question of
the adoption of the constitution, and other questions, be sub
mitted to the people, and required the executive committee to
take the necessary steps for that purpose.
Accordingly, an election was held on the 15th day of De
cember, 1855, in compliance with the proclamation issued by

126 RECOLLECTIONS
the executive committee who then issued a proclamation recit
ing the results of the election of the 15th of December, and at
the same time provided for an election, to be held on the 15th
day of January, 1856, for state officers and members of the
general assembly of the State of Kansas. The election was
accordingly held in several election precincts, the returns of
which were sent to the executive committee who announced
the result by a proclamation.
Thus, when we arrived in Kansas, two rival governments
were in existence, one the result of fraud and force, the other
confessedly incomplete, being without executive power or
recognition. Congress alone could settle the controversy by
recognizing one or the other. Its action and its failure to act
will be stated further on.
A brief narrative of incidents while the committee was in
Kansas may be of interest.
We arrived by steamer at a ]ilace called Westport Landing,
near the mouth of the Kansas River. As I remember the place
it was a mere hamlet, composed of three dwellings, a store, a
tavern and a blacksmith shop. We passed over the high
rolling prairie, where but a few and scattered cabins then
existed, but which now is the site of Kansas City, a beautiful
city of 90,000 inhabitants. About six miles from the landing
we entered Westport, the headquarters of the Santa Fe trade.
This important trade in 1854 was conducted with "prairie
schooners," wagons of great dimensions rudely but strongly
built, each hauled by four or six mules or Indian ponies, and
all driven by as rough a set of men of mixed color, tribe and
nativity as could be found anywhere in the world. Their
usual dress was a broad brimmed felt hat, a flannel shirt,
home-spun trousers, without suspenders, and heavy cowhide
boots outside of their trousers, with a knife or pistols, or both,
in their belts or boots. They were properly classed as border
ruffians, and as a rule were whisky soaked.
The contrast of this region between then and now is a
marked evidence of the wonderful change that has been made
within a single generation. I have several times visited Kan
sas City and its environs since 1856. I have noted the change

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 127
at each visit! Tlin rolling pra,irio has been checkered with
streets and avenues, and tJio'H(pja,res and suburbs are dotted
all over with residences, stores and workshops. The landing,
once a single pier, now extends miles along the Missouri River.
The border ruffians have disappeared with the Indians and
"greasers," and have been replaced by an active, intelligent
and prosjierouR community.
Mrs. Sherman and myself started in advance for Lawrence
in an open buggy drawn by one horse, and were told to follow
the trail, and this we had no difliculty in doing. We passed
through one or more Indian reservations, over as beautiful a
country as the sun shines upon, but without house or habita
tion, except Indian huts. We arrived at Lawrence, a town
less than two years old, and were cordially received. The
people there were fearing a raid by the " border ruffians," but
this was fortunately postponed until our departure for Leaven
worth. The committee proceeded immediately to take testimony.
Governor Rocdor acted in behalf of the Free State side, and
General Whitfield in behalf of the pro-slavery side, this being
the conceded lino of donuircation between the opiiosing fac
tions. The town was in embryo, nothing finished, and my
wife and I were glad to have a cot in a room in the unfinished
and unoccupied "Free State Hotel," soon after burned to the
ground by .Jones, the marshal of Kansas, or his deputies. There
was no difliculty in obtaining witnesses or testimony, but, as a
rule, the witnesses on one side would only testify in Lawrence,
and those on the other in Lecompton or Leavenworth. They
were like soldiers in hostile armies, careful to keep outside of
the enemy's camp.
Dr. Robinson, afterAvards Governor Robinson, was then by
far the ablest and bravest leader of the Free State cause. His
history of the Kansas conflict is the most interesting yet pub
lished. When the committee visited Lecompton to take testi
mony, it Avas a surprise to us that he not only offered, but
insisted upon going to that place, the headquarters and capital
of the pro-slavery party. It was then scarcely a hamlet, and
its existence depended entirely upon the success of that party.

128 RECOLLECTIONS
Dr. Robinson and I rode together into the place. It was easy
to see that he was not a welcome visitor. Everyone but the
committee carried arms. Several murders and affrays had re
cently occurred, in regard to which we had taken evidence.
Here we had access to the poll-books of the contested elections,
and met on friendly terms with the officers of the territory,
the chief of whom were Judge Lecompte, chief justice of the
territory, after whom the town had been named, and Jones,
the marshal of the United States. Governor Shannon Avas, I
think, also there for a time. The quarters for lodging were
even more limited here than in Lawrence. I slept in a cot
side by side with the one occupied by Judge Lecompte, who,
though a terror to the Free State men, seemed to me to be a
good humored gentleman, more violent in his words than in
his acts. We had no unpleasant incident while there, though
such had been prophesied at Lawrence.
From Lecompton the committee went to Topeka, then
quite a small village, now a city of 33,000 inhabitants. It was
already ambitious to become the Free State capital of Kansas,
by. reason of its central position. There was then no settle
ment of any importance west of Topeka. Some testimony
was taken, but we soon returned to Lawrence, and from thence
went to Leavenworth. A large part of the distance between
these places was an Indian reservation. Mrs. Sherman and I
rode over it in a buggy, and found no white man's habitation
on the way. Its great value and fertility was easily perceived,
and it is now well settled by an active and prosperous popula
tion of white men. On the road we met an Indian seated near
his wigwam, with a gun in his hand, and for a moment I feared
that he might use it. He uttered some Indian gibberish, which
we construed as an invitation to enter his hut. We tied our
horse, entered, and found no one there but an old squaw. I
gave the Indian some silver which he greedily took, but indi
cated by his motions that he wanted a drink of whisky, but
this I was not able to give him.
Leavenworth was a new town near Fort Leavenworth, the
then western military post of the army of the United States.
We placed ourselves in communication with Colonel Sumner,

MR. SHERMAN *T THE AGE OF THIRTY-FIVE.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 129
then iu command, but we had no occasion to summon his official
aid, though authorized by the resolutions under which we were
acting to call for such assistance from any military force
which was at the time convenient to us. However, our meet
ings there were more disturbed than at any other place. The
trouble commenced at Lawrence shortly after our arrival at
Leavenworth. A company of about 700 armed men, the great
body of whom were not citizens of the territory, were marched
into the town of Lawrence under Marshal Donaldson and
Sheriff Jones, officers claiming to act under the law, and they
then bombarded and burned to the ground a valuable hotel
and one private house, and destroyed two printing presses and
material. The posse, being released by the officers, proceeded
to sack, pillage and rob houses, stores, trunks, even taking the
clothing of Avomen and children. The people of Leavenworth
were much alarmed, as threats were made to clean out the
"Black Republican Committee" at Leavenworth. No attempt
of that kind was made. Later on. Dr. Robinson was arrested
on a steamboat on the way with his wife to St. Louis. We
had confided to bim a copy of the testimony taken, to be deliv
ered to Mr. Banks, speaker of the House. We believe that a
knowledge of that fact caused the arrest, but, fortunately, Mrs.
Robinson, who had the testimony safely secured in her cloth
ing, was allowed to proceed to Washington. Dr. Robinson was
taken back to Leavenworth and placed in prison, where I
called upon him, but was rudely threatened, and was only
allowed to speak to him in the presence of the jailor.
We were frequently threatened through anonymous letters.
On one occasion, upon going in the morning to the committee
room, I found tacked on the door a notice to the " Black Re
publican Committee " to leave Kansas "upon penalty of death."
I cut it from the door and called upon a bystander to testify to
the contents and the place from which it was taken.
On one Sunday morning, Avhile sitting in my lodging, a very
rough looking man entered, and I indicated to Mr. W. Blair
Lord, our stenographer, to take down what he said. With
many oaths and imprecations he told us that he had been
robbed by ruflians of his horses and wagon a few miles from

leO RECOLLECTIONS
Leavenworth; that he had offered to fight them, but they were
cowards; that he was born in Richland county, Ohio, near
Mansfield, and he wanted me to help him get his traps. I
knew his family as famous fighters. I asked him if he would
swear to his story. He said he would, and Mr. Lord read it to
him, oaths and all, from his stenographic notes. He stared at
Lord and demanded "Where in hell did you get that?" He
was handed the stenographic notes and, after looking at them,
he exclaimed: "Snakes, by God; but it is all true!" Whether
he got his outfit and traps I never knew.
The evidence at Leavenworth being closed, the committee
returned to Westport, Missouri. While we were there we saw
an armed and organized body of residents of Missouri march
across the line into Kansas to retaliate, as we were told, the
murder of five pro-slavery men at Osawatamie. While they
were marching into Westport from the east. Governor Shan
non, in obedience to the summons of the committee, came into
Westport from the territory, and in his presence they filed off
in regular array into the territory. It was difficult to ascer
tain the precise causes of these murders, but it was shown that
they were in retaliation for those of certain Free State men,
one of whom was the son of John BroAvn, later the famous
leader of the attack on the fort at Harper's Ferry, and who had
acted for the committee in summoning witnesses to Lawrence.
The testimony in respect to these murders was vague, and the
murderers were not identified. Two years afterwards I met
John Brown in Chicago, and asked him about the murder of
the pro-slavery men at Osawatamie; he replied with spirit that
they were not murdered, but that they had been arrested, tried
by a jury, convicted and executed. The arrest, trial and exe
cution must have been done during one night. He did not dis
close the names of the executioners, but his cool statement
was a striking picture of the scenes then enacted in Kansas by
both sides ; both appealed to the law of force and crime, and
crime was justified by crime.
The evidence taken at Westport closed the investiga
tion and Mr. Howard and T returned to Deti'oit, as already
stated.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 131
The report was ajiproved by Mr. Howard, and presented by
him to the House of Representatives, July 1, 1856, as a ques
tion of privilege. The reception of it gave rise to much de
bate, but in the end I was permitted on the same day to read
it. The minority report of Mr. Oliver was presented July 11 of
that year. No action was taken on the reports, but they were
widely published.
On July 31, 1856, I made a speech on the Kansas contested
election between General Whitfield and Governor Reeder, dur
ing which I was drawn into a discussion with Alexander H.
Stephens, of Georgia, and Mr. Oliver, of Missouri, in which the
general questions involved in the Kansas controversy were
fully debated. I closed with this language :
" The worst evil that could befall our country is civil war, but the out
rages in Kansas cannot be continued much longer without producing it. To
our southern brethren I especially appeal. In the name of southern rights,
crimes have been committed, and are being committed, which I know you
cannot and do not approve. These have excited a feeling iu the northern
states that is deepening and strengthening daily. It may produce acts of
retaliation. You are in a minority and, from the nature of your institutions,
your relative power is yearly decreasing. In excusing this invasion from
Missouri — in attempting to hold on to an advantage obtained by force and
fraud — you are setting an example wliicii, in its ultimate consequences, may
trample your rights under foot. Until tliese wrongs are righted, you must
expect northern men to unite to redress them. It may not bo this year,
but, as sure as there is a God in heaven, such a union will be effected ; and
you will gain nothing by sustaining northern agitators in violating the com
promise of your fathers."
On July 28, 1856, I offered, as an amendment to the army
appropriation bill, the following proAUSo :
"J'rovi.ded, 7)cve7'theless, That no jiart of a military force of tlio United
Stales herein provided for, shall bo eiiiployod in aid of tho eiif(irc(Miient of
the enactments of tlie alleged legislative assembly of the Territory of Kansas,
recently assembled at Shawnee Mission, until Congress shall have enacted
either that it was or was not a valid legislative assembly, chosen in con
formity with the organic law, by the people of said territory. And Provided,
Tiiat until Congress shall have passed on the validity of the said legislative
assembly of Kansas, it shall be the duty of the President to use the military
force in said territory to preserve the peace, suppress insurrection, repel

132 RECOLLECTIONS
invasion, and protect persons and property therein, and upon the national
highways in the State of Missouri, from unlawful seizures and searches. And
be it further provided. That the President is required to disarm the present
organized militia of the Territory of Kansas and recall all the United States
arms therein distributed, and to prevent armed men from going into said
territory to disturb the public peace, or aid in the enforcement or resistance
of real or pretended laws."
After long debate, this was agreed to by a vote of 80 yeas to
47 nays. The deliberate purpose of a majority of the House
was to prevent any further support of the Lecompton terri
torial legislature. This amendment, hoAvever, was disagreed
to by the Senate and referred to a committee of conference.
On the 18th of August, the last day of the session, the disagree
ment continued and the conference report was taken up for
action. A motion was made that the House insist upon its
amendments and agree to another committee of conference.
This was defeated, but no definite action was taken, as a ma
jority of the House was opposed to a further conference, and
so the army bill failed.
On the same day the President, by inoclamation, convened
the two Houses in extra session to meet on the 21st day of
August, three days later. The President, in his message, urged
Congress to recede from the Kansas proviso to the army bill.
The Republicans of the House were determined to insist upon
that proviso, and, by repeated votes, refused to withdraw it or
to reconsider it, but, after a session of nine days, the House
finally yielded, but only after the Senate had agi'oed to an
amendment, which contained the substance of the proviso
ofl'ered by me, as folloAvs:
"Provided, That no part of the military force of the United States, for
the support of which approjirialioiis are made by this act, sliall bo emjiloyed
in aid of the enforcement of any enactment horoloforo passed by the bodies
claiming to be the territorial legislature of Kansas."
This amendment was agreed to and thus, in the final strug
gle, while no effective measures to relieve the people of Kansas
from the tyranny imposed upon them were adopted, the decla
ration was made that the military force of the United States
should not be used to aid in the enforcement of any enactment

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 133
theretofore passed by bodies claiming to be the territorial
legislature of Kansas.
Thus it appears that during this long and wearisome session
(for in fact the two were but one), I was almost exclusively
occupied in a futile effort to restore the prohibition of slavery
in Kansas, according to the Missouri Compromise, but the
struggle nuido was fruitful in good. It strengthened the Free
State sentiment in Kansas, it aroused public sentiment in the
north, and drove the south to adopt new and strange theories
which led to divisions in the Democratic party and its disrup
tion and overthrow in 1860. The compromise made was un
derstood to be the work of Mr. Seward, and, though not satis
factory to the Republicans of the House, it was at least a
drawn battle, and, like Bunker Hill to Yorktown, was the pre
lude to the Revolution that ended at Appomattox.
Among the many who attained distinction in the 34th Con
gress I can only refer to a few, the chief of whom was Nathan
iel P. Banks, who, after a long struggle, was elected speaker. He
Avas born in Waltham, Massachusetts, January 30, 1816. He had
risen into prominence without any aid or advantage of early
education or training. He was the son of an overseer in a
cotton factory in Waltham, where he was for a time employed.
He improved his leisure hours by the study of history, political
economy and the science of government. He learned the trade
of a machinist. He early acquired the habit of speaking well
on various subjects, and was elected as a Democratic member
of the legislature from his native town. In 1852 he was
elected to Congress, running upon the ticket with General
Pierce, the Democratic candidate for President. He took a
decided stand against the repeal of the Missouri Compromise.
He was a man of striking presence, with a fine voice and en
gaging manners. lie filled the difficult position of speaker
with great credit, and is still remembered by his associates as
perhaps the best fitted for the special duties of speaker of the
House of any Member since the time of Henry Clay. He was
afterward elected Governor of Massachusetts and continued in
that position for several years. When the war broke out he
Avas appointed major-general of volunteers, but his service in

134 RECOLLECTIONS
the army was not marked. After the war was over he was
re-elected to Congress, but seemed to have lost his power and
influence. In later years his memory was impaired and he
"lagged superfluous upon the stage." He died September 1,
1894. Lewis D. Campbell, of Ohio, was elected to Congress in 1848
as a Whig, and re-elected to each successive Congress down to
1856, when his seat was contested and the House of Represent
atives decided against him. He and Banks were the leading
candidates for the speakership of the 34th Congress, but the
majority of the anti-Nebraska Members voted for Banks, and
upon his election Campbell was made chairman of the com
mittee of ways and means, and had substantial control of the
business of that Congress. He never was in hearty sympathy
with the Republican party. He was subsequently elected to
the 42nd Congress in 1870 as a Democrat, but had lost, in a
great measure, his influence. He served for a time as colonel
of a regiment in the war. lie was a man of marked ability but
was too erratic to be a successful leader in any cause or party.
In 1850, at the early age of twenty-seven, Galusha A. Grow
was elected a Representative in Congress from Pennsylvania.
He was an active and very useful Member. He took strong
ground against the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and in
1859 was a competitor with me for the position of speaker, but
withdrew in my favor after the first ballot. In the following
Congress he was chosen speaker and rendered very valuable
service as such. After a continuous service in Congress for
fourteen years, he retired from active political life and engaged
in important business enterprises, but always took an interest
in political affairs. He was elected by an overAvhelming ma
jority as a Member of the 53rd Congress at largo from his
state. Schuyler Colfax was a conspicuous Member of Congress
from 1855 until he was nominated for the office of Vice Presi
dent, in 1868, on the ticket with General Grant. During this
long period he represented one district, and served for six years
as speaker. He was a very industrious, active Member. As
we were of about the same age, and our lives ran in parallel

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 135
lines, we were often thrown together. We and our families in
Washington mossed together in a household for several years,
and our intercourse was always friendly and intimate. When
he became Vice President he remarked to me that I was first
to enter the Senate, but he was first to become Vice President.
After his service as Vice President, he retired from public life
and delivered lectures upon many topics.
Many other Members of that Congress, equally worthy of
note, have passed away from the scenes of life, and some few
survive. I would gladly recall their memory if my space would
allow.

CHAPTER VI.
Birth of the Republican , Party.
The Name Formally Adopted at Jackson, Michigan, in 1854 — Nomination of John
C. Fremont at Philadelphia — Democratic Convention Noiiiiiiatos Jumos
Buchanan— Effect of the Latter's Election on tlie North — My Views
Concerning President Pierce and His Administration — French
Spoliation Claims— First Year of Buchanan's Ajiministra-
tion— Dred Scott Case Decision by the Supremo Court—
The Slavery Question Once More an Issue in
Congress — Douglas' Opposition to the
Lecompton Scheme — Turning Point
of the Slavery Controversy.
DURING the first session of the 34th Congress, the oppo
nents of slavery were without a party name or or
ganization. They agreed only in the one demand,
that slavery should not be established in Kansas.
On other questions they voted on old party lines. The Mem
bers elected in 1854 in the northern states were Democrats,
Whigs or Free Soilers. Many of the Democrats still supported
the administration of President Pierce, and acquiesced in the
doctrine of popular sovereignty in the territories. A few of
the Whigs, of conservative leanings, acted with the Americans,
or "Know-Nothings," of the south. A strong popular move
ment was initiated in some of the western states as early as
1854 in favor of a new party. This was especially the case in
Wisconsin and Michigan. On the 6th of July, 1854, a popular
convention was held at Jackson, Michigan, composed of hun
dreds of men of all parties, who denounced slavery as a great
moral, social and political evil, and resolved that, postponing
and suspending all differences with regard to political economy
or administrative policy, they would act cordially and faith
fully in unison to oppose the extension of slavery, and be
known as Republicans until the contest was terminated. This
name was assumed in other states of the north.
The state convention held in Ohio on July 13, 1855, for
mally declared itself a convention of the Republican party.
(136)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 137
The long struggle in Kansas, the elections in 1855, and the con
test for the speakership of the House, added strength to this
movement, and the name " Republican " was formally given to
the new party by the national convention held at Philadelphia,
June 17, 1856, as the best expression of its views and prin
ciples. It appeared for the time that the new party would carry the
country in a blaze of enthusiasm. And, looking over the past,
I am clearly of the opinion that this would have been the
result but for the faulty nomination of Colonel John C. Fre
mont as the Republican candidate for President, and the
sagacious nomination of James Buchanan as the Democratic
candidate. The Republican party, still composed of uncertain
elements, sought only for a candidate that was avaijable. Se
ward or Chase was the natural candidate. They were fully
identified with the principles and purposes of their party.
They were men of marked ability, strong in their respective
states, each elected governor of his state and sure of its sup
port, but Chase was opposed on account of his advanced opin
ions on the slavery question, and Seward was actively opposed
by the so-called American party, for his open hostility to its
principles and policy. All these sought for a new man, and
public opinion gradually, but strongly, turned to John C. Fre
mont. He had no experience in public life, but he attracted
attention by his bold explorations in the west and, especially,
by his inarching to California, and occupation of this Mexican
territory. A strong effort was made to secure the nomination
of Justice McLean of the United States Supreme Court. He
had been long in public life, had been a cabinet officer in two
administrations, had been appointed to the supreme bench by
Jackson, had held this position for twenty-six years, and was
a man of spotless integrity. His nomination was strongly
urged by conservative Republicans in all the northern states,
and by the delegates from Pennsylvania especially by Thad-
deus Stevens, who asserted that the nomination of Fremont
..Avould not only lose the State of Pennsylvania, to the Republi
cans, but that the party would be defeated at the presidential
election. But the current of opinion in the west, in New

138 RECOLLECTIONS
England and New York, was too strong in favor of Fremont,
and he was nominated.
The Democratic national convention met at Cincinnati,
June 2, 1856, for the nomination of candidates for President
and Vice President. Popular feeling was then strongly aroused
against that party by the assault of Brooks on Sumner, the
removal of Reeder, the appointment of Shannon, the crimes in
Kansas, and the recent sacking of Lawrence. A large propor
tion of northern Democrats, who still adhered to their party,
were restless under the violence of their southern associates.
It was this feeling, no doubt recognized by both northern and
southern Democrats, that prevented the nomination of either
Pierce or Douglas. Buchanan was regarded as a conseiwative
man of great experience, who, being absent from the country
during the entire period of the Kansas contest, would, it was
believed, and as his supporters affirmed, pursue a quieting policy
that would arrest and prevent further outrages and would
secure fair elections in that territory. He was popular in
Pennsylvania, had served for many years in each House of
Congress, had creditably represented the United States as min
ister to Russia and Great Britain, had been Secretary of State
and the head of the cabinet of President Polk. He was unan
imously supported by the delegation from Pennsylvania, then
a doubtful state, and, after many ballots and the defeat of
Pierce, was nominated with the acquiescence of Douglas. This
nomination greatly strengthened the Democratic party. It
held in that party the protection Democrats, and a large pro
portion of those who in 1854 voted for anti-Nebraska Members
of Congress. The appointment of Colonel Geary of Pennsyl
vania as Governor of Kansas, in the place of Governor Shannon,
and his firm and impartial administration, greatly aided the
Democratic party. It was regarded as evidence of a change of
policy in Kansas, made at the request of Mr. Buchanan.
The American party met at the city of Philadelphia soon
after the election of Banks as speaker, and nominated Millard
Fillmore for President and Donelson for Vice President. This
movement did not at first excite much attention, as it was
known that in the north it would draw equally from the two

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 139
great parties, and in the south could only affect injuriously the
Democratic party. Its platform of principles was condemned
by both the Republican and Democratic conventions.
Mr. Fillmore took strong ground against what he called a
sectional ticket presenting both candidates from the free
states, with the avowed purpose of one part of the Union
ruling over the whole United States.
The nomination of Fremont, however, greatly strengthened
the movement in favor of Fillmore. There was a large ele
ment of the old Whig party in the north, which, though
friendly to Republican principles and willing to support
Seward or McLean, yet would not vote for Fremont, who had
none of the qualities that commanded their respect. Such
men as Ewing, Everett, Winthrop and Hilliard, conspicuous
leaders and eminent statesmen, announced their purpose to
vote for Fillmore. Mr. Choate, the eminent lawyer and states
man of Massachusetts, declared his purpose to vote for Bu
chanan, upon the plausible ground that, as the choice was
between Buchanan and Fremont, he was compelled, by a sense
of duty, to vote for Buchanan.
At the same time leading Democrats in the south declared
that if Fremont was elected the Union could not and ought
not to be preserved. The Whigs of the south, with scarce an
exception, were committed to the support of Fillmore and
Donelson, and joined in an outcry of danger to the Union.
As the canvass progressed this feeling increased, and before
its close it became apparent that some of the older and more
populous Republican states would be lost by the Republican
party. I shared in this feeling of distrust of Fremont, but
gave him my support.
I was nominated without any opposition for re-election
to Congress by a convention held at Shelby on 12th day of
August, 1856, aud was elected in October by a majority of
2,861. I took an active part in the canvass, after the adjournment
of Congress, mainly in southern Ohio, where it was apparent
that the nomination of Buchanan was popular. In Pennsyl
vania, especially in Philadelphia, the cry was for "Buck, Breck

140 RECOLLECTIONS
and free Kansas." John G. Forney, the chairman of the Demo
cratic state committee, promised that if Buchanan was elected
there would be no interference with the efforts of the people
of Kansas to make that territory a free state. The result of
the canvass was that Buchanan carried the states of Pennsyl
vania, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois and California at the
November election and was elected.
In reviewing the past it is apparent that the election of
Buchanan was necessary to convince the people of the north
that no successful opposition to the extension of slavery could
be made except by a party distinctly pledged to that policy.
Mr. Buchanan encountered difficulties which no human wisdom
could overcome. Whatever may have been his desire he was
compelled, by the prevailing sentiment in his party, to adopt
measures that made a confiict between the sections unavoid
able. The election of Fremont would probably have precipi
tated this conflict before the north was ripe for it. His conduct
during the early period of the war proves that he would have
been unequal to such an emergency. His defeat was the post
ponement of the irrepressible confiict until it became apparent
to all that our country must be all free or all slave territory.
This was the lesson taught by the administration of Buchanan,
and Lincoln was best fitted to carry it into execution.
Pierce was still President, but after his defeat for the nomi
nation he changed his policy materially. Events were allowed
to develop in Kansas with a growing tendency in favor of the
Free State party. Judge Lecompte was removed from an
office the duties of which he was totally unfit to perform. A
large number of emigrants from many of the northern states
were preparing to move in the spring to Kansas. Governor
Geary of that territory, who had taken a decided stand in favor
of equal and exact justice to all men, was met by opposition
from the pro-slavery faction. His life was threatened and
strong demands were made for his removal. He became satis
fied that he would not be sustained by the administration, and
on the 4th of March, 1857, resigned his position.
Immediately upon the assembling of Congress in December,
1856, and before the usual message had been sent to the President,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 141
notifying him that the House of Representatives was pre
pared to enter upon the duties of the session, a contest sprang
up over the question of administering the oath of office to Mr.
Whitfield as a delegate from the Territory of Kansas, and a
struggle resulted which continued until the 9th of December,
when the oath of office was administered to him and he took
his seat.
President Pierce sent to the House of Representatives, De
cember 2, 1856, his last message. He commenced it with a
careful review of the Kansas question and this led to a debate
which continued during the entire session. On the 8th of
December I undertook to answer as much of the message as
related to the slavery question. He had, in the message, de
fended the repeal of the restriction of slavery contained in the
Missouri Compromise, asserting that this compromise was un
constitutional and abortive, but I showed that it had been
recognized as in full force by every administration since and in
cluding that of Monroe, that it did not extend to the territory
acquired from Mexico, and that it was consistent with the com-
promiso acts of 18.50. He asserted that the purpose was not
only to exclude slavery from Kansas, but also from places
where it then existed. I showed this to be inaccurate by the
express denial of such a purpose in every platform of the
Republican party. I then declared that " If I had my voice, I
would not have one single political Abolitionist in the north
ern states. I am opposed to any interference by the northern
people with slavery in the slave states; I act with the Repub
lican party, with hundreds of thousands of others, simply
because the Republican party resists the extension, but does
not seek the abolition, of slavery."
My speech, as reported, expresses, as I believe, the limit and
extent of the aims of the Republican party at that time. The
only regret I feel is that the tone and temper of my remarks
Avere not such as should be addressed to the President of the
United States by a Member of Congress.
What I say of myself can be truthfully said of many other
Members. The feeling against the President was embittered
by the firm stand taken by him in support of a policy which

142 RECOLLECTIONS
we regarded as unpatriotic, and dangerous in the highest degree
to the public peace and the national Union. In his last mes
sage he defended or excused the lawless efforts made by resi
dents of Missouri to establish slavery in Kansas. He made no
effort to prevent the invasion of Kansas or the crimes com
mitted against its citizens. He appointed many governors for
this territory, and in every instance where they sought to pro
tect the rights of its people, he either removed them or denied
them his support. This was the case with Reeder and Shannon.
Even Governor Geary, whom he praised in his message, and
whom Buchanan had lauded during the canvass, was aban
doned by both, and compelled to resign because he sought to
protect all citizens alike.
President Pierce was properly, according to usage, a candi
date for re-election when the convention met to nominate his
successor, but he was defeated by Buchanan. Mr. Douglas,
the chief instrument in the passage of the Nebraska bill, met a
like fate. Buchanan was saved only by the popular cry of
"Buchanan, Breckenridge and Free Kansas," and the confident
belief, founded upon his declaration, that his election would
secure freedom to Kansas.
The political excitement existing during the whole of Presi
dent Pierce's term entered into social life in Washington.
The President was not brought into contact with those who
differed with him in opinion. His family afflictions were, no
doubt, the partial cause of this. The sincere friendship that
often exists between political adversaries in public life were
not possible during this period. Social lines were drawn on
sectional lines, and in the north party lines became hostile
lines. Such causes, no doubt, led to unjust criticism of the
President, and, in turn, caused him to regard his political
adversaries as enemies to their country and disturbers of the
public peace. I scarcely remember seeing him during this
Congress, and was strongly prejudiced against him. A more
careful study of the motives and conduct of public men during
this period has changed my opinion of many of them, and,
especially, of President Pierce. That he was a genial, social
and agreeable companion is affirmed by all who were familiar

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 143
with him. That his opinions were honestly entertained, and
firmly supported, is shown by his adherence to them without
change or shadow of turning. In this respect he compares
favorably with many leading men of his party, who stifled
their opinions to meet the currents of the day. He had been
a general of distinction in the Mexican War and a Member of
both the Senate and House of Representatives. He was a
leading lawyer in his state. His messages to Congress, consid
ered in a literary view, were able state papers, clearly and
strongly expressed. It was his great misfortune to have to
deal with a controversy that he did not commence, but he did
not shrink from the responsibility. He believed in the policy
of non-intervention in the territories, and so did not prevent
the "border ruffians" of Missouri crossing the line and voting
at every election in Kansas, setting up a bogus legislature,
adopting the laws of Missouri as the laws of Kansas, and estab
lishing negro slavery in that territory. Fortunately a more
numerous, courageous and intelligent population reversed all
this, and led, not only to the exclusion of slavery in Kansas,
but also to its abolition in the United States.
With the kindly biography of President Pierce, written by
his friend, Nathaniel Hawthorne, before me, I can appreciate
his ability, integrity and agreeable social qualities, and only
regret that he was President of the United States at a time
when the sagacity of a Jefferson, the determined courage of a
Jackson, or the shrewdness and wisdom of a Lincoln, were
needed to meet the difficulties and dangers which he had to
encounter. There is but one more personal incident of the 34th Con
gress I care to mention. Mr. Banks designated me as a mem
ber of the committee on foreign affairs. Mr. Alexander C. M.
Pennington, as chairman of that committee, handed me the
voluminous papers in reference to the French Spoliation
Claims. They covered an interesting period of American his
tory, embracing all that between 1793 and 1801, in which were
involved important negotiations both in England and France,
and outrages committed upon our, then, infant government by
the governments of France and Great Britain. I had all the

144 RECOLLECTIONS
feeling of natural indignation against those great powers who
sought to draw the United States into their controversies, and
practice upon us enormities and outrages that we would not
submit to for a moment in our day. Yet, after a full and care
ful examination of all the papers in the case, I became thor
oughly satisfied that these claimants, whatever might be said
as to their claims against the French government, had abso
lutely no foundation for a claim against the United States.
I wrote an adverse report, but it was suppressed in the
committee. Bills for the payment of these claims were pre
sented from time to time. In 1870 Senator Sumner reported
favorably to the Senate a bill for the purpose from the com
mittee on foreign relations. It was opposed by Senator Thur-
man and myself and again laid aside. On the 14th of Decem
ber, 1882, the bill was again pressed, the debate which ensued
clearly showing that the United States pressed these claims
against France to the verge of war.
The whole case is this: certain deiiredations were com
mitted by the French government and by the citizens of
France, upon the citizens of the United States, previous to the
beginning of the present century. The government of the
United States did all it could to secure payment and compen
sation to its citizens for these depredations. The French gov
ernment denied the validity of the claims, holding, on the
other hand, that the government of the United States had vio
lated the treaties made with it under circumstances of sacred
obligation, that its citizens therefore were justified in doing
what they had done in seizing upon American vessels, and tak
ing from them goods called contraband of war, and in commit
ting these depredations. It uniformly justified and main
tained the action of its ci-uisers in doing these things. In
other words, our claims were repudiated by France, their pay
ment being refused, and, as we could not force their payment,
we simply abandoned them. Recently they have been re
ferred to tho'court of claims, without regard to lapse of time,
and large sums of money are now being paid by the United
States for the depredations committed by the French nearly
one hundred years ago, to descendants, three generations

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 145
removed, of merchants and ship owners, who, with all their
losses, enjoyed the most profitable commerce in the history of
our mercantile marine. Their payment is, perhaps, the most
striking evidence of the improvidence of Congress in dealing
with antiquated claims against the government.
The first year of Buchanan's administration, 1857, will
always bo noted 4s one of great political excitement, of sudden
changes and unexpected results. At its beginning the Demo
cratic party was in complete possession of all branches of the
government. The House of Representatives, elected in the fall
of 1856, had a strong Democratic majority. The Senate was
composed of 37 Democrats, 20 Republicans and 4 Americans.
The Supreme Court was composed of 5 Democrats from the
slave states, and 2 Democrats and 2 Whigs from the free states.
The cabinet of Buchanan had four members from the southern
states and three from the northern. The south had full con
trol of all departments of the government, with the President
in hearty sympathy with the policy of that section. The con
dition of Kansas alone caused it trouble. The firm and impar
tial course of Governor Geary had imparted confidence and
strength to the Free State citizens of that territory, who were
now in an unquestioned majority through the large emigration
from the north during the spring of 1857. The doctrine of
popular sovereignty could not, therefore, be relied upon to
establish slavery in Kansas, and it was abandoned. New theo
ries had to be improvised and new agencies called into action.
I was present when the oath of office was administered to
Mr. Buchanan, on the 4th of March, 1857. With my strong
sympathy for the Free State people of Kansas, I hoped and
believed that he would give some assurance that the pledges
made for him in the canvass would be carried out, but the
statement in his inaugural address, that the difference of opin
ion in respect to the power of the people of a territory to
decide the question of slavery for themselves would be speedily
and finally settled, as a judicial question, by the Supreme Court
of the United States, in a case then pending before it, naturally,
excited suspicion and distrust. It was regarded as a change of
position, a new device in the interest of slavery. In two days

146 RECOLLECTIONS
after the inauguration. Chief Justice Taney delivered the opin
ion of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case, as to the
status of negroes in the United States. He said:
" They had, for more than a century before, been regarded as beings of
an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either
in social or political relations ; and so far inferior that they had no rights
which the white man was bound to respect, and that the negro might justly
and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit."
He said negroes "were not intended to be included
in the word 'citizens' in the constitution, and therefore can
claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument
provides for and secures to the citizens of the United States;"
and announced as the opinion of the court that the Missouri
Compromise act was not warranted by the constitution and
was therefore void.
These declarations were in no sense necessary to the deci
sion of the case before the court, as it was held that Dred Scott
was a resident of Missouri and subject as a slave to the laws of
that state.
Justices McLean and Curtis dissented from the decision of
the court, and in elaborate opinions refuted, as I think, every
position of the Chief Justice.
Thus the Kansas question became a political question in the
Supreme Court. At once the south rejected the doctrine of
popular sovereignty, and demanded, as a constitutional right,
that slaves moved into a territory must be protected like other
property, whether the people of the territory wish it or not.
This was the first time in our history when this great tribunal
entered into the political arena. Its action encouraged the
south, but produced a strong feeling of resentment in the
north, and widened the breach between the two great sections
of the country.
Mr. Buchanan, early in his administration, found it neces
sary to appoint a Governor of Kansas. He selected Robert J.
Walker, of Mississippi, who had held high positions in the
national government, having been Secretary of the Treasury
and Senator of the United States. He appointed Fred. 1

J

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 147
Stanton, of Tennessee, as secretary of the territory. Mr.
Stanton had long been a Member of high standing of the House
of Representatives. Both were southern men and both wished
to see Kansas a slave state, but both were honorable men who
would not seek to gain their ends by dishonest means. After
a careful estimate, made by them, it was believed that there
were, in the territory, 9,000 Free State Democrats, 8,000 Repub
licans, 6,000 pro-slavery Democrats, and 500 pro-slavery Amer
icans. A strong effort was made by Governor Walker to in
duce these elements to join in a movement for a convention to
frame a constitution, with a view to admit Kansas as a state
in the Union. The Free State men, while anxious for such a
result, were not willing to trust their adversaries with the con
duct of such an election, without some safeguards against the
repetition of the frauds and violence of previous elections.
The result was that only 2,200 persons took part in choosing
delegates to what became the notorious Lecompton convention.
Both before and after this so-called election Governor Wal
ker promised that the constitution, when adopted, should be
submitted to a vote of the people, and he added his assurance
that the President of the United States would insist upon this
condition. On the 12th of July Mr. Buchanan wrote to Gover
nor Walker:
"On the question of submitting the constitution to the bo7xafide resident
settlers of Kansas, I am willing to stand or fall. In sustaining such a prin
ciple we cannot fail. It is tlie principle of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, the
principle of popular sovereignty, and the principle at the foundation of all
popular government. The more it is discussed, the stronger it will become.
Should the convention of Kansas adopt this principle, all will be settled
harmoniously." This promise was soon after violated, and the President
declared in an open letter:
" At the time of the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska act slavery existed,
and still exists, in Kansas, under the constitution of the United States.
This point has at last been finally decided by the highest tribunal known to
our laws. How it could ever have been seriously doubted is a mystery."
It was known that the delegates elected would adopt a pro-
slavery constitution and ask for admission to the Union. It

148 RECOLLECTIONS
was equally well known that no such constitution would be
adopted by the people of Kansas. Under these circumstances,
the President, pressed by his cabinet, yielded to the demands
of the south, violated his pledges, and supported the conven
tion in the extreme measures adopted by it.
In the meantime the Free State party in Kansas, composed
of nearly equal proportions of Republicans and Democrats,
was persuaded by Governor Walker to take part in the regular
election for the territorial legislature. The result was, the
Free State party elected nine of the thirteen councilmen, and
twenty-four of the thirty-nine representatives. This should
have settled the Kansas controversy, and it would have done
so on the principle of popular sovereignty, but a broader
constituency in the south demanded that the doctrine of the
Dred Scott case should be applied to and enforced, not only in
Kansas, but in all the states. Henceforth the Lecompton con
stitution must be considered, not as a local question, but as a
national one. The imperative issue, as pithily stated by Lin
coln, was, all slave or all free states. The battle was to com
mence in Kansas, but was to become national in its scope.
The constitutional convention met on the 19th of October,
1857, within two weeks after the election of the legislature,
but in its action little interest was taken, a quorum being pre
served with difficulty. It adopted a pro-slavery constitution,
which, it was well known, if submitted to the people, would be
rejected by an overwhelming majority, and if not submitted
would be resisted, if necessary, by open force. The President,
Governor Walker, and all parties, had promised that the con
stitution, when framed, would be submitted to a popular vote.
How not to do it, and yet appear to do it, was a problem
worthy of a gang of swindlers, and yet the feeling was so
strong in administration circles, that the plan devised as below
given was cordially approved by the cabinet and acquiesced in
by the President.
The constitution adopted by the convention provided: "The
right of property is before and higher than any constitutional
sanction, and the right of tlie owner of a slave to such slave
and its increase is the same and as inviolable as the right of

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 149
the owner of any property whatever." Another provision of
the constitution was that it could not be amended until after
the year 1864, and even then no alteration should " be made to
affect the rights of property in the ownership of slaves."
The election was to be held on December 21, 1857. The
people might vote for the "constitution with slavery" or the
"constitution with no slavery." In either event, by the ex
press terms of the constitution, slavery was established for a
time in Kansas and the doctrine of the Dred Scott case was to
be embodied in our laAvs. No opportunity was offered to the
people to vote against the constitution.
It is difficult to characterize in proper terms the infamy of
these proceedings. The Free State party would take no part
in the proposed election on December 21, and it resulted, for
the constitution with slavery, 6,226 votes, of which 2,720 were
proven to be fraudulent ; for the constitution without slavery,
589. Governor Walker promptly denounced the outrage. He
said: "I consider such a submission of the question a vile
fraud, a base counterfeit, and a wretched device to prevent the
people voting even on the .slavery question." "1 will not sup
port it," he continued, "but I will denounce it, no matter
whether the administration sustains it or not."
Mr. Buchanan supported the scheme after the constitution
had been adopted by the convention. The elections in the fall
preceding were favorable to the Democrats, and Mr. Buchanan
was naturally encouraged to hope that his party had regained
popular ascendancy, but the Lecompton juggle created a pro
found impression in the north, and divided the Democratic
party to a greater extent than did the Kansas-Nebraska liill,
especially in the northwest and in Ohio, where the feeling of
resentment was almost universal. Mr. Douglas, the great
leader for the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, took imme
diate ground against the pro-slavery plan, and protested to
the President against it. An open breach occurred between
them. When Congress assembled, the Lecompton scheme became
the supreme subject for debate. Mr. Douglas assumed at once
the leadership of the opposition to that measure. He said: "Up

150 RECOLLECTIONS
to the time of meeting of the convention, in October last, the
pretense was kept up, the profession was openly made, and be
lieved by me, and I thought believed by them, that the conven
tion intended to submit a constitution to the people, and not to
attempt to put a government into operation without such a sub
mission." But instead of that, "All men must vote for the
constitution, whether they like it or not, in order to be permit
ted to vote for or against slavery." Again he said: " I have asked
a very large number of the gentlemen who framed the constitu
tion, quite a number of delegates, and still a larger number
of persons who are their friends, and I have received the
same answer from every one of them. . . . They say if they
allowed a negative vote the constitution would have been
voted down by an overwhelming majority, and hence the fel
lows shall not be allowed to vote at all." He denounced it as
"a trick, a fraud upon the rights of the people."
Governor Walker declared: "I state it as a fact, based on a
long and intimate association with the people of Kansas, that
an overwhelming majority of that people are opposed" to the
Lecompton constitution, " and my letters state that but one out
of twenty of the press of Kansas sustains it. . . . Any at
tempt by Congress to force this constitution upon the people of
Kansas will be an effort to substitute the will of a small minor
ity for that of an overwhelming majority of the people."
On the 28th of January, 1858, during the debate on the
Lecompton constitution, I made an elaborate speech, entering
fully into the history of that constitution and the events that
preceded it, and closed as follows :
" In conclusion, allow me to impress the south wltli two important
warnings she has received in her struggle for Kansas, (^iie Is, that Ihougii
her able and disciplined loaders on tiiis lloor, aidisd by exciiiiitive patronage,
may give her the power to overthrow legislative compacts, yet, while (he
sturdy integrity of the northern masses stands in her way, she can gain no
practical advantage by her well-laid schemes. The other is, that while she
may indulge with impunity the spirit of fillibusterism, or lawless and violent
adventure, upon a feeble and distracted people in Mexico and Central
America, she must not come in contact with that cool, dotormlned courage
and resolution which forms the striking characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon
race. In such a contest, her hasty and impetuous violence may succeed for

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 151
a time, but the victory will be short-lived and transient, and leave nothing
but bitterness behind. Let us not war with each other ; but, with the grasp
of fellowship and friendship, regarding to the full each other's rights, and
kind to each other's faults, let us go hand in hand in securing to every por
tion of our people their constitutional rights."
I may as well here briefly follow the progress and end of
the Kansas controversy. Mr. Stanton, the acting governor in
the absence of Governor Walker, convened an extra session of
the territorial legislature, in which the Free State men had a
majority. The legislature provided for an election to be held
January 4, 1858, at which a fair vote might be taken on the
constitution. At this election the vote stood: For the con
stitution with slavery, 138 ; for the constitution without slav
ery, 24 ; against the constitution, 10,226.
Notwithstanding this decisive evidence of the opposition to
the Lecompton constitution by the people of Kansas, Mr. Bu
chanan sent a copy of it to Congress, and, recommending the
admission of Kansas under that organic act, said :
" It hns boon solemnly adjudged, by tho highest judicial tribunal known
to our laws, that slavery exists in Kansas by virtue of the constitution of the
United States. Kansas is therefore at this moment as much a slave state as
Georgia or South Carolina."
During the controversy Gen. Denver, a conservative Demo
crat, a native of Virginia, long a resident of Ohio and a repre
sentative from California in the 34th Congress, was appointed
Governor of Kansas. His predecessors, four of his own party,
Reeder, Shannon, Walker and Stanton, had been either re
moved or compelled to resign, every one refusing to execute
the extreme pro-slavery policy of the President. His efforts to
secure justice to the citizens of Kansas would in all probabil
ity have led to his removal, but the march of events withdrew
the question involved from the people of Kansas to the halls
of Congress. The policy of the administration was driving a
wedge into the Democratic party. The bill for the admission
of Kansas under the Lecompton constitution passed the Senate
by a vote of 33 yeas to 25 nays, four northern Democrats and
two southern Americans voting with the Republicans against it.
S.-I2

152 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
In the House of Representatives, composed of 128 Demo
crats, 92 Republicans and 14 Americans, the bill was defeated
by the adoption of an amendment which provided that the
Lecompton constitution should be submitted to a vote of the
people of Kansas, but this amendment was disagreed to by the
Senate, and the disagreement was referred to a committee of
conference. The result was the adoption of a substitute,
known as the English bill. This bill, though faulty, and parti
san, provided for the admission of Kansas under the Lecomp
ton constitution, but provided also for a submission of the
English bill to a vote of the people of Kansas. On the 2nd of
August a vote was taken in Kansas, and 11,300, out of a total
vote of 13,088, were cast against the English proposition. Thus
the Lecompton constitution and the English bill were defeated,
the exclusion of slavery made absolute, and the State of Kan
sas admitted into the Union as a free state, under a constitu
tion approved by the people, but not until January 29, 1861.
This memorable result was the turning point of the slavery
controversy. The people of the south hastened preparations
for a dissolution of the Union and a civil war. The Confed
erate congress, meeting four days later, on February 9, elected
Jefferson Davis as its president, he having resigned as United
States Senator, January 21, 1861, eight days before Kansas
was admitted to the Union.
I have given much space to this Kansas controversy, for
I wish to impress upon the readers of this volume that the war
was not caused by agitation for the abolition of slavery, but by
aggressive measures for the extension of slavery over free
tenitory. A large and influential class of southern men were
born politicians, and were mainly slaveholders. They had,
from the beginning of the government, a large influence, and
held more public offices of chief importance than their north
ern associates. They were constantly complaining of opinions
expressed by a comparatively few Abolitionists against slavery,
while the great body of the north were either indifferent to or
sympathized with them in their opposition to the Abolitionists.

CHAPTER VIL
Recollections of The Financial Panic of 1857.
Its Effect on the State Banks — My Maiden Speech in Congress on National Finances —
Appointed a Member of the Committee on Naval Affairs — Investigation of the
Navy Department and Its Results — Trip to Europe with Mrs. Sherman —
We Visit Bracklinn's Bridge, Made Famous by Sir Walter Scott —
Ireland and the Irish — I Pay a Visit to Parliament and
Obtain Ready Admission — Notable Places in Paris
Viewed with Senator Sumner — The Battle
field ot Magenta — Return Home.
IN the summer of 1857 there occurred one of those period
ical revulsions which seem to come after a term of appar
ent prosperity. On the 24th of August the Ohio Life
Insurance & Trust Company failed. That single event, in
itself unimportant, indicated an unhealthy condition of trade,
caused by reckless speculation, high prices, the construction of
railroads in advance of their need, a great increase of imports,
and the excessive development of cities and towns. All credits
were expanded. The immediate results of the panic were the
suspension of credits, the diminution of imports, the failure of
banks, and the general or partial suspension or lessening of all
industries. The revenues of the government were greatly
diminished. On the 1st of July, 1857, the balance in the treasury was
$17,710,000. On the 1st of July, 1858, the balance was reduced
to $6,398,000, and during the year preceding, the United States
borrowed $10,000,000. On the 1st of July, 1859, the surplus
was reduced to $4,320,000, and during the year preceding the
United States borrowed $20,774,000. This sudden change in
the financial condition of the treasury was an indication of a
like or greater change in the condition of every person engaged
in productive industries.
The panic especially affected the state banks. These banks
were authorized by the laws of the several states to issue notes
(153)

154 RECOLLECTIONS
as money payable on demand, with no common system or
methods of redemption, and varying in value according to the
solvency of the banks issuing them. The banks in a few of
the states maintained their notes at par, or at a small discount,
but the great body of the notes could circulate only in the
states where issued, and then only because their people could
get no other money in exchange for their products. The
necessities created by the Civil War compelled the United
States to borrow large sums, and to aid in this a national cur
rency was provided, concerning which a statement of the
measures adopted will be made hereafter. It is sufficient here
to state that the national currency adopted proved one of the
most beneficial results of the war.
The financial stringency of 1857 led to a careful scrutiny of
appropriations for the support of the government.
On the 27tli of May, 1858, I expressed my views in respect
to the expenditures of the United States. This speech was the
first eff'ort I made in Congress to deal with the finances of the
national government. In the previous Congresses I had de
voted my time to the struggle in Kansas. At the meeting of
the 35th Congress, I naturally turned to the condition of our
finances, then the paramount subject of interest in the coun
try, and, especially in Ohio, devoting most of my time to a
careful study thereof. The speech referred to on national
finances was the result of much labor, and I believe it will
bear favorable scrutiny even at this late day. It certainly
attracted the attention of my colleagues, and no doubt led to
my transfer, at the next Congress, to the committee of ways
and means.
In this speech I stated fully the increase of expenditures
and the diminution of the revenues, and the then condition of
the treasury. I quote as follows:
" And yet, sir, for this alarming condition of the public finances, the ad
ministration has no measures of relief except loan bills and paper money in
the form of treasury notes. No provision is made for their payment ; no
measure of retronchinent and reform ; but these accumulated difficulties are
thrust upon the future, with the improvidence of a young spendthrift.
While the secretary is waiting to foresee contingencies, we are prevented

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 155
by a party majority from instituting reform. If we indicate even the com
mencement of retrenchment, or point out abuses, on this side of the House,
we are at once assailed by members of the committee of ways and means."
I cited the abuses and usurpations of the executive depart
ments in diverting specific appropriations to purposes not au
thorized by law. I said: "The theory of our government is,
that a specific sum shall be appropriated by a law originating
in this House, for a specific purpose, and within a given fiscal
year. It is the duty of the executive to use that sum, and no
more, especially for that purpose, and no other, and within the
time fixed."
I pointed out cases where the departments assumed the
power to transfer appropriations made for one purpose, to other
purposes in the same department. Another abuse by the exec
utive departments was the habit of making contracts in ad
vance of appropriations, thus, without law, compelling Con
gress to sanction them or violate the public faith. All these
evils have since been remedied by restrictive legislation. The
habit of the Senate to load down appropriation bills with amend
ments already refused by the House of Representatives, and
theu insist that, if not agreed to, the bill would fail, was more
frequent then than now, but under the practice now estab
lished an amendment finally disagreed to by either House is
abandoned. An illustration of the former practice in the Senate oc
curred in the 36th Congress, when I was chairman of the com
mittee on ways and means. An appropriation bill was loaded
down with amendments, among them an appropriation of
$500,000 each for the construction of public buildings in
Charleston and New Orleans. The amendments were dis
agreed to and referred to a committee of conference, of which
Senator Toombs was a member. His first expression in the
committee was that the House must agree to the items for
Charleston and New Orieans or the bill would fail. I promptly
answered that I would report what he said to the House,
and the hill would fail. He said nothing further, the confer
ence agreed, and the bill passed without any mention of
Charleston or New Orleans. Even now the abuse I refer to

156 RECOLLECTIONS
sometimes occurs, but the general rule and practice is to ex
clude any item of an appropriation bill not freely agreed to
by both Houses.
It was generally agreed that the views expressed by me on
the 27th of May were sound in principle, but the strong parti
san feeling that ran through the speech weakened its effect. I
insert the last two paragraphs:
" But, sir, I have no hope, while this House is constituted as it is now,
of instituting any radical reform. I believe that the House of Represent
atives should be in opposition to the President. We know the intimate
relations made by party ties and party feelings. We know that with a
party House, a House a majority of whose Members are friends of the Presi
dent, it is impossible to bring about a reform. It is only by a firm, able,
and determined opposition — not yielding to every friendly request, not
yielding to every urgent demand, not yielding to every ajipeal — that we
can expect to reform the abuse in the administration of the government.
" At the beginning of this session, I did hope that a majority of this
House would compose such an opposition ; and while on tiie one hand it
crushed the unholy attempt to im[)Ose an odious coiislllutlon — by force, or
with threats or bribes — upon a free people, it would be prepared to check
the reckless extravagance of the administration in the disbursement of the
public funds. But the power of party ties and the executive influence were
too potent. We can only look now to the virtue and intelligence of the
people, whose potent will can overthrow Presidents, Senators, and majorities.
I have an abiding hope that the next House of Representatives will do what
this should have done, and become, like its great prototype, the guardian of
the rights and liberties of the people."
At the beginning of the 35th Congress I was appointed by
Speaker Orr a member of the committee on naval affairs, with
Mr. Bocock as chairman. Among the subjects referred to that
committee was the capture, by Commodore Paulding of the
United States navy, of William Walker, engaged in an armed
foray against Nicaragua. It was fully considered, and on the
3rd of February, 1858, the majority of the committee, through
Mr. Bocock, made a full report, accompanied by the following
resolutions: "Resolved, That tho act of Hiram Paulding, a captain of the United
States navy, in arresting General William Walker, was not authorized by
the instructions which had been given bim from the navy department.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 157
"Resolved, That while we have no reason to believe that the said
Paulding acted from any improper motives or intention, yet we regard the
act in question .as a grave error, and deserving, for the reason already given,
the disapproval of the American Congress."
By direction of the minority of the committee I submitted
a minority report as a substitute, as follows:
"Resolved, That (Joiiiiiiodoro Hiram Paulding, in arresting William
Walker and his associates, and returning them to the jurisdiction of the
United States, acted within the spirit of his orders, and deserves the appro
bation of his country."
It appeared, from the documents submitted, that in Septem
ber, 1857, Walker was fitting out, within the limits of the
United States, a military expedition against the Republic of
Nicaragua, that on the 18tli of September, Lewis Cass, Secre
tary of State, issued a circular letter, warning all persons
against setting on foot such expeditions, and urging all officers
of the United States to enforce the provisions of law cited by
him, to prevent such expeditions "so manifestly prejudicial
to the national character and so injurious to the national
interests." A copy of this circular was transmitted to Commodore
Paulding, for his guidance, by the Secretary of the Navy, and
he was required to regard the instructions contained in it as ad
dressed to himself. Commodore Chatard was suspended for fail
ing to arrest Walker within the port of San Juan. Commodore
Paulding arrived at San Juan on the 6th day of December.
Walker and his men were in sight on shore, at Punta Arenas,
opposite San Juan. This point, though within the limits of
Nicaragua, has been successively claimed and occupied by
Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the so-called Mosquito Kingdom,
under British protection. It was an almost deserted point, to
which a British subject had set up a doubtful title, founded
upon a purchase from a pilot of the port of San Juan. Its
occupants were engaged as a military force, and were then
waging war against the existing government of Nicaragua— a
government with which ours was at peace, and one so weak
that it was inhuman to fight it. Although freshly landed from
our shores, in violation of our laws, and controlling no spot

158 RECOLLECTIONS
except that they occupied — receiving, so far as we knew, no
accessions or aid from the natives of the country, they issued
orders and nianifestoes headed:
" Headquakters Army of Nicaragua,
Punta Arenas, December 2, 1857."
Their leader signed these orders: "Wii-i.iAM Walker,
COMMANDEIJ-IN-CHIEP, ArMY OP NICARAGUA."
There was no doubt that the expedition was the very one
denounced by the Secretary of State in the circular, and by
the Secretary of the Navy in his orders, for Walker and his
men sought no disguise.
Under these circumstances. Commodore Paulding arrested
Walker and his men, and returned them to the jurisdiction of
the United States. This brief and imperfect sketch of the
voluminous majority and minority reports of the committee
will convey but a faint idea of the excitement created by this
arrest. An attempt was made to censure Commodore Pauld
ing, but it utterly failed. The purpose of Walker was to seize
Nicaragua, adopt slavery and convert the Central American
states into slaveholding communities, and thus strengthen
slavery in the United States. It was the counterpart of the
movements in Kansas, and was supported by powerful influ
ence in the southern states.
Another investigation of great importance was ordered by
the House of Representatives, upon the following resolutions
introduced by me on the 18th of January, 1859 :
" Whereas, D. B. Allen, a citizen of the State of New York, specifically
charges that certain oflRcers in the navy department, in awarding contracts
for the construction of vessels of war of the TJiiilod States, have been guilty
of partiality, and of violation of law and thoir public duty: and whereas,
grave charges have been made that money appropriated for navy yards and
for the repair of vessels of the United States, has been expended for partisan
purposes, and not for the purposes prescribed by law: Therefore,
" Resolved, That a committee of five members be appointed to examine,
1. Into the specifications and bids for, and the terms of, the contracts for the
work and labor done, or materials furnished for the vessels of tho United
States, constructed, or in process of construction or repair, by the United

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 159
Slates, Rinc(> the 4tli day of Marcli, 1857, and tho modo and manner of award
ing said contracts, and the inducements and recommendations influencing
said awards. 2. Into the mode and manner, and the purpose, in which the
money appropriated for the navy and dock yards, and for the repair and
increase of vessels, has been expended. That said committee have power
to send for persons and papers, and have leave to report by bill or other
wise." This investigation occupied most of the remaining session
of that Congress. The committee of flve was composed of
Messrs. Sherman, Bocock, Ritchie, Groesbeck and Ready, three
Democrats and two Republicans, of which I was chairman.
The committee took a mass of testimony, disclosing abuses and
frauds ot a startling character, covering over 1,000 printed
pages. The majority of the committee, Messrs. Bocock, Groes
beck and Ready, submitted a report condemning the glaring
abuses proven, and, while reporting the inefficiency and incom
petency of subordinate oflicers and employes, yet declared that
nothing had been proven which impeached the personal or
official integrity of the Secretary of the Navy. They proposed
the following resolutions :
" 1. Resolved, That the testimony taken in this investigation proves the
existence of glaring abuses in the Brooklyn navy yard, and such as require
the interposition of legislative reform ; but it is due to justice to declare
that these abuses have been slowly and gradually growing up during a long
course of years, and that no particular administration should bear the entire
blame therefor.
" 2. Resolved, That it is disclosed, by the testimony in this case, that the
agency for the purchase of anthracite coal for the use of the navy has been,
for some time past, in the hands of a person wholly inefiicient and grossly
incompetent, and that reform is needed in the regulations which exist on
that subject ; but there is no proof which traces -any knowledge of such
inefficiency and incompetency to the responsible authorities in Washington,
nor any which shows that the need of reform grows especially out of any act
of theirs ; but, on the contrary, it is expressly proven that the supply of coal
for the naval service has been purchased during this administration upon
terms relatively as favorable as ever heretofore.
" 3. Resolved, That while we could never sanction or approve any
arrangement, on the part of an officer of the government, which, under pre
tense of making contracts for supplies, was designed to confer especial and
exclusive favor on individuals, yet, in the contract entered into in Septem
ber, 1858, between the navy department and W. C. N. Swift, for the supply

160 RECOLLECTIONS
of live oak to said department, it is clearly proven by the testimony that, if
the Secretary of the Navy did contemplate any favor to said Swift, he did not
design to bestow it to the detriment of the government, but that in all he
did in this matter he kept always in view the good of the public and the
interests of the service.
" 4. Resolved, That in the letting of the contracts for the construction of
the steam machinery for the vessels of the navy during the present admin
istration, nothing has been shown which calls for the interposition of the
Congress of the United States ; but it is manifest that the present head of
the navy department has displayed a very laudable zeal to secure the
greatest amount of speed and efficiency attainable for said vessels.
" 5. Resolved, That nothing has been proven in this investigation which
impeaches, in any way, the personal or official integrity of the Secretary of
the Navy." The minority report was made by Ritchie and myself on
the 24th of February, 1859, in which w^e recommended the
following resolutions :
"Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy has, with the sanction of the
President, abused his discretionary power in the selection of a coal agent
and in the purchase of fuel for the government.
"Resolved, That the contract made by the Secretary of the Navy, under
date of September 23, 1858, with W. C. N. Swift, for the delivery of live
oak timber, was made in violation of law, and in a manner unusual, improper,
and injurious to the public service.
"Resolved, That the distribution, by the Secretary of the Navy, of the
patronage in the navy yard among Members of Congress was destructive of
discipline, corrupting in its influence, and highly injurious to the public
service. "Resolved, That the President and Secretary of the Navy, by receiving
and considering the party relations of bidders for contracts with the United
States, and the effect of awarding contracts upon pending elections, have set
an example dangerous to the public safety and deserving the reproof of this
House. "Resolved, That the appointment, by the Secretary of the Navy, of
]3aniel B. Martin, chief engineer, as a member of the board of engineers, to
report upon proposals for constructing machinery for the United States, the
said Martin at the same time being pecuniarily interested in some of said
proposals, is hereby censured by this House."
No action was taken on these reports during that ses
sion, which terminated on the 4th of March ; but in the
sucQ^eding Congress the resolutions of tho minority >Yere

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 161
reported favorably from the committee on the expenditures
of the navy department, and, after debate, were adopted, a
separate yea and nay vote being taken on each resolution,
and the vote generally being 119 in favor of the resolution
and 60 against, a large number of Democrats voting for each
resolution. This investigation, and the action of the House of Repre
sentatives upon it, led to radical reforms in the purchase of
supplies in the navy department, and stamped with deserved
censure the Secretary of the Navy, and his subordinates, who
participated in his action.
In the spring of 1859, Mrs. Sherman and I started on my
first trip to Europe, on the steamer "Vanderbilt," without any
definite route or plan. Fortunately, we formed on shipboard
some pleasant acquaintances, among others Judge Harris of
the Supreme Court of New York, afterwards Senator of the
United States, and his wife. Each had children by a former
marriage, who had arrived at or near manhood or womanhood,
and all were pleasant traveling companions. Mr. Piatt and his
Avife, of New York, a young married couple, were of the party.
We were fortunate in the weather and the sea. I had often en
countered the waves of Lake Erie, but the ocean was to me the
great unknown, and I imagined that from its magnitude, its
waves would be in proportion to its size, but, instead, the waves
of the Atlantic Avere a gentle cradle compared with the short and
chopping movement of the lake. Since then I have crossed
the ocean many times, but never was sea sick. We thought
the voyage of eleven days a brief one, but now it is reduced to
six or seven days, on vessels much greater and stronger. We
landed safely at Southampton late in the evening. Many of
the passengers left immediately for London, but our party,
with others, went to the hotel. We seemed to overcrowd the
capacity of the place. One of our passengers, a young gentle
man from Baltimore, said to me he would drive out those Eng
lishmen, who Avere quietly enjoying themselves in the waiting
room. He had been a quiet gentlemanly passenger, but he
changed his tone and manner, was boisterous in his talk and
ra,thor rude. One by one the Englishmen departed, slfiniming

162 RECOLLECTIONS
the door after them, casting a sour look at their persecutor,
but he was not disturbed until " the coast was clear," and then
quieting down in his usual manner he said he knew these
Englishmen, and thought he would give them a chance to
abuse the d  d Americans. After long waiting we had a
good supper.
On the next day, or the day following, we visited the Isle of
Wight, and what is misnamed the " New Forest " — which is very
old instead of new, and is an open park instead of a forest — in
the neighborhood. Like most travelers we soon went to Lon
don. This great city impressed me more by the association of
great men and women who had lived and died in it than by the
grandeur of its buildings and public works. Every street and
many houses in it recalled the names of persons whose writ
ings I had read, and of others whose deeds made them im
mortal. As Parliament was not in session we shortened our
visit in London until our return. My trip to Scotland was es
pecially interesting. Mrs. Sherman, a daughter of Judge
Stewart, was in face and affinities a thorough Scotch woman,
though her ancestors for several generations were born in
America. She was familiar with Scottish history, and with
the geography of Scotland. Our visit to Edinburgh and its
environs was to her like a return to familiar scenes. In our
slow progress towards the lakes we stopped at Callender over
Sunday. After looking into the well-filled church we started
for Bracklinn bridge, made famous in Scott's "Lady of the
Lake." " Bracklinn's thundering wave " is a beautiful cascade
made at a place called the Bridge of Bracklinn, by a mountain
stream called the Keltic, about a mile from the village of Cal
lender, in Menteith. Above a chasm where the brook precipi
tates itself from a height of at least 50 feet, there is thrown,
for the convenience of the neighborhood, a rustic foot bridge,
of about three feet in breadth, and without ledges, which is
scarcely to be crossed by a stranger without awe and apprehen
sion. We were told it was but a short walk, a mile or two, but
we soon found that Scottish miles were very long. On the way
we encountered an old woman, dressed in Scotch plaid, of whom
we inquired the way to Bracklinn bridge. She pointed out the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 163
way, and in return asked us where we lived. We told her
the United States. She replied, in language we could hardly
understand, "Ah, ye maun come a lang way to spay it." She
then told us where to leave the road and how to find the
bridge. There was nothing remarkable at the bridge, nothing
to justify "But wild as Bracklinn's thundering roar," but the
genius of Sir Walter invested it with his glamour.
" It had much of glamour might
To make a lady seem a knight."
The lakes of Scotland we Avould call bays. The waters of
the ocean fill the deep depressions between high hills. A boat
ride over these interlocked waters was pleasing, but the views
did not impress me like the lakes in Switzerland in the midst
of high mountains, nor did they compare with the grandeur of
the Yellowstone Lake, 6,000 feet above the sea, with surround
ing mountains rising to the height of 12,000 feet, and cov
ered with snow. We were much pleased with Scotland
and its people until we arrived at Glasgow. Here we walked
about the city. It seemed to be crowded with discontented,
unhappy people, with sad faces and poorly clad. We were
told not to go into certain portions of the city, as we might be
insulted. We soon left Glasgow for Belfast and visited different parts
of Ireland, and especially the city of Cork, and Lake Killarney.
The southern part of Ireland was very beautiful, the herbage
was fresh and green, and the land productive. The great draw
back was the crowds of beggars, who would surround us where-
ever we went, soliciting alms, but they were generally good
humored. I saw little of the disposition to fight attributed to
them. At a subsequent visit I saw much more of Ireland and
the Irish people, but on this, my first visit, I left with a very
kindly impression of the country and the people. We have
more people of Irish descent in the United States than now
live in Ireland, and they have done their full part in our de
velopment, not only as laborers, but in all the walks and pro
fessions of life. They are heartily welcomed in our midst. If
all the discontented people of Ireland would migrate to the

164 RECOLLECTIONS
United States, we would welcome them if they would leave
their Irish vs. English politics behind them. We have enough
possible points of controversy on this continent with Great
Britain, without importing from that country old controversies
that have been the occasion of wars and rumors of war for
centuries. We made but a short stay in Dulilin and crossed the chan
nel to Caernarvon. Here we took the old tally-ho coach.
Despite all that is said about railroads and steamboats, I believe
in the old-fashioned stage coach, and especially in the one in
which we crossed the hills of Wales, in full view of Mount
Snowdon. We remained over Sunday in a village on the way,
inquired for the church, and were shown to a very pretty
church building near by. When we entered we found perhaps
ten or fifteen persons, mostly women. The pastor, with an
assistant, soon entered, and services commenced. The pastor
read his part, and the assistant led, and practically made, the
responses. The singing was led by the assistant and shared in
by the few women present. The sermon was short and life
less, and the entire service — though read from the Book of
Common Prayer, as fine a model of impressive English as ex
ists — was spiritless. When we left the church we met lines of
well-dressed, but plain, proper men, women and children in
Sunday garb. I inquired where these people came from, and
was informed they were Methodists on the way home from
their meeting house. This settled the question with me. The
church I attended was the " established church," supported by
taxes on all the people, and the Methodist meeting was the
church of the people, supported by their voluntary contribu
tions. How such a policy could have been sustained so long
was beyond my comprehension. Our policy of respect and
toleration for all religious sects, but taxes for none, is a better
one. Our party, still consisting of Judge Harris and family, Mr.
Piatt and wife, and Mrs. Slierman and myself, visited several of
the central counties and towns of England, chiefly the towns
of Warwick, Stratford, Kenilworth and Leamington. This is
well trodden ground for tourists, and I need not repeat the

OP JOHN SHERMAN. 165
many descriptions of interesting places and the historic names
and events attached to them.
When we returned to London, I visited the courts of law,
Westminster Abbey, and the new Parliament House. I had
no difficulty in gaining free access to the gallery of the House
of Commons by stating that I was a Member of the House of
Representatives. Though I had letters of introduction to mem
bers of Parliament I did not present them. Judge Harris was
greatly interested in the proceedings of the Courts of London,
while I wandered through every part of the great city. We
attended, by invitation, a dinner given by the Goldsmith's
Guild, and accepted some invitations, among them that of Mr.
Morgan, the leading American banker in London.
Our congenial party then separated with mutual regret.
Judge Harris going to the Rhine and Mrs. Sherman and I
to Paris. Here we remained some time. Senator Sumner,
not yet recovered from the blows of Brooks, had been
some time in Paris and accompanied us to many of the
noted places in that city — among them I remember the grave
of Lafayette. Our visit was during the Franco-Italian-Austrian War. I
was anxious to reach the seat of war. On the way we made
hurried visits to Geneva, and Lake Leman. After traversing
this lake we took the coach over the Alps, on the road to Milan,
stopping several times on the way. We passed over the battle
field at Magenta but a few days after the battle was fought.
We saw there the signs of destructive war. The killed had
been buried and the wounded were in hospitals, but the
smell of dead horses poisoned the air, and the marks of the
battle were on almost every house. We pushed on to Milan
and were comfortably quartcicd. The city was full of sol
diers on the way to the army to the eastward. It was then
known that a battle was about to be fought at Solferino. I
was very anxious to witness a battle. General Crittenden, of
the United States army, was attached as an aid to the
French army, and I sought the same facility, but the authori
ties would not permit it. I was assured that my horse would
be taken from me, especially as I could not speak French,

166 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
and that I would be treated as a spy unless I was formally
attached to a particular command. I therefore gave up my
contemplated trip and awaited the battle, which occurred in
a day or two. I then returned to Switzerland by the Simp-
Ion Pass and visited Berne, Luzerne, and Neuchatel. From
thence I returned to London and soon after embarked on the
"Vanderbilt" for home.

CHAPTER VIII.
Exciting Scenes in Congress.
I am Eloctivl for the Third Term — Invasion of Virginia by John Brown — His Trial
and Execution — Spirited Contest for the Speakership — Discussion Over Helper's
"Impending Crisis" — Angry Controversies and Threats of Violence iu
the House — AVitliin Three Votes of Election as Speaker — My Reply
to Clark's Attack — AVitlidrawal of my Name and Election of
Mr. Pennington — Made Chairman of the Committee ot
Ways and Moans — President Buchanan Objects
to Being " Investigated " — Adoption of the
Morrill Tariff Act — Views Upon the
Tariff Question— My Colleagues.
ON the 29th of July, 1858, I received the congressional
nomination for my third term without opposition,
and, in October following, was elected as a Member
of the 36th Congress, by a majority of 2,331 over S. J.
Patrick, Democrat.
The memorable campaign in Illinois in that year excited
profound interest throughout the United States, the debate be
tween Douglas and Lincoln attracting universal attention. The
result was favorable to Douglas, and the legislature re-elected
him Senator, but Mr. Lincoln iattained such distinction and
prominence as to place him at once in the position of a formid
able candidate for the presidency in 1860. This debate made
it clear that the struggle between free and slave institutions
was to be continued and to become the controlling issue of the
future. The murder of Broderick by Terry, in California, on the 13th
of September, 1859, under color of a duel, excited profound in
terest and made that state Republican. The election of a gov
ernor in Ohio, in the fall of that year, preceded by a debate of
much interest betAveen William Dennison, the Republican can
didate, and Judge Ranney, the Democratic candidate, added
greatly to the political excitement then existing, and ended in
S.-I3 (167)

168 RECOLLECTIONS
the election of Mr. Dennison. A few days after this election—
on the 17th of October — the invasion of the State of Virginia
by John Brown startled the country, and, more than all other
causes, aroused the southern people to a state of great excite
ment, amounting to frenzy. Brown, with a few followers of
no distinction, captured the United States arsenal at Harper's
Ferry, took possession of the bridge which crosses the Potomac,
fortifying it with cannon, stopped trains, cut telegraph wires,
killed several men, and seized many prominent citizens, hold
ing them as hostages. Wild reports were circulated of a rise
of the negroes in the neighborhood, the uprising accompanied
by all the horrors of a servile war, and a general alarm pre
vailed throughout the State of Virginia and the south. The
insurrection was, however, speedily suppressed, mainly by the
state militia, and the few insurgents not killed were captured
by United States marines under Colonel Robert E. Lee, soon
afterwards to be commander-in-chief of the rebel forces in the
Civil War.
Brown was tried for murder and executed. This foolish
and criminal invasion was the work of a fanatic who all his
lifetime had been a violent opposer of slavery, and who while
in Kansas had participated more or less in the Osawatamie
murders. His son was killed by the "border ruffians" near his
home in Kansas, for which a fearful revenge was taken upon
the murderers. Brown, having always been an Abolitionist,
and being crazed by these events, believed it his duty to wage
a relentless war against slavery, and, with the courage but
shortsightedness of a fanatic, and with the hope of the as
sistance of the slaves of the south undertook this wild scheme
to secure their freedom.
Under such exciting conditions Congress convened on the
5th day of December, 1859, divided politically into 109 Repub
licans, 101 Democrats and 27 Americans. No party having a
naajority, it was feared by some that the scenes of 1855, when
Banks was elected speaker only after a long struggle, would be
repeated. That contest was ended by the adoption of the plu
rality rule, but in this case a majority could not agree upon
iSuch a rule, and the only possible way of electing a speaker

'^lIK 5l»«'*!l 111  '

v4

st

O kt

2 «
m <
UI h
H s
tn (J
C I

OF .lOIlN SHERMAN. 169
was by a fusing of Members until a majority voted for one
person. It was well understood that the Republican vote would be
divided between Galusha A. Grow and myself, and it was agreed
between us that whichever received a majority of the Republi
can vote should be considered as the nominee of that party.
On the first vote for speaker, Thomas S. Bocock, of Virginia,
the Democratic candidate, received 86 votes, I received 66,
Galusha A. Grow 43, and 21 scattering. Mr. Grow then with
drew his name. On the same day John B. Clark, of Missouri,
offered this resolution:
" Whereas certain Members of this House, now in nomination for
speaker, did indorse and recommend the book hereinafter mentioned,
"Resolved, That the doctrine and sentiments of a certain book, called
'The Impending Crisis of the South — How to meet it,' purporting to have
been written by one Hinton R. Helper, are insurrectionary and hostile to the
domestic peace and tranquility of the country, and that no Member of this
House who has indorsed and recommended it, or the compend from it, is fit
to be speaker of this House."
In the absence of rules, Mr. Clark was allowed to speak
without limit aud bo continued that day and the next, reading
and speaking about the Helper book. John A. Gilmer, of North
Carolina, offered as a substitute for the resolution of Mr. Clark
a long preamble closing with this resolution:
"Therefoi'e resolved. That, fully indorsing these national sentiments, it
is the duty of every good citizen of this Union to resist all attempts at
renewing, in Congress or out of it, the slavery agitation, under whatever
shape and color the attempt may be made."
A motion was made to lay both resolutions on the table,
and was lost by a tie vote of 116 yeas and 116 nays. In the
absence of rules a general debate followed, in which southern
Members threatened that their constituents would go out of
the Union. The excitement over the proposition to compile a
political pamphlet, by F. P. Blair, an eminent Democrat and
slaveholder, from a book called "The Impending Crisis," writ
ten and printed by a southern man, seemed so ludicrous that
we regarded it as manufactured frenzy. After John S. Mill-
son, of Virginia, a conservative Democrat, who was opposed to

170 RECOLLECTIONS
the introduction of the Clark resolution, had exhibited unusual
feeling, I said:
" I have until this moment regarded this debate with indifference, because
I presumed it was indulged in for the purpose of preventing an organiza
tion. But the manner of the gentleman from Virginia, my respect for his
long experience in this House, my respect for his character, and the serious
impression which this matter seems to have made ujion his mind, induce iiio
to say a few words. I ask that tho letter which 1 send up may bo road."
The following letter was thereuiion read from the clerk's
desk: Washington Citv, December 6, 1859.
Deau Silt: — I perceive that a debate has arisen in Congress in which
Mr. Helper's book, the 'Impending Crisis,' is brought up as an exponent of
Republican principles. As the names of many leading' Republicans are
presented as recommending a compendium of the volume, It is proper that I
should explain how those names wore obtained in advance of the publica
tion. Mr. Helper brought his book to me at Silver Spring to examine and
recommend, if I thought well of it, as a work to be encouraged by Repub
licans. I had never seen it before. After its perusal, I either wrote to Mr.
Helper, or told him that it was objectionable in many particulars, to which I
adverted ; and he promised me, in writing, that he would obviate the objec
tions by omitting entirely or altering the matter objected to. I understand
that it was in consequence of his assurance to me that the obnoxious matter
in the original publication would be expurgated, that Members of Congress
and other influential men among the Republicans were Induced to give their
countenance to the circulation of the edition so to be expurgated
Hon. John Sherman. ^- P- Bi.aiu,
Silver Spring.
I then continued:
" I do not recollect signing the paper referred to ; but I presume, from
my name appearing in the printed list, that I did sign it. I therefore make
no excuse of that kind. I never read Mr. lleljier's book, or the compendium
founded upon it. I have never seen a copy of either. And here, Mr.
clerk, I might leave the matter ; but as many harsh things have been said
about me, I desire to say that since I have been a Member of this House, I
hftve always endeavored to cultivate the courtesies and kind relations that
are due from one gentleman to another. I never addressed to any Member
such language as I have heard to-day. I never desire such language to be
addressed to me, if I can avoid it. I appeal to my public record, during a
period of four years, in this body ; and 1 say now that there is not a single
question agitating the public mind, not a single topic on which there can be
sectional jealousy or sectional controversy, unless gentlemen on the other

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 171
side of the House thrust such subjects upon us. I repeat, not a single ques
tion. We have jmrsued a course of studied silence. It is our intention to
organize the House quietly, decently, in order, without vituperations ; and
we trust to show to Members on all sides of the House that the party with
which I have the honor to act can administer this House and administer this
government without trespassing on the rights of any."
Soon after, in answer to an in(piiiy from Shelton F. Leake,
of Virginia, I said:
" Allow me to say, once for all, and I have said it flve times on this floor,
that I am opposed to any interference whatever of the people of the free
states, with the relation of master and slave in the slave states."
This was followed by a heated debate, the manifest purpose
of Avhich was to excite sectional animosity, and to compel
southern Americans to cooperate with the Democratic Mem
bers in the election of a Democrat for speaker. The second
ballot, taken on the close of the session of December 8, ex
hibited no material change except that the Republican vote
concentrated on me. I received 107 votes, Mr. Bocock 88, Mr.
Gilmer 22, and 14 scattering.
The debate continued and was participated in by my col
league, S. S. Cox, who asked me about the fugitive slave law. I
declined, as I had before, to answer any interrogatories and
said: "I will state to him, and to gentlemen on the other side
of the House, that 1 stand upon my public record. I do not
expect the support of gentlemen on that side of the House,
who have, for the last four years, been engaged in a series of
measures — none of which I approve. I have no answers to
give to them."
The third ballot produced no material change. I received
110, Bocock 88, Gilmer 20, and 13 scattering.
In the meantime, the invasion of Harper's Ferry was de
bated in the Senate at great length and with extreme violence,
producing in both Houses intense irritation and excitement.
Keitt, of South Carolina, charged upon the Republicans the re
sponsibility of Helper's book and John Brown's foray, exclaim
ing: "The south here asks nothing but its rights. ... I
Avould have no more; but, as God is my judge, as one of its

172 RECOLLECTIONS
Representatives, I would shatter this republic from turret to
foundation-stone before I would take one tittle less." Lamar,
of Mississippi, declared that the Republicans were not "guilt
less of the blood of John Brown and his co-conspirators, and
the innocent men, the victims of his ruthless vengeance."
Pryor, of Virginia, said Helper's book riots "in rebellion, trea
son, and insurrection, and is precisely in the spirit of the act
which startled us a few weeks since at Harper's Ferry." Craw
ford, of Georgia, declared: "AVe will never submit to the
inauguration of a black Republican President."
The Republicans generally remained silent and demanded a
vote. Mr. Corwin, then a Representative from Ohio, elected after a
long absence from public life, endeavored to quiet the storm.
Frequent threats of violence were uttered. Angry controver
sies sprang up betAveen Members, and personal collisions were
repeatedly threatened by Memliers, armed and ready for con
flict. No such scenes had ever before occurred in the Congress
of the United States. It appeared many times that the threat
ened war would commence on the floor of the House of Rep
resentatives. The House remained in session the week between
Christmas and New Year's Day. During this excitement my
vote steadily increased until on the 4th day of January, 1860,
on the 25tli ballot, I came within three votes of election; the
whole number of votes cast being 207; necessary to a choice
104, of which I received 101. John A. McClernand, of Illinois,
received 33, Gilmer 14, Clement L. Vallandigham, of Ohio, 12,
and the remainder were scattering.
At this time Henry Winter Davis, of Maryland, an Ameri
can, said to me, and to others, that whenever his vote would
elect me it should be cast for mo. J. Morrison llaiiis, also an
American from the same state, was understood to occupy the
same position. Garnett B, Adrain, of New Jersey, an anti-
Lecompton Democrat, who had been elected by Republicans, it
was hoped would do the same. Horace F. Clark, of New York,
also an anti-Lecompton Democrat who had been elected by Re
publicans, could at any moment have settled the controversy
in my favor. It was well known that I stood ready to

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 173
withdraw whenever the requisite number of votes could be
concentrated upon any Republican Member. The deadlock
continued. On the 20tli of January, 1860, Mr. Clark, who had intro
duced the Helper resolution, said:
"1 wish to make a personal oxj)lanation with regard to my ])orsonal feel
ings in the matter of this resolution. 1 never read tho letter of which tho
gentleman from Georgia speaks, and do not take to myself articles that
appear in newspapers, unless they make imputations against my moral
integrity. That resolution was introduced by me, as I have frequently
remarked, with no personal ill-feeling towards Mr. Sherman, the Repub
lican candidate for speaker, apart from what I considered to be an improper
act of his — namely, the recommendation of that book. So far as that affects
his political or social character, he must of course bear it."
I replied as follows:
"The gentleman from Missouri, for the first time, I believe, has
announced that it was his purpose, in introducing this resolution, to give
gentlemen an opportunity to explain their relations to the Helper book. I
ask him now whether he is willing to withdraw the resolution for the pur
pose he has indicated, temporarily, or for any time? "
Mr. Clark said :
" I will endeavor to answer the gentleman. I avowed my purpose
frankly at the time I introduced the resolution, in the remarks with which
I accompanied its introduction. The gentleman from Ohio propounds the
question more directly whether I am willing to withdraw the resolution for
the purpose which I avow? Sir, at the very instant it was offered, I gave
the gentleman that opportunity and I have given it to him since. I say to
the gentleman that he has had two opportunities to make that explanation ;
but he has failed to relieve himself of the responsibility he took when he
signed that book and recommended its circulation."
I replied :
"I will say that that opportunity has never been rendered to me.
When the gentleman introduced his resolution, offensive in its character,
at an improper time, in an improper manner, he cut off — what he says
now he desires to give — an opportunity for explanation. It is true that
three days afterwards, when the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Millson)
appealed to me, I stated to him frankly how my name became connected
with that paper. I did not sign the paper ; but it seems that the Hon. E.
D. Morgan, a Member of the last Congress, and a friend of mine, came to
e when I was in my place, and asked me to sign a recommendation for

m

174 RECOLLECTIONS
the circulation of a political pamphlet, to be compiled by a committee, of
which Mr. Blair, a slaveholder of Missouri, was one, from a large book by
Helper, a North Carolinian. I said to him that I had not time to examine
the book ; but if there was nothing offensive in it, he might use my name.
Thereupon, this gentleman attached my name to that paper. This informa
tion I did not have at the time the gentleman from Virginia addressed me;
but I said to him I had no recollection of having signed the paper, but pre
sumed I had, from my name appearing in the printed list. I subseipiently
acquired it from Mr. Morgan, whose letter was published. That I believe
was sufficient under the circumstances. I know there are Members on that
side of the House who have considered it as satisfactory ; and my friends so
regard it. At the time I stated that I had not road the book, that I did
not know what was in it.
" The gentleman alludes to another tirae. The other day, when this sub
ject was again brought before tho House by him, in language which,
although he claims to be courteous, I could not regard as such, when I was,
by implication, but with a disclaimer of personal offense, charged with dis
seminating treason, with lighting the torch in the dwelling of my southern
brethren, and of crimes of which, if I was guilty, I should not be entitled to
a seat upon this floor, I then rose in my place, and told the gentleman from
Missouri that if he would withdraw that resolution I would answer this book
page by page, or those extracts one by one, and tell him whether I approved
them or not. The gentleman refused to withdraw the resolution. Long
ago he was notified by me, and my friend from Pennsylvania (Mr. Morris)
announced on the floor, that this resolution was regarded by me as a menace,
and, if withdrawn, would lead to a frank avowal, or disavowal.
" I say now that I do not believe it is the desire of the gentleman
to give me that opportunity. If he does desire it, I am willing to do now
what I said I would have done then. And I say, with equal emphasis,
that never, so help me God, whether or not the speaker's chair is to be
occupied by me, will I do so while that resolution is before this body,
undisposed of. I regard it as offensive in its tone, unprecedented, unparlia
mentary, and an invasion of the rights of representation. Under the menace
clearly contained in it, I never will explain a single word contained in those
extracts. "If the gentleman will withdraw his resolution, even for a moment, to
relieve me from the menace — ho may reinstate it afterwards if ho chooses —
I will then say what 1 have to say in regard to those extracts. But while it
stands before the House, intended as a stigma upon me, and sustained by an
argument without precedent in parliamentary history, he cannot expect me
to say more than I have done. I believe not only my friends, but the
gentlemen on the other side of the House, who have a sense of honor, believe
that my position is correct. I know that some of them regard my statement
made on the third day of the session as full and satisfactory, and all that,
under the circumstances, it was proper for me to indicate.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 175
"For gentlemen now to press this matter; to agitate the country; to
spread these extracts all over the south, and to charge the sentiments of this
book upon me, and my associates here ; to proclaim, day after day, that the
Republicans entertain these sentiments and indorse them, is not that
ingenuous, candid and manly course which a great party like the Democratic
party ought to pursue. While we may conduct our political quarrels with
heat, and discuss matters with zeal and determin.ation, it ought to be done
with fairness and frankness. 'J'he mode in which this resolution has been
pressed before the country, and I, with my hands tied and my lips sealed
as a candidate, have been arraigned day by day, is without a precedent, not
only in history but in party caucuses, in state legislatures, in state conven
tions or anywhere else.
" I said when I rose the other day that my public opinions were on
record. I s.ay so now. Gentlemen upon the other side have said that
they have examined that record to ascertain what my political opinions
were. They will look in vain for anything to excite insurrection, to disturb
the peace, to invade the rights of the states, to alienate the north and south
from each other, or to loosen the ties of fraternal fellowship by which our
people have been .and should be bound together. I am for the Union and
the constitution, with all the compromises under which it was formed, and
all the obligations which it imposes. This has always been my position ;
and these opinions have been avowed by me on this floor and stand now
upon your records. Who has brought anything from that record against me
that is worthy of answer? . . .
" I have never sought to invade the rights of the southern states. I
have never sought to trample upon the rights of citizens of the southern
states. I have my idea about slavery in the territories, and at the proper
time and in the proper way I am willing to discuss the question. I never
made but one speech on the subject of slavery, and that was in reference to
what I re<>-arded as an improper remark made by President Pierce in 1850.
I then spread upon the record my opinions on the subject ; and I have found
no man to call them into question. They are the opinions of the body of
the Republicans. They are the opinions which I now entertain. Gentlemen
are at liberty to discuss these questions as much as they choose, and I will
bear my share of the responsibility for entertaining these opinions. But I
now speak to my jiorsonal record. ...
"Again these gentlemen, while publishing in their speeches all over the
country that I am in effect a traitor, etc., by implication, it is true, disavow
ing, as I am glad to say each of them have done, any design to be personally
offensive, but in a way that answers the same purpose ; yet when called
upon to show proofs or specifications, they fail to do so ; and the only act
for which I have been arraigned before the American people is that, in a
moment when I was sitting here, busy at my desk, and one of my friends,
and late a Member of this House, came to me and asked me to sign a paper
recommending the publication of a political tract ; that, when I authorized

176 RECOLLECTIONS
my name to be put to that recommendation, by that very act I became a
traitor and would place the torch in the hands of the incendiary. I say this
is not fair argument. And I again repeat that if the Member from Missouri
(Mr. Clark) desires to know what my sentiments are in regard to the extracts
read at the clerk's table, the only portion of the Helper book I have seen or
read, I will give them if he will remove a menace from me. I never did do
anything under menace. I never will. It is not in my blood and these
gentlemen cannot put it there."
Mr. Clark rose to speak, but I continued :
" The gentleman will excuse me, I have, so far as I am concerned in
this contest, been quiet and patient. I desire to see an organization of the
House opposed to the administration. I think it is our highest duty to
investigate, to examine and analyze the mode in which the executive powers
of this government have been administered for a few years past. That
is my desire. Yes sir, I said here, in the flrst remark I made, that I did
not believe the slavery question would come up at all during this ses
sion. I came here with the expectation that we would have a business
session, that we would examine into the business affaire of this government,
and that wo would analyze the causes of the increased expenditures of ihe
government and the proper measures of redress and retrenchment. I did
not believe that the slavery question would come up, and but for the
unfortunate affair of Brown at Harper's Perry, I did not believe there would
be any feeling on the subject. Northern Members came here with kindly
feelings, no man approving the foray of John Brown and every man willing
to say so ; every man willing to admit it as an act of lawless violence. We
came here hoping that, at this time of peace and quiet, we might examine,
inquire into, and pass upon, practical measures of legislation tending to
harmonize the conflicting elements of the government and strengthen the
bonds of Union. The interests of a great and growing people present prac
tical questions enough to tax the ability and patriotism of us all.
"Such was our duty ; but the moment we arrived here — before, sir, we
had even a formal vote, — -this question of slavery was raised by the intro
duction of the resolution of the gentleman from Missouri. It has had the
effect of exciting the public mind with an irritating controversy. It has
impaired the public credit and retarded the public business. The debate
founded upon it has been unjust, offensive, wrong, not only to the Repub
licans here, not only to those with whom I act, but to all our common con
stituents, north and south. The gentlemen who have advocated that resolu
tion have stirred up bad blood, and all because certain gentlemen have
recommended that a compilation be made of a book. Pjven yet we may re
trieve the loss of valuable time. We could now go to work, organize this
House and administer the powers of this House with fairness and impartiality.
"In conclusion, let me say that by no act or effort have I sought the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 177
position I now occupy before tho House. The honor was tendered me by
the generous (u>nfidcnce and jiartiality of those with whom it has been my
pride to act, politically. Their conduct in this irritating controversy has
justiflod my attachment.
"If I shall over reach the speaker's ohair, it will be with untrammeled
hands and with an honest juirpose to discharge every duty in the spirit
which the oath of oflice enjoins ; and to organize the House with reference
to tho rights and illt(^res^s of every siictioii, the peace and jirospority of the
whole Union, and the efficient discharge of all the business of the govern
ment. And whenever friends who have so gallantly and liberally sustained
me thus far believe that my name in any way presents an obstacle to suc
cess, it is my sincere wisli that they should adopt some other. Whenever
any one of my political friends can combine a greater number of votes than
I liave boon honored with, or sudiciont to elect him by a majority or
plurality rule, I will not stand in this j)osition one hour ; I will retire from
the field, and yield to any other gentleman with whom I act, the barren ,
honors of the speaker's chair ; and I ])romise my friends a grateful recogni
tion of the unsolicited honor conferred upon me, and a zealous and earnest
cooperation." Pending the vote on the 39th ballot and before it was
announced, Robert Mallory, of Kentucky, an American, ap-
[loaled to the Democrats to vote for William N. H. Smith, of
North Carolina, also an American, whicli would elect him.
The Democrats thereupon changed their votes to Mr. Smith,
making many speeches in explanation of their action. Per
ceiving that this would elect Mr. Smith I arose and for the
first time cast my ballot for speaker, voting for Mr. Corwin.
Three other Members who had voted for Mr. Smith changed
their votes, which defeated the election on that ballot.
After this vote I conferred with Davis and George Briggs,
of Noav York, Americans, and Adrain. I had the positive
a,,ssurance of these thiee gentlemen that if I would withdraw
they would vote for William Pennington, of New Jersey, aud
thus secure a Republican organization of the House. I re-
fei-red this proposition to my Republican associates, and a
majority of them Avere opposed to any change. Francis E.
Spinner, of New York, said he never would change his vote
from me, and Thaddeus Stevens said he never would do so
until the crack of doom. When afterwards reminded of this
Mr. Stevens said he thought he "heard it cracking."

178 RECOLLECTIONS
I felt the responsibility, but on the 30th of January, 1860, I
determined to withdraw. In doing so 1 made the following
remarks, as printed in the "Congressional Globe:"
"Mr. clerk — [Loud cries of 'Down,' 'Down,' 'Order,' 'Order,' 'Let
us have the question,' etc.] Eight weeks ago, I was honored by the
votes of a large plurality of my fellow Members for the high office of speaker
of this House. Since that time they have adhered to their choice with a
fidelity that has won my devotion and ros]K)ct ; and, as 1 bcli(!ve, tho apjiro-
bation of their constituents. They have stood undismayed amidst threats of
disunion and disorganization ; conscious of the rectitude of their purposes ;
warm in their attachment to the constitution and Union, and obedient to the
rules of order and the laws. They have been silent, firm, manly. On
the other hand, they have seen their ancient adversary and their only
natural adversary, reviving anew tho fires of sectional discord, and broken
into fragments. They have seen some of them shielding themselves be
hind a written combination to prevent the majority of the House from jire-
scrlblng rules for its organization. They have heard others openly pro
nounce threats of disunion ; proclaim that if a Republican be duly
elected President of the United States, they would tear down this fair
fabric of our rights and liberties, and break up tho union of these states.
And now we have seen our ancient adversary, broken, dispersed and dis
organized, unite in supporting a gentleman who was elected to Con
gress as an American, in open, avowed opposition to the Democratic organi
zation. " I should regret exceedingly, and believe it would be a national calam
ity, to have anyone who is a supporter, directly or indirectly, of this ad
ministration, or who owes it any allegiance, favor or affection, occupying
a position of importance or prominence in this House. I would regard it
as a public calamity to have the power of this House jihiced, directly or
indirectly, under the control of this administration. It would be, it seems
to me, a fatal policy to trust the power of this House to the control of
gentlemen who have proclaimed that under any circumstances, or in any
event, they would dissolve the union of these states. For this reason we
would be wanting in our duty to our God and our country, if we did not
avert such a result of this contest. I regard it as the highest duty of
patriotism to submerge personal feelings, to sacrifice all personal preferences
and all private interests, to the good of our common country. I said here a
few days ago, and I always stood in the jiosition, that when I became con
vinced that any of my political friends or associates could receive further
support outside of the Republican organization, I would retire from the field
and yield to him the honor of the position that the partiality of friends has
assigned to me. I believe that time has now arrived. 1 believe that a
greater concentration can now be made on another gentleman, who, from the
beginning, has acted with me.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 17^
"Therefore, I respectfully withdraw my name as a candidate. And in
doing so, allow me to return my heartfelt thanks for the generous and
hearty support of all my political friends, and especially to those gentlemen
with whom I have not the tie of a party name, but the higher one of a com
mon purpose and sympathy. And if I can ask of them one more favor,
it would be that in an unbroken column, with an unfaltering front and
unwavering line, each of them will cast his vote in favor of any one of
our numl)(\r wlxi cim conimiuid tho highest vote, or who can be elected
speaker of this House."
A ballot was immediately taken, but, much to my chagrin,
the gentlemen named did not change their votes, and Mr.
Pennington still lacked three votes of an election. I again ap
pealed to Davis and Briggs, and finally, on the 1st of February,
Mr. Pennington received their votes. The result was an
nounced; Pennington, 117 votes; McClernand, 85; Gilmer, 16;
15 scattering; giving Pennington a majority of one, and thus,
after a long and violent contest, a Republican was elected
speaker of the House of Representatives.
I was entirely satisfied with the result. I had received
every Republican vote and the votes of a large number of anti-
Nebraska Democrats and Americans. No cloud rested upon
mo, no allegation of misconduct or unfitness was made against
me. I would have been easily and quickly elected but for the
abnormal excitement created by Brown's invasion and the bit
terness of political antagonism existing at that time. Many
Members who felt it their duty to oppose my election, subse
quently expressed their regret that I was not elected. I had
voted for Mr. Pennington during the contest, had a high respect
for him as a gentleman of character and influence, long a
chancellor of his state, and a good Republican.
When the canvass was over, I felt a sense of relief. During
its continuance, I had remained, with rare exceptions, silent,
though strongly tempted, by political criticism, to engage in
the debate. I had, during the struggle, full ojpportunity to
estimate the capacity and qualiflcations of different Members
for committee positions, and had the committees substantially
framed, when Pennington was elected. I handed the list to
him, for which he thanked me kindly, saying that he had but
little knowledge of the personal qualifications of the Members.

180 RECOLLECTIONS
With some modifications, made necessary by my defeat and
his election as speaker, he adopted the list as his own. He
designated me as chairman of the committee of ways and
means, of which I had not previously been a member.
The organization of the House was not completed until the
9th day of February, 1860. The officers designated by the Re
publicans were generally elected. Congress seemed to appre
ciate the necessity of prompt and vigorous action on the
business of the session. Still, whatever question was pending,
political topics were the object of debate, but were rarely acted
upon, as the condition of the House prevented anything like
political action. Nearly all the measures adopted were of a
non-political character. The chief work of the session was
devoted to appropriations, and the preparation and enactment
of a tariff bill. At that time, the great body of legislation was
referred to the committee of ways and means, which then
had charge of all appropriations and of all tax laws, and whose
chairman was recognized as the leader of the House, pi-acti-
cally controlling the order of its business.
By the 13th of March, I was able to say, in behalf of the
committee, that all the annual appropriation bills Were ready
for the consideration of the House, and promised that if the
House would sustain the committee, all these bills could be
passed before the meeting of the Charleston convention. Not
withstanding the partisan bitterness which was exhibited
against me while I was a candidate for speaker, I had no cause
to complain of a want of support by the House, in the measures
reported from that committee. Since then the work of that
committee has been distributed araong a number of committees.
The first political contest was caused by a message of Presi
dent Buchanan, protesting against action uuder a resolution by
the House of Representatives, passed on the 5Lli of March, pro
viding for a committee of five members, to be appointed by the
speaker, for the purpose of investigating "whether the Presi
dent of the United States, or any other oflicer of the govern
ment, has, by money, patronage, or other inqiroiior means,
sought to influence tho action of Coiigro,s.s foi- or iigiiiust the
passage of any law pertaining to the rights of any state or

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 181
territory." The committee appointed came to be commonly
known as the covode committee.
This message was regarded as a plain interference with the
unquestionable power of the House to investigate the conduct
of any officer of the government, a process absolutely necessary
to enable the House to exercise the power of impeachment.
Upon the reception of the message I immediately replied to it,
and a general debate arose upon a motion to refer it to the
committee on the judiciary. That motion was adopted and the
committee reported a resolution in the following words, which
was finally adopted after debate, by a vote of 88 yeas and 40
nays:
"Resolved, That the House dissents from the doctrines of the special
message of the President of the United States of March 28, 1860 ;
" That the extent of power contemplated in the adoption of the resolu
tions of inquiry of March 5, 1800, is necessary to the proper discharge of the
constitutional duties devolved upon Congress ;
"That judicial determinations, the opinions of former Presidents and
uniform usage, sanction its exercise ; and
" That to abandon it would leave the executive department of the
government without supervision or r(^Hj)onsibility, and would be likely to
lead to a concentration of power in the hands of the President, dangerous
to the rights of a free people."
This resolution was regarded as a severe reproach to the
President, who was not content to let the matter rest there, but
on the 25th of June sent to the House of Representatives, a
message restating the position in his former message. He de
nounced the proceedings of that committee as a violation of
the letter and spirit of the constitution. But for the lateness
of the session the message would have been the subject of
severe animadversion. Late as it was Benjamin Stanton, of
Ohio, entered his protest and moved that the message be re
ferred to a select committee of five, with power to report at
the next session. This, after a brief debate, was adopted.
During the entire session, while the current business was
progressing rapidly, the political questions involved in the
pending presidential canvass, the topics of Kansas and slavery,
Avere frequently obtruded into the debate. On the 23rd of
April, William T. Avery, a Democratic Member from Tennessee

182 RECOLLECTIONS
charged that "an overwhelming majority of the Republican
party in this House, headed by Mr. Sherman — in fact, every
member of that party present when the vote was taken, ex
cepting some fourteen or fifteen — indorsed the doctrine of the
abolition of slavery everywhere."
In the course of a reply to this charge I said:
"I think there is not a Member on this side of the House who is not now
willing to make the declaration broadly, openly, that he is opposed to any
interference whatever with the relations of master and slave in the slave
states. We do believe that Congress has the power to prohibit slavery in
the territories ; and whenever the occasion offers, whenever the proper
time arrives, whenever the question arises, we are in favor of exercising that
power, if necessary, to prevent the extension of slavery into free territory.
We are frank and open upon this subject. But we never did propose, and
do not now propose, to interfere with slavery in the slave states. I hope
the gentleman will put these observations in his speech, so that the gentle
man's constituents may see that we 'black Republicans' are not so very
desirous of interfering with their interests or rights, but only desirous of
preserving our own."
Mr. Ashmore inquired : " Are you not in favor of abolishing
slavery in the District of Columbia?"
I replied:
" I have stated to my constituents, over and over again, that I am opposed
to interference with slavery in the District of Columbia. That is my in
dividual position. The Republican party never took a position on the
subject. Some are for it, and some against it. I have declared to my
constituents, over and over again, that I did not think it proper to agitate
the question of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia ; because
I believe that this is the very paradise of the free negro. I believe that,
practically, though not legally, he is better off in the District than in any
portion of the United States. There are but few slaves here, and the number
is decreasing daily. As an institution, slavery scarcely exists here, and I
am willing to leave it to the effect of time."
On the 12th of March, 1860, Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont,
by instruction of the committee of ways and means, reported
a bill "to provide for the payment of outstanding treasury
notes, to authorize a loan, to regulate and fix duties on im
ports, and for other purposes." This became the law com
monly known as the Morrill tariff act, which, from the time
of its introduction to this day, has been the subject of debate,

SENATOR JUSTIN S. MORRILL,
AUTHOR OF THE "mob RtLL TARIFF," 1661.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 183
amendment, criticism and praise. It was referred to the com
mittee of the whole on the state of the Union, and its con
sideration occupied a large portion of the remainder of the ses
sion. Nearly one hundred Members entered into the debate
and some of them made several speeches upon the subject.
Being at the time much occupied with the appropriation bills,
I did not give much attention to the debate, but had taken part
in the preparation of the bill in the committee of ways and
means, and concurred, Avitli rare exceptions, in the principles
and details of the measure.
Mr. Morrill was eminently fitted to prepare a tariff bill.
He had been engaged in trade and commerce, was a man of
sound judgment, perfectly impartial and honest. Representing
a small agricultural state, he was not biased by sectional feel
ing or the interests of his constituents. He regarded the tariff
as not only a method of taxation, but as a mode of protection to
existing industries in the United States with a view to encour
age and increase domestic production. He was moderate in his
opinions, kind and fair in expressing them, and willing to listen
with patience to any proposition of amendment. He still lives
at the venerable age of eighty-five, and has been, during all
the long period since the report of the bill named after him, t',
this time, in public life, and still retains the confidence and
affection of his constituents and his colleagues.
I did not participate in the debate until the time came
when, in the judgment of the committee of ways and means, it
was necessary to dispose of the bill, either by its passage or
defeat. On the 7th of May, 1860, the bill being before the
House, I moved that all debate on it should cease at one
o'clock the next day. Some opposition was evinced, but the
motion was adopted. I then made my first speech upon the
subject of the tariff. The introductory paragraphs state the
then condition of the treasury as follows:
"The revenue act of March 3, 1857, which it is now proposed to repeal,
has proved to be a crude, ill-advised, and ill-digested measure. It was
never acted upon in detail in either branch of Congress, but was the result
of a committee of conference in the last days of the session, and was
finally passed by a combination of hostile interests and sentiments. It was
S.-I4

184 RECOLLECTIONS
adopted at a time of inflated prices, when the treasury was overflowing
with revenue. When that condition of affairs ceased, it failed to furnish
ordinary revenue, and by its incidental effects operated injuriously to nearly
every branch of industry.
"It went into operation on the 1st of July, 1857. At that time there
was in the treasury of the United States a balance of $17,710,114. The
amount of the public debt then remaining unpaid, none of which was then
due, was a little over |29,000,000. So that there was in the treasury of the
United States, when the tariff act of 1857 went into oyieration, nearly enough
to have paid two-thirds of the public debt. Within one year from that time,
the public debt was increased to |44,910,777.
" On the 1st of July, 1859, the public debt had increased to $58,754,099.
On the 1st of May, 1800, as nearly as I can ascertain, the public debt had
risen to $05,081,099. The balance in the treasury on the first of July next,
as estimated by me, will be $1,919,349.
*********
" Under the operation of the tariff of 1857, the deficit in the revenue is
over $52,000,000. It may be stated thus :
Balance in the treasury, July 1, 1857  $17,710,114
Balance in the treasury, July 1, 1800, estimated  1,919,349
$15,790,705
Amount of public debt May 1, 1800  $05,081,199
Amount of public debt July 1, 1857  29,000,380 30,020,813
$52,411,578
It was manifest from these statements that there was an
imperative necessity for the passage of some measure to in
crease the revenues. We could hardly hope that, in the excited
state of the public mind and the known position of the Sen
ate, the bill could pass at that session. The government had
been conducted for three years by borrowing money in time of
peace. The appropriations had been reduced during that ses
sion by the committee of ways and means below the estimates
of the treasury, as stated by me to the House. I then said:
" I desire now to say that the committee of ways and moans, who have
had charge of appropriation bills, have endeavored, faithfully and honestly,
without regard to party divisions — and all parties in this House are repre
sented in that committee ¦ — to cut down the appropriations to the lowest
practicable point ; and thus to reduce the expenses of the government. I
have before me a table showing that, u])on the estimates submitted to us, by
the Secretary of the Treasury, for tlio ordinary expenses of the government,
we have been able to reduce the amount about $1,230,000."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 185
After a careful statement of the condition of the treasury
and the necessity for further supplies, I expressed this opinion
of the pending bill:
" In my judgment, Mr. Morrill's bill is a great improvement on the tariff
of 1857. It is more certain. It is more definite. It gives specific duties.
There is another reason why it is better than the tariff of 1857. That tariff is
made up of complex and iiicoiivonioiit tables. The number of tables is too
great ; and in some cases the same article is in two tables. Thus, flaxseed
comes in with a duty of ten per cent.; and yet linseed, the same thing, yielding
the same product, the same oil, is admitted duty free. The bill of Mr. Mor
rill, on the other hand, flxes three ad valorem tables ; one at ten per cent., one
at twenty, and the other at thirty. There is a number of specific duties, and
then there is a free list. It conforms to our decimal currency, and the
duties under it are easily calculated. There can be but little dispute about
home and foreign valuation under it. It will yield a revenue suflicient to
p.ay the expenses of the government. It is more simple and more certain.
It substitutes speciflc for ad vaIo7-em duties whenever practicable. For
these reasons, it is obvious Mr. Morrill's bill ought to receive the sanction
of Congress." The bill not only provided for a sufficient revenue, but was
distinctively a bill for incidental protection to all American
industries, impartially and fairly applied. 1 said I desired to
have this bill passed,
" Because it is framed upon the idea that it is the duty of the govern
ment, in imposing taxes, to do as little injury to the industry of the country
as possible; that they are to be levied so as to extend a reasonable protec
tion to all branches of American industry. I think that is right. Every
President of the United States, from Washington to this time, has recog
nized that principle, including Mr. Buchanan.
" We may make a tariff to raise the sum of $40,000,000, and injure
every industrial interest of the country. The committee of ways and means
report a tariff bill which will produce $05,000,000, and will do no injury to
any industrial interest. I believe that it will give a reasonable fair protec
tion for the great industries of agriculture, manufacture, and commerce,
whioh lie at the basis of the prosperity of this country."
Mr. Morrill participated in this debate by brief but clear
statements in respect to the details of the bill. On the 8th of
May, 1860, he said, in the course of some remarks upon the bill:
" I think if the gentleman will examine this bill, he will find that the
average rates of duties upon manufactured articles are not higher, but

186 RECOLLECTIONS
rather lower, than they are now; but being to a large extent specific, they
will prove of great value to the country, in giving steadiness to our mar
kets, as well as to the revenue; and because frauds will be to a very great
extent obviated, which are now practiced under our ad valorem system, and
which have made our government almost equal in infamy to that of Mexico
and other countries, where their revenue laws are a mere farce."
The bill, despite its merits, was assailed with all forms of
amendments from all parts of the House. Many of the amend
ments were adopted, until the bill became so mottled that Mr.
Morrill, discouraged and strongly inclined against the bill as
changed, was disposed to abandon it to its fate. He was not
familiar with the rules, and, for this reason, labored under a
disadvantage in the conduct of the bill. I lielieved not only
in the merits of the measure, but that by a process strictly
in accordance with the rules, it might be restored substan
tially as it Avas reported by the committee. To secure that
effect Mr. Morrill offered an amendment in the nature of a
substitute for the bill. To that 1 ottered as an amendment a
bill which embodied nearly all of the original bill as reported,
with such modifications as were evidently favored by the
House, without affecting the general principles of the
measure. The vote, upon my substitute being adopted in place of the
substitute offered by Mr. Morrill, prevented any amendment to
my amendment except by adding to it. The result of it was
that the House, tired with the long struggle, and believing
that the measure thus amended was in substance the same as
the original bill reported, finally passed the bill on the 10th
day of May, 1860, by the vote of 105 yeas to 64 nays.
As this was my birthday, I remember to have celebrated it,
not only as my birthday, but as the day on which the Morrill
tariff' bill passed the House of Reiireseutatives.
We knew upon the passage of this bill that it could not
pass the Senate during that session. It was taken up in that
body, debated at considerable length, and finally, on the 20th
of June, it was, in effect, postponed until the next session.
I might as well here follow the Morrill tariff hill to its final
passage at the next session of this Congress,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 187
On the 20th of December, 1860, Mr. Hunter, from the com
mittee on finance, to whom was referred the tariff bill, reported
it back with a recommendation that it be postponed until the
4th day of March following. This was, in effect, to reject the
bill, as Congress terminated on that day. The committee on
finance, and a majority of the Senate as then constituted, was
opposed to the passage of the bill, but the secession move
ments, then openly threatened, soon changed the political com
plexion of the Senate, by the resignation of Senators on ac
count of the secession of their states. On the 18th of January,
1861, Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania, moved to take up the bill,
and, upon his motion, it was made a special order for the fol
lowing Wednesday. On the 23rd of January it was referred to
a committee of five members, consisting of Mr. Simmons, Mr.
Hunter, Mr. Bigler, Mr. Fessenden, and Mr. Gwin. This was
done on the same day when the committees of the Senate were
reorganized on account of the withdrawal of Senators. The
special committee appointed by the Vice President was friendly
to the bill. Then for the first time it became possible to se
cure favorable action iu the Senate. Many amendments were
proposed and adopted by the Senate, but they did not mate
rially affect the general principles upon which the bill was
founded. It passed the Senate with these amendments by the
decided vote of 25 yeas to 14 nays. All of the amendments of
the Senate but one were promptly agreed to by the House, and
an amendment was made to the Senate amendment, upon which
a conference between the two Houses was ordered. Messrs. Sim
mons, Bigler and Hunter were the managers on the part of the
Senate and Messrs. Sherman, Phelps and Moorhead on the part
of the House.
On the 27th day of February, five days before the close of the
session, the conferees reported to the Senate their agreement
and the report of the committee Avas adopted without objec
tion or division by that body, and also by the House of Repre
sentatives, and the bill was signed by President Buchanan.
This law, passed in the throes of a revolution, and only pos
sible as the result of the withdrawal of Senators to engage in
the war of secession, met all the expectations of its friends. It

188 RECOLLECTIONS
was fair, just and conservative, and would, in peaceful times,
yield about $50,000,000 a year, the amount of national expendi
tures in 1860, and, at the same time, protect and strengthen all
existing home industries, and lay the foundation for great in
crease in production. It was destined, however, to begin its
existence at a period of revolution. The secession of eleven
states precipitated the war, involving enormous expenditures,
in the face of which all revenue laws were inadequate and
powerless. The credit of the government, its resources and
capacity for taxation, had to be appealed to. Resort was had
to every possible mode of taxation that could be devised by the
ingenuity of man, to supply the requirements of the war, and
to maintain the public credit. The Morrill tariff act was, there
fore, greatly modified by subsequent laws, the duties doubled
and in some cases trebled. Internal taxes, yielding twofold
the amount collected from customs, were levied, and cheerfully
paid, and duties on imported goods were quickly increased.
The details of this act became the victim of the war, but the
general principles upon which it was founded, the application
of specific duties where possible, and the careful protection
extended to the products of the soil and the mine, as well as
of the workshop, have been maintained to a greater or less
extent until the present time.
I have participated in framing many tariff bills, but have
never succeeded in securing one that I entirely approved. The
Morrill tariff bill came nearer than any other to meeting the
double requirement of providing ample revenue for the support
of the government and of rendering the proper protection to
home industries. No national taxes, except duties on imported
goods, were imposed at the time of its passage. The Civil War
changed all this, reducing importations and adding tenfold to
the revenue required. The government was justified in in
creasing existing rates of duty, and in adding to the dutiable
list all articles imported, thus including articles of prime nor
cessity and of universal use. In addition to these duties, it
was compelled to add taxes on all articles of home production,
on incomes not required for the supply of actual wants, and',
especially, on articles of doubtful necessity, such as spirits,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 189
toba(;co and beer. These taxes were absolutely required to
meet expenditures for the army and navy, for the interest on
the war debts and just pensions to those who were disabled by
the war, and to their widows and orphans.
These conditions have, in a measure, been fulfilled. The
war is over ; the public debt has been diminished to one-third
of the amount due at the close of the war. The pension list is
the chief and almost only outstanding obligation growing out
of the war, but this is fully met by internal taxes on spirits,
tobacco and beer. What is needed now is a tariff or tax on
imported goods sufficient in amount to meet the current ex
penditures of the government, and which at the same time will
tend to encourage the production in this country of all articles,
whether of the farm, the mine or the workshop, that can be
readily and at reasonable cost produced in this country.
And here we meet the difficulty that the mode, extent,
manner and objects of tariff taxation are unhappily mixed up
in our party politics. This should not be so. Whether the
mode of taxation should be by a percentage on the valve of
goods imported, or by a duty imposed on the weight or quan
tity, depends upon the nature of the article. If the article is
sold in the market by weight or quantity, the duty should be
specific, i. e., a certain rate on the unit of weight or quantity.
If it is of such a nature that its value cannot be measured by
weight or quantity the duty should be ad valorem, i. e., a per
centage of its value. This is matter of detail to be fixed by the
custom of merchants. As a rule it is better to fix the duty
upon weight or measure, rather than upon value, for by the
former mode the amount is easily ascertained by the scale or
yard stick, while to base the duty upon value, changing from
day to day, is to invite fraud and litigation.
The extent or rate of duty to be imposed should depend en
tirely upon the pecuniary wants of the government, and the
nature of the article imported. If the article is one of luxury,
mainly consumed by the rich, the duty should be at a higher
rate than upon an article in general use. This principle is some
times disputed, but it would seem that in a republic a just dis
crimination ought to be made in favor of the many rather than

190 RECOLLECTIONS
of the few. On this principle all political parties have acted.
The rates have been higher on silks, satins, furs and the like
than on goods made of cotton, wool, flax or hemp. To meet
the changing wants of the government all articles should be
classified in schedules, so that the rate of duty on a single
schedule, or on many schedules, could be advanced or lowered
without disturbing the general scheme of taxation.
As to the manner of taxation and the places where duties
should be collected, all will agree that they should be paid as
nearly as possible where the goods are to be consumed. The con
centration of importations at any one port on the coast, or at
several ports, gives to the people residing at or near such favored
ports an advantage over the people living in the interior of the
country. The system of interior ports, or places of delivery to
which goods may be consigned, has been adopted and generally
approved. The object is that all parts of the country shall
have equal facilities and bear equally the burdens of taxa
tion. The method of importations should be so simplified that any
person, in any part of the United States, may order from any
commercial port or country any article desired and be able
to receive it and pay the prescribed duty, at any considerable
port or city in the United States that he may designate.
As to. the objects of tariff taxation there is and always will
be an honest difference of opinion. The main purpose is to se
cure the revenue from foreigners seeking our market to dispose
of their products. The United States has the right, exercised
by every nation, to determine upon what terms the produc
tions of foreign nations shall be admitted into its markets, and
those terms will be such as its interests may demand. Great
Britain may admit nearly all commodities free of duty, but
even that country is guided by her interests in all her commer
cial regulations. All other nations classified as civilized seek,
like the United States, by tariff laws, not only to secure rev
enue, but to protect and foster domestic industries. Japan
has won its entrance among civilized nations by securing trea
ties with European countries and the United States, by which
she has been relieved frora restrictions as to her duties on

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 191
imports, and now has tho right to regulate and fix her import
duties as her interest dictates.
The United States has from the beginning of its govern
ment declared that one object of duties on imports is the
encouragement of manufactures in the United States, and,
whatever may be the dogma inserted in a political party plat
form, tariff legislation will continue to have a double object,
revenue and protection. This was strikingly exemplified by the
recent action of Congress in the passage of the tariff law now
in force. The real difficulty in our tariff laws is to avoid unequal and
unjust discrimination in the objects of protection, made with a
view to favor the productions of one state or section at the
cost of another state or section. The dogma of some manufac
turers, that raw materials should be admitted free of duty, is
far more dangerous to the protective policy than the opposi
tion of free traders. The latter contend that no duties should
be levied to protect domestic industry, but for revenue only,
while the former demand protection for their industries, but
refuse to give to the farmer and miner the benefit of even rev
enue duties. A denial of protection on coal, iron, wool and
other so-called raw materials, will lead to the denial of pro
tection to machinery, to textiles, to pottery and other indus
tries. The labor of one class must not be sacrificed to secure
higher protection for another class. The earth and all that
is within it is the work of God. The labor of man that tends
to develop the resources buried in the earth is entitled to
the same favor and protection as skilled labor in the highest
branch of industry, and if this is not granted impartially the
doctrine of protection proclaimed by the founders of our gov
ernment, supported for more than a hundred years of wonder
ful progress, will be sacrificed by the hungry greed of selfish
corporations, who ask protection for great establishments and
refuse to grant it to the miner, the laborer and the farmer.
Another principle must be ingrafted into our tariff laws,
growing out of new modes of production by corporations and
combinations. Until recently each miner, each artisan, and
each manufacturer, had to compete in the open market with

192 RECOLLECTIONS
everyone engaged in the same industry. The general public
had the benefit of free competition. This tended to lower
prices on many commodities, to increase the quantity pro
duced, and to supply the home market, thus excluding impor
tations. The tendency since the Civil War in every branch of
industry has been to consolidate operations. To effect this,
corporations have been created in most of the states and
granted such liberal corporate powers, without respect to the
nature of the business to be conducted, and with terms and
privileges so favorable, that private enterprise without large
capital cannot compete with them. Instead of small or mod
erate workshops, with a few hands, we now have great estab
lishments with hundreds of employes, and all the capital of
scores of stockholders under the control of a few men, and
often of one man. This may be of benefit by reducing the
cost of production, but it also involves two dangers, one the
irrepressible conflict of labor with capital, and the other the
combination of corporations engaged in the same business
to advance prices and prevent competition, thus constitut
ing a monopoly commanding business and controlling the
market. This power in the hands of a few is at this moment the
disturbing element in many of our great industries. It is
especially dangerous when it is promoted by rates of duty on
imported goods higher than are necessary to cover the dif
ference in the cost of labor here and abroad. When such con
ditions occur, the monopoly becomes offensive. Such com
binations are denounced and punished by the laws of almost
every civilized governraent and by the laws of many of our
states. They should be denounced and punished by the laws
of the United States whenever they affect any matter within
the jurisdiction of the United States. Whenever the tendency
of a monopoly is to prevent rautual competition, and to ad
vance prices for any articles embraced in our tariff laws, the
duty on the article should be at once reduced or repealed.
As Members of Congress, divided by party lines and crude
platforms, must in the main, care for and protect local inter
ests, I do not believe any fair, impartial and business tariff can

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 193
be framed by them. It would be better for Congress, the law
making power, after determining the amount to be raised, to
sanction and adopt a careful tariff bill, framed by an impartial
commission, large enough to represent all sections and parties,
all employers and employes. Hitherto, the tariffs framed by
Congress have lieon rejected by the people. Each party, in its
turn, has uiulerta.kon the task with like result. Let us try the
experiment of a tariff framed, not by a party upon a party plat
form, but by the selected representatives of the commercial,
industrial, farming and laboring classes. Let Congress place
upon the statute book such a law, and the tariff question will
cease to be the foot ball of partisan legislation.
The remainder of this session was occupied chiefly in
the consideration of appropriation bills. These were care
fully scrutinized; many estimates of the departments were
reduced. As usual, appropriations were increased in the
Senate, but most of the amendments were rejected in con
ference. The bill authorizing a loan for the redemption of treasury
notes was passed on the 22nd day of June. Congress adjourned
at noon June 25, 1860.
This memorable Congress, commencing with a contest
Avhich threatened violence on the floor of the House of Repre
sentatives, was held unorganized for sixty days by a defeated
party upon a flimsy pretext, and during all that time we had
to listen to open threats of secession and disunion made by
its members. No previous Congress had exhibited such vio
lence of speech and action. When fully organized it quieted
down, and, with occasional exceptions, proceeded rapidly to the
discharge of its public duties. A greater number of contested
bills were passed at this Congress than usual. Most of these
measures came from the committee of ways and means. The
members of that committee were Messrs. John Sherman, of
Ohio, Henry Winter Davis, of Maryland, John S. Phelps, of Mis
souri, Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, Israel Washburn, Jr.,
of Maine, John S. Millson, of Virginia, Justin S. Morrill, of Ver
mont, Martin J. Crawford, of Georgia, and Elbridge G. Spauld-
ing, of New York. Of these but two, Mr. Morrill and myself,

194 RECOLLECTIONS
survive. A brief notice of those who are numbered with the
dead may not be out of place.
Henry Winter Davis was the most accomplished orator in
the House while he was a Member. Well educated in college,
well trained as a lawyer, an accomplished writer and eloquent
speaker, yet he was a poor parliamentarian, a careless member
in committee, and utterly unfit to conduct an appropriation or
tariff' bill in the House, He was impatient of details, queru
lous when questioned or interrupted, but in social life and in
intercourse with his fellow Members he was genial, kind and
courteous. On one occasion, when I was called home, I re
quested him to take charge of an appropriation bill a,nd secure
its passage. He did as I requested, but he was soon embarrassed
by questions he could not answer, and had the bill postponed
until ray return. I felt for Mr. Davis a personal attachment,
and I believe this kindly feeling was reciprocated. He served
in the House of Representatives during most of the war, and
joined with Senator Wade in opposition to Mr. Lincoln's re
election in 1864. He died at Baltimore on the 20th of De
cember, 1865, when in the full vigor of matured manhood.
John S. Phelps in 1860 Avas an old and experienced Member.
Born in Connecticut he removed to Missouri as early as 1837.
In 1844 he was elected to Congress as a Democrat, and con
tinued as a Meraber sixteen years, being chairman of the com
mittee of ways and means during the 35th Congress. He was
a valuable Member, patient, careful, industrious, and had the
confidence of the House. He was moderate in his political
opinions, and, though a resident of Missouri, he took the Union
side in the Civil War,
Thaddeus Stevens, one of the most remarkable men of the
last generation, was born in Vermont near the close of the last
century; and was well educated. He taught school and studied
law. He removed to Pennsylvania and there engaged in tur
bulent politics; served several years as a member of the state
legislature; was elected to Congress in 1848 and served four
years. He was known to be an aggressive Whig and a danger
ous opponent in debate; was re-elected in 1858 as a Repub
lican and at once took the lead in the speakership contest. His

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 195
sarcasm was keen and merciless. He was not a very useful
member of the committee. He was better in the field of battle
than in the seclusion of the committee. Still, when any con
test arose in the House over bills reported by the committefe,
he Avas always ready to defend its action. Though a cynical
old bachelor, with a deformc"d foot and with a bitter tongue
for those he disliked, he was always charitable and kind to the
poor. He was quiet and impartial in his charity, recognizing
no distinction on account of color, but usually preferring to aid
women rather than men. I was often the witness of his chari
ties. He continued in active public life until his death on the
nth of August, 1868. For some time before his death he was
unable to walk up the marble steps of the capitol and two stout
negroes were detailed to carry hiin up in a chair. On one oc
casion when safely seated he grimly said to them, "Who will
carry me when you die?" Mr. Stevens was a brave man.
He always fought his fights to a finish and never asked or gave
quarter. Israel Washburn, Jr., of Maine, was one of three brothers,
Members of this Congress. Israel was the eldest, and, perhaps,
the most active, of the three. He received a classical education,
studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1830. He was a
good debater and a useful member of the committee. He had
been in Congress ten years, including the 36th. He subse
quently became governor of Maine, and collector of customs at
Portland. John S. Millson, of Virginia, had long been a Member of
Congress, was fifty-two years old, and regarded as a safe, con
servative man of fair abilities.
Martin J. CraAvford, of Georgia, Avas a lawyer of good stand
ing. He was elected a Member of Congress in 1854, and con
tinued as such until the rebellion, in which he took an active
part. When Georgia seceded, he, with his colleagues, formally
withdrew from Congress. Crawford and I had been friendly,
and somewhat intimate. He was a frank man, openly avowing
his opinions, but with respectful toleration of those of others.
After he withdroAV we met in the lobby; he bade me good-bye,
saying that his next appearance in Washington would be as

196 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Con
federate States. I told him that he was more likely to appear
as a prisoner of war. I then warned him that the struggle
Would be to the death, and that the Union would triumph.
Long afterwards, when I visited the fair at Atlanta, he recalled
our conversation and admitted I was the best prophet. We
spent the evening and far into the night talking about the past
and the future. He evinced no regret for the result of the war,
but quietly acquiesced, and was then a judge in one of the
courts in that state.
Elbridge G. Spaulding, of New York, was an excellent Mem
ber. He had a taste for financial problems and contributed a
good deal to the measures adopted, in this and the 37th Con
gress, to establish a national currency and to build up the
public credit. These Members, with Mr. Morrill and rayself,
were charged with the most important legislation in the 36th
Congress, and I believe that the general opinion of the House
was that we did our duty well.

CHAPTER IX.
Last Days of the Buchanan Administration.
My First Appenranoo noforo a New York Audience — l/incoln's Nomination at tlie
Cliicago Convention —I Riigago Actively in tlio Presidential Canvass — Mak
ing Speeches for Lincoln — My Letter to Pliiladelphia Citizens — Acts of
Secession by Southern States — How the South was Equipped by
the Secretary of the Navy — Buchanan's Strange Doctrine
Regarding State Control by the General Government-
Schemes "to Save the Country" — My Reply to
Mr. Pendleton on the Condition of the Im
pending Revolution — The Ohio Dele
gation in the .36th Congress —
Retrospection.
IHAVE followed this important session of Congress to its
close, but while the debate continued in Congress a
greater debate was being conducted by the people. Never
before was such interest felt in the political questions of
the day. In nuiiiy of the cities of the country clubs were or
ganized for political discussions, and persons in public life were
pressed to make speeches or lectures on the topics of the day.
The Young Men's Central Republican Union, of New York,
arranged a series of lectures, the first of which was delivered
by Frank P. Blair, the second by Cassius M. Clay, and the third
by Abraham Lincoln. The remarkable address of the last
named had great influence in securing his nomination for
President. It was the first time Mr. Lincoln had spoken in
New York, where he was then personally almost unknown. His
debate with Douglas had excited general attention. Using the
language of his biographers :
"When, on the evening of February 27, 1800, he stood before his
audience, he saw not only a well-filled house, but an assemblage of listen
ers in which were many whom, by reason of his own modest estimate of
himself, he would have been rather inclined to ask advice from than to offer
instruction to. William Cullen Bryant presided over the meeting.
*********
" The representative men of New York were naturally eager to see and
hear one who, by whatever force of eloquence or argument, had attracted
(197)

198 RECOLLECTIONS
so large a share of the public attention. We may also fairly infer that, on
his part, Lincoln was no less curious to test the effect of his words on an
audience more learned and critical than those collected in the open air
meetings of his western campaigns. This mutual interest was an evident
advantage to both; it secured a close attention from the house, and insured
deliberation and emphasis by the speaker, enabling him to develop his argu
ment with perfect precision and unity, reaching perhaps the happiest general
effect ever attained in any one of his long addresses."
His speech was printed by the leading papers of the city,
and, in pamphlet form, was widely distributed and read.
I was invited by the Republican Union to raake one of
these addresses, and, though very much occupied and having
little tirae for preparation, I accepted the invitation, and spoke
at Cooper Institute in the city of New York on the 30th of
April, 1860. It was ray first appearance before a New York
audience, and I confess that I was not satisfied with the ad
dress. I undertook,' what I never atterapted before, to read a
political speech to a popular audience. While I was treated
kindly I felt quite sure my speech was a disappointment. A
recent reading of it confirms my opinion that it was not equal
to the occasion or the audience.
I was also invited by the Republican Club of Philadelphia
to make a speech ratifying the nomination of Lincoln and
Hamlin and spoke at a meeting held May 28, 1860. My ad
dress was entirely impromptu, and was far better, both in man
ner and raatter, than the speech in New York, and was received
with great applause. Since that time, I have never attempted
to make a popular address from manuscript. Every speaker
should know the substance of what he intends to say, but
ought to rely for his words upon the spirit and temper of his
audience. The summer of 1860 was ominous of domestic discord and
civil war. The success of the Republicans in the House of
Representatives, the violent scenes in the House, notably those
between Potter, Pryor, Barksdale, and Lovejoy, were indica
tions that the south was aggressive, and that the north would
fight. The meeting of the Democratic convention at Charleston,
on the 23rd of April, soon disclosed an almost equal division of
its raerabers as to slavery in the territories. The southern

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 199
platform was adopted by a majority of one in its committee on
resolutions, but rejected by a majority of the convention. This
was the vital issue between the followers of Davis and Douglas,
and Douglas Avon. A majority of the delegates from six of the
southern states thereupon withdrew from the convention and
adjourned to Richmond. Thus, the first secession was from a
Democratic convention. The remainder of that convention
adjourned to Baltimore, at which city Douglas was nominated
for President. The seceding delegates nominated Brecken
ridge. Thus, the Democratic party, which, in every stage of
the slavery controversy, had taken sides with the south, was
itself broken on the rock of slavery, and condemned to certain
defeat. The Republican convention met at Chicago on the 16tli of
May, with a defined line of public policy which was adopted
unanimously by the convention. The only question to be de
termined was, who should be the candidate for President, who
would best represent the principles agreed upon. Seward,
Chase and Bates were laid aside, and Abraham Lincoln, one
stronger than any ono of those, was unanimously nominated.
The nomination of a candidate by a third party, ignoring the
slavery question, did not change the issue. The conflict Avas
now between freedom and slavery, an issue carefully avoided
by the two great parties prior to the repeal of the Missouri
Compromise. Thus Douglas, as a consequence of his own act, was destined
to defeat, and the irrepressible conflict was to be finally deter
mined by the people in the choice between Lincoln and Breck
enridge, with the distinct declaration, made by the delegates
seceding from tho Charleston convention, that if Lincoln
was elected tlieir states would secede from the Union, and
establish an independent government founded upon slavery.
This Avas the momentous issue involved in the election.
Congress adjourned on the 28th of June, 1860. On the 17th
of July, I was unanimously renominated at Shelby. John
Shauck, a venerable Quaker, 80 years of age, claimed the right
to nominate me as he had done in previous conventions. He
was absent at the moment, but the convention, in deference to
S.— 15

"200 RECOLLECTIONS
his known wishes, awaited his coming. From that time until
the election, I was actively engaged in the presidential can
vass. I spent but little time in my district, as there was but a
nominal opposition to my election. The Democratic candi
date, Barnabus Burns, was a personal friend, and sympathized
with me on many subjects. Scarcely a week day passed that I
did not speak at least once.
Of the many speeches made by me in that canvass, I recall
but very few. I have already referred to my debate with Cox,
if it can properly be called a debate. It was friendly badinage.
He charged me with pulling the Morrill tariff" bill through by
a trick. I answered that if it was a trick, it was a trick well
played, as the bill passed by a vote of 105 to 64, raany Demo
crats voting for it. He coraplained of the duties on wool,
declaring that the farmers were sacrificed. I showed that the
duties on wool had been advanced. He said I was president of
a Know Nothing Lodge in Mansfield. I said this was simply a
lie, and that there were plenty of Douglas Democrats before
me who knew it. He said that I initiated therein, Sam Ricliey
in a stable. I asked who told him that story, when the audi
ence called out loudly for Burns. Mr. Burns rose and said he
did not tell Mr. Cox so. I said I was glad to hear it, that it Avas
a silly lie made out of whole cloth, and asked if Richey was
present. Richey was in the crowd, and rose amid great
laughter and applause and said: "Here I am." I said: "Well,
friends, you see ray friend, Richey, is a genuine Irishman, but
he knows, as I know, that Cox's story is a falsification. Mr.
Cox says I am a political thief; don't think he charges me
with stealing sheep, he only means to say I stole squatter sov
ereignty. It is petty larceny at best. But I did not steal
Douglas squatter sovereignty."
I then proceeded to define the difference between the only
two parties with definite principles. I^lie real contest was, not
between Lincoln and Douglas, or between Cox and me, but
between Breckenridge and Lincoln, between free institutions
and slave institutions, between union and disunion. I refer to
this debate with Cox to show how local prejudices obscured
the problem then involved. The people of Ohio were divided

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 201
on parallel lines, for Cox and I agreed on Kansas, but he
was for Douglas and I for Lincoln, while the south was
brooding over secession, if either Lincoln or Douglas should
be elected. I went into most of the congressional districts of Ohio and
perceived a strong leaning in favor of Lincoln, but Douglas also
had many supporters. The Democratic party of Ohio was
satisfied with Douglas' popular sovereignty, especially as it,-
as they alleged, had secured freedom for Kansas. Breckenridge
had no great following in Ohio, and Bell and Everett less.
I spent several days in the canvass in Pennsylvania, Indiana,
New Jersey and Delaware, all warmly contested states, the
votes of which Avould determine the election. It soon became
apparent that Lincoln was the only candidate who could secure
a majority of the electoral vote. This fact, and the known
difficulty of securing an election by the House in case of failure
of an election by the Electoral College, greatly aided Mr. Lin
coln. I presented this argument with care and fullness in a
speech delivered at Philadelphia on the 12th of September,
1860. It was printed at the time and largely circulated. I quote
a paragraph, which contains the one fact upon which my argu
ment rested:
"Owing to the division of the Democratic party, the Republican party
is the only one that can hope to succeed by a direct vote of the people.
This is a fact I need not discuss, for it was written at the threshold of the
contest by the conventions of Charleston and Baltimore. If the election
were to be determined by the rule of plurality — a rule now adopted in
every state in the Union — intelligent men would consider it already de
cided ; but the rule of the majority is fixed by the constitution, and if Penn
sylvania does not vote for Lincoln, then the election devolves ujion the
House of Representatives. ]n that event the' constitution requires the
House to choose immediately, by ballot, a President from the persons, not
exceeding three, having the highest number of electoral votes. The vote
must be taken by states, and not by Representatives. The three millions of
people of Pennsylvania will have only the same political power as the one
hundred thousand people of Delaware."
I recently read this speech, and, in view of the events
that followed, 1 can say that every prophecy made, and every
argument stated, has been verified and sustained by the march

202 RECOLIJfiCTIONS
of events. My opening criticism of Mr. Buchanan's adminis
tration may seem to be partisan and unjust, but the general
opinion now is that his fault was feebleness of will, not inten
tional wrong. Mr. Buchanan was surrounded by men who had
already made up their minds to destroy the Union, one of
whom had already committed acts of treachery in the distribu
tion of arms an<l military supplies, and all of whom avowed the
legality and rightfulness of secession. I think what 1 said was
justified by the conditions existing when the speech was made.
The residue of my speech was certainly moderate enough to sat
isfy the most conservative mind. I give the closing paragraphs:
" These are, so far as 1 know, the leading ideas of tho Republican party.
I appeal to your candor if they do not commend themselves to the judgment
of reasonable men. Is this the party which you would combine and con
spire against, and to defeat which you would unite hostile elements? Is it
to defeat these ideas that you would risk scenes of violence in the House, or
tho subversion of the constitution by the Senate of the United States^ Is it
to defeat this noble jiolicy that you would longer trust a broken-down, cor
rupt and demoralized administration? Is it fortius that you would continue
in power a party that, by a long enjoyment of the patronage of the govern
ment, has become reckless and corrupt?
" If you will take the responsibility of preventing the triumph of the
Republican party, you may do so, but It will require a close fusion of all the
elements to defeat it. It is young and vigorous. It has all the unity and
discipline of tho old Domocratic party. It holds most of the opinions, modi
fied by experience, of the old Whig party. It has the conservative modera
tion of tho People's party, which has influenced its nominations. It adheres
to every principle proclaimed by tho old Republican party of Jefferson.
We have confidence in the integrity and patriotism, and wisdom of our
standard bearers — Lincoln and Hamlin. If Mr. Lincoln cannot be recom
mended as a parlor President, like General Pierce, and is not familiar with
the etiquette of foreign courts, as is Mr. Buchanan, we know that he is hon
est, faithful, courageous and capable. No man can read his celebrated de
bates with Mr. Douglas, without forming a high opinion of his capacity.
Ho is better for having lived but a short time in Washington, for that city
of politicians is not particularly celebrated for sound principles or rigid
morals. Born in Kentucky, descended from a Pennsylvania stock, the son
and grandson of Virginians, raised in Indiana and Illinois, familiar by his
own experience with the wants and interests and aspirations of the people,
he possesses the same traits of character which made .lacksoii and Clay, in
their day and generation, leaders of parties and of men. Let us, my friends,
unite in electing him President of the United States."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 203
Ijincohi was elected. He received 180 electoral votes;
Breckenridge 72 ; Douglas 12 ; Bell 39. The question then was
Avhether the people of the seceding states would try to carry
into effect their declaration. 1 had no doubt they would try,
but I was equally confident they would fail.
As events progressed in the south, citizens of the north held
popular meetings in nearly all our cities and in many rural
communities. I was invited by leading citizens of Philadel
phia to attend a public dinner in that city in December, 1860.
I could not attend in person, but wrote them a letter which
defined clearly my convictions and my conception of the duties
of our people in view of passing events. I insert it hero :
Washington, Doccmbor 22, 1800.
Genti.eimhk: — Your noto of the 15th inst., inviting me to attend a
public dinner in your city, on Friday evening next, was duly received.
I remember with pleasure tho kindness shown me during the rooont
canvass by our political friends in Philadelphia, and would gladly avail my
self of the proposed celebration, to mingle my j)ersonal thanks with your
rejoicings, over the recent triumjjh of our political principles. Other en
gagements and duties, however, will not allow me that pleasure.
No state can dispute with Ponnsylvania the honor of this triumph.
Her own son was upon trial, and her voice of condemnation was emphatic and
decisive. The election of Governor Curtin foresh.adowed her decision, and
strengthened our cause in every state where freedom of election is allowed
to the people. Her verdict in November reconsidered and reaflirincd her
verdict in October. And now, since tho victory is won, lot us not lose the
fruits of it.
Fidelity to principle is demanded by tho highest patriotism. The
question is not whether this or that policy should jirevail; but whether we
shall allow the government to be broken into fragments, by disappointed
i)artlsans, condemned by four-fifths of the people. It is tho same question
answered by General Jackson in his proclamation of 1833. It is tho same
(Hiestion answered by 1 lonry Clay in the Senate in 1850. It is tho same
question answered by Madison and Jefferson, and recently by Wade and
Johnson. It is a question which, I feel assured, every one of you will
answer, in the patriotic language of General Jackson — ' Tlie U7iio7i, it must
be 2'>reserved.'' Such would be the voice of the whole country, if the government was
not now administered by those who not only threaten treason, but actually
commit it, by turning the powers of the government against itself. Thoy
kill the government they have sworn to maintain and defend, because the
people, whose agents they are, have condemned them. In this spirit we

204 RECOLLECTIONS
have seen a Secretary of the Treasury, charged with the financial credit of
the government, offering for sale the bonds of the government, and at the
same moment declaring that it will be overthrown, and that he would aid in
overthrowing it. We see other high officers receiving pay for services to
the government, and yet, at the same moment, plotting its destruction. We
see the treasury robbed by subordinate officers amid the general ruin.
Stranger still, we see the President of the United States acknowledging his
duty to execute the laws, but refusing to execute them. He admits that
the constitution is the supreme law; that neither a state nor the citizens of a
state can disregard it; and yet, armed as he is with all the executive power,
he refuses even to protect the property of the United States against armed
violence. He will not heed General Cass, the head of his cabinet. He
will not heed General Scott, the head of the army. He has trans
ferred to southern states more than one hundred thousand arms, of the
newest pattern anol most effective calibre, to be turned against the govern
ment. The American people are now trembling with apprehension lest the
President allow our officers and soldiers to be slaughtered at their posts, for
want of the aid which he has refused, or, what is far more disgraceful, shall
order the flag of the Union to be lowered, without resistance to lawless
force. Treason sits in the councils, and timidity controls the executive power.
The President listens to, and is controlled by, threats. He theorizes about
coercing a state when he should be enforcing the laws against rebellious
citizens. He admits that the states have surrendered the power to make
treaties, coin money, and regulate commerce, and yet we will probably have
the novel and ridiculous farce of a negotiation between the President and a
state, for the surrender of forts, and arsenals, and sovereignty. Congress
can do nothing, for the laws now are sufficient, if executed. Impeachment
is too slow a remedy. The constitution provided against every proba
ble vacancy in the office of President, but did not provide for utter im
becility. The people, alarmed, excited, yet true to the Union and the constitu
tion, are watching with eager fear, lest the noble government, baptized in
the blood of the Revolution, shall be broken into fragments, before the
President elect shall assume the functions of his office.
What pretext is given for this alarming condition of affairs? — for every
treasonable act has its pretext. We are tohl that tho pcojilo of the southern
states apprehend that Mr. Lincoln will deprive them of their constitu
tional rights. It is not claimed that, as yet, their rights have been invaded,
but upon an apprehe7ision of evil, they will break up the most prosperous
government the providence of God ever allowed to man.
We know very well how groundless are their apjuohensions, but we
are not even allowed to say so to our fellow-citizens of the south. So wild
is their apprehension, that even such statesmen as Stephens, Johnson, Hill,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 205
Botts and Pettigrow, when thoy say, 'wait, wait, till we see what this Re
publican jiiirty will attempt,' are denounced as Abolitionists — Submission-
isls. You know very well that we do not propose to interfere in the slight
est degree with slavery in the states. We know that our leader, for whose
election you rejoice, has, over and over again, affirmed his opposition to the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, except upon conditions that
are not likely to occur; or to any interference with the inter-state slave trade,
and that he will enforce the constitutional right of the citizens of the slave
states to recapture their fugitive slaves when they escape from service into
the free states. We know very well that the great objects which those who
elected Mr. Lincoln expect him to accomplish will be to secure to free labor
its just right to the territories of the United States ; to protect, as far as
practicable, by wise revenue laws, the labor of our people ; to secure the
public lands to actual settlers, instead of to non-resident speculators ; to
develop the internal resources of the country, by opening new means of
communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific, and to purify the ad
ministration of the governraent from the pernicious influences of jobs, con
tracts, and unreasoning party warfare.
But some of you may say, all this is very well, but what will you do
to save the Union? Why don't you compromise?
Gentlemen, remember that we are just recovering from the dishonor of
breaking a legislative compromise. We have been struggling, against all
the powers of the govornmont, for six years, to secure practically what was
expressly granted by a comjiromise. We have succeeded. Kansas is now
free. The Missouri restriction is now practically restored by the incipient
constitution of Kansas, and safer yet, by the will of her people. The bap
tism of strife through which she has passed has only strengthened the pro
hibition. There let it stand.
But our political opponents, who have dishonored the word compro
mise, who trampled, without a moment's hesitation, upon a compromise, when
they expected to gain by it, now ask us to again compromise, by securing
slavery south of a geographical line. To this we might fairly say: There is
no occasion for compromise. We have done no wrong; we have no apolo
gies to make, and no concessions to offer. You chose your ground, and we
accepted your issue. We have beaten you, .and you must submit, as we have
done in the past, and as we would have done if the voice of the people had
been against us. As good citizens, you must obey the laws, and respect the
constituted authorities. But we will meet new questions of administration
with a liberal spirit. Without surrendering our convictions in the least, we
may now dispose of the whole territorial controversy by the exercise of
unquestioned congressional power.
q'he only territory south of the line, except that which, by treaty with
Indian tribes, cannot be included within the jurisdiction of a state, is New
Mexico. She has now population enough for admission as a state. Let
Congress admit her as a state, and then she has the acknowledged right

206 RECOLLECTIONS
to form, regulate, change, or modify her domestic institutions. She has
now a nominal slave code, framed and urged upon her by territorial officers.
Practically, slavery does not exist there. It never can be established there.
In a region where the earth yields her increase only by the practice of irri
gation, slave labor will not be employed. At any rate, it is better to set
tle all questions about slavery there, by admitting the territory as a state.
While a territory, it is insisted that slavery shall be protected in it. We
insist that Congress may prohibit it, and that the people have an undisputed
right to exclude slaves. Why not, by terminating their territorial condi
tion, determine this controversy? The same course might now properly be
adopted with all the territories of the United States.
In each of the territories there are, now, small settlements scattered
along the lines of transit. Within five years, the least populous will
contain sufficient population for a Rejiresentative in Congress. Dakota,
Washington, Nevada, and Jeft'erson are destined soon to be as familiar
to us as Kansas and Nebraska. It is well worthy the consideration
of the old states, whether it is not better to dispense with all territorial
organizations — always expensive and turbulent — and, at once, to carve
the whole into states of convenient size, for admission. This was the Jeffer
sonian plan, which did not contemplate territories, but states. It was also
sanctioned by General Taylor, and, but for his death, would have been
adopted. This is an easy, effectual remedy, within the power of Congress, and in
its nature an irrevocable act. There is no necessity of an amendment to
the constitution. It is not at all probable that two-thirds of both Houses of
Congress and three-fourths of the states can agree to any amendments.
Why attempt it, unless to invite new contests, to again arouse sectional
animosities? We know that if Mexico is acquired the south will demand it
for slavery, and the north for free institutions. We must forego, for the
present, new conquests, unless the love of acquisition is stronger than the
love of domestic peace.
Suppose it to be conceded that the constitution should be amended,
what amendment will satisfy the south? Nothing less than the protection
of slavery in the territories. But our people have pronounced against it.
All who voted for Mr. Lincoln or Mr. Douglas — over three million three
hundred thousand citizens — voted against this claim. Less than a million
voted for it. Should the great majority yield to a meagre minority, espe
cially under threats of disunion? This minority demand that slavery be
protected by the constitution. Our fathers would not allow the word
' slave ' or ' slavery ' in the constitution, when all the states but one were
slaveholding. Shall we introduce these words when a majority of the states
are free, and when the progress of civilization has arrayed the world against
slavery? If the love of peace, and ease, and ollice, should teiiqit jioliti-
clans and merchants to do it, the people will rebel. 1 assure you, whatever
may be the consequence, they will not yield their moral convictions by

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 207
strengthening tho iiinuoiujo of slavery in this country. Recent events have
only deepened tins feeling.
The struggle to establish slavery in Kansas ; the frequent murders
and mobbings, in the south, of northern citizens ; the present turbulence and
violence of southern society ; the manifest fear of the freedom of speech and
of the press ; the danger of insurrection ; and now the attempt to subvert
the government rather than submit to a constitutional election — these
events, disguise it as you may, have aroused a counter irritation in the north
that will not allow its representatives to yield merely for peace, more than
is prescribed by the letter and spirit of the constitution. Every guarantee
of this instrument ought to be faithfully and religiously observed. But
when it is proposed to change it, to secure new guarantees to slavery, to
extend and protect it, you invoke and .arouse tho anti-slavery feeling of
the north to war against slavery everywhere.
I am, therefore, opposed to any change in the constitution, and to any
compromise that will surrender any of the principles sanctioned by the peo
ple in the recent contest. If the personal-liberty bills of any state infringe
upon the constitution, they should at once be repealed. Most of them have
slumbered npon the statute book for years. They are now seized upon, by
those who are plotting disunion, as a jiretext. We should give them no pre
text. It is always right and proper for each state to apply to state laws the
test of the constitution.
It is a remarkable fact that neither of the border free states — ^New
.lersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, nor Iowa — have any such
upon their statute books. The laws of these states, against kidnapping, are
similar to those of Virginia and Kentucky. The laws of other states, so-
called, have never operated to release a single fugitive slave, and may be
regarded simytly as a protest of those states ag.ainst the harsh features of the
fugitive slave law. So far as they infringe upon the constitution, or impair,
in tho least, a constitutional right, they are void and ought to be repealed.
I venture the assertion that there have been more cases of kidnapping
of free negroes in Ohio, than of peaceable or unlawful rescue of fugitive
slaves in the whole United States. It has been shown that the law of recap
ture and the penalties of rescue have been almost invariably executed.
Count up all tho cases of rosoue of negroes in tho north, and you can find in
your nowspapers nioro cases of unlawful lynching and murder of white mon
in the south. These cases have now become so frequent and atrocious, as to
demand the attention of the general government. The same article of the
constitution that secures the recapture of fugitives from service and justice,
also secures the rights of citizens of Pennsylvania and Ohio to all the immu
nities and privileges of citizens of the several states. No law has been
passed by Congress to secure this constitutional right. No executive au
thority interjwses to protect our citizens, and yet we he.ar no threats of re
taliation or rebellion from northern citizens or northern states. So, I trust,
it may ever be.

208 RECOLLECTIONS
The great danger that now overshadows us does not arise from real
grievances. Plotters for disunion avail themselves of the weakness of the
executive to precipitate revolution. South Carolina has taken the lead.
The movement would be utterly insignificant if confined to that state. She
is still in the Union, and neither the President nor Congress has the power
to consent to her withdrawal. This can only be by a change in the consti
tution or the acquiescence Of the people of the other states. The defense of
the property of the United States and the collection of the revenues need
not cause the shedding of blood, unless she commences a contest of jihysical
force. The increase, in one year, of our population is greater than her
entire population, white and black. Either one of several congressional
districts in the west has more white inhabitants than she has. Her military
power is crippled by the preponderance of her slaves. However brave, and
gallant, and spirited her people may be, and no one disputes these traits,
yet it is manifest she is weak in physical force. This great government
might well treat with indulgence paper secession, or the resolves of lier con
vention and legislature, without invoking physical force to enforce the laws
among her citizens.
Without disrespect to South Carolina, it would be easy to show that
Shay's rebellion and the whisky insurrection involved the government in
greater danger than the solit.ary secession of South Carolina. But the
movement becomes imposing when we are assured that several powerful
states will very soon follow in the lead of South Carolina; and when we
know that other states, still more powerful, sympathize with the seceding
states, to the extent of opposing, and perhaps resisting, the execution of the
laws in the seceding states.
In this view of the present condition of public affairs, it becomes the
people of the United States seriously to consider whether the government
shall be arrested, in the execution of its undisputed powers, by the citizens
of one or more states, or whether we shall test the power of the government
to defend itself against dissolution. Can a separation take place without
war ? If so, where will be the line ? Who shall possess this magnificent
capital, with all its evidences of progress and civilization ? Shall the mouth
of the Mississippi be separated from its sources ? Who shall possess the
¦ territories ? Suppose these difficulties to be overcome ; suppose that in
peace we should huckster and divide up our nationality, our flag, our his
tory, all tho recollections of the past; suppose all these diflicultics over
come, how can two rival republics, of the same race of men, divided only
by a line of a river for thousands of miles, and with all the present difficul
ties aggravated by separation, avoid forays, disputes, and war ? How can
we travel on our future march of progress in Mexico, or on the high seas,
or on the Pacific slope, without collision ? It is impossible. To peaceably
accomplish such results we must change the nature of man. Disunion is
war 1 God knows, I do not threaten it, for I will seek to prevent it
in every way possible. I speak but the logic of facts, which we should

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 209
not conceal from each other. It is either hostilities between the govern
ment and the seceding states ; or, if separation is yielded peaceably,
it is a war of factions — a rivalry of insignificant communities, hating
each other, and contemned by the civilized world. If war results, what
a war it will be ! Contemplate tho north and south, in hostile array
against each other. If these sections do not know each other 7iow they
will tJi,e7i. We are a nation of military men, naturally turbulent bo(^ause
we are free, accustomed to arms, ingenious, energetic, brave and strong.
The same qualities that have enabled a single generation of men to
develop the resources of a continent, would enable us to destroy more
rapidly than we have constructed. It is idle for individuals of either sec
tion to suppose themsohes superior in military power. The French and
English tried that question for a thousand years. We ought to know it
now. The result of the contest would not dejiend upon the first blow or
the first year, but blood shed in civil war will yield its baleful fruit for
jfenerations.o How can we avert a calamity at which humanity and civilization shud
der ? I know no way but to cling to the government framed by our fathers,
to administer it in a spirit of kindness, but in all cases, without partiality, to
enforce the laws. No state can release us from the duty of obeying the
laws. The ordinance or act of a state is no defense for treason, nor docs it
lessen the moral guilt of that crime. Lot us cling to each other in the hojie
that our differences will pass aw.ay, as thoy often have in times past. For
the sake of peace, for the love of civil liberty, for the honor of our name,
our race, our religion, let us preserve the Union, loving it better as the
clouds grow darker. I am willing to unite with any man, whatever may
have been his party relations, whatever may be his views of the existing dif
ferences, who is willing to rely on the constitution, as it is, for his rights ; and
who is willing to maintain and defend the Union under all circumstances,
against all enemies, at home or abroad.
Pardon me, gentlemen, for writing you so fully. I feel restrained, by
the custom of the House of Representatives, from engaging there in polit
ical debate ; and yet I feel it is the duty of every citizen to prepare his coun-
tryiiion for grave events, that will test the strength and integrity of the
government. Believing that our only safety is in a firm enforcement of the laws, and
that Mr. Lincoln will execute that duty without partiality, I join my hearty
congratulations with yours that he is so soon to be the President of the
United States. With great respect, I remain, very truly,
Your obedient servant, John Siierjian.
Messrs. Wm. Read, D. J. Cociikan, L. S. Fletcher, H. E. Wallace,
Char. O'Neill, Co77imittee."

210 RECOLLECTIONS
The leading events in the progressive secession may be
briefly stated. The States of South Carolina, Georgia, Missis
sippi, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, North
Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, severally in the order named,
adopted ordinances of secession. Each of them committed
acts of war against the United States. They seized forts, navy
yards, arsenals, customhouses, post offices and other public build
ings of the United States. South Carolina, on the 27th of De
cember, 1860, seized Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney, a light
house tender, and a schooner. On the 31st, she took possession
of the United States arsenal, post office, and customhouse in
Charleston, the arsenal containing seventy thousand stand of
arms and other stores. On the 9th of January, 1861, she took
possession of the steamer "Marion" at Charleston, and on that
day the " Star of the West " was fired upon.
Georgia, on the second of January, 1861, took possession of
Forts Pulaski and Jackson and the United States arsenal. On
the 12th of January, she took possession of the arsenal at Au
gusta, containing howitzers, cannon, rauskets and large stores
of powder, ball and grape. On the same day she seized the
United States steamer "Ida." On the Sth of February, she
took possession of all the money received frora customs. On
the 21st, she seized three New York vessels at Savannah. Flo
rida, on the 12th of January, 1861, took possession of the navy
yards at Fort Barrancas and McRae ; also the Chattahoochee
arsenal, containing 800,000 cartridges of different patterns and
50,000 pounds of gunpowder.
Alabaraa took possession of Fort Morgan, the Mount Ver
non arsenal, sorae pieces of cannon, and large amounts of muni
tions of war. She took possession also of the revenue cutter
" Lewis Cass."
Mississippi, on the 20tli of January, seized the fort at Ship
Island and the United States hospital on the Mississippi River.
On the 11th of January, Louisiana took possession of Forts
Jackson, St. Phillips and Pike, and the arsenal at Baton Rouge
containing fifty thousand small arms, twenty heavy pieces of
ordnance, three hundred barrels of powder and other military
supplies. On the 28th, she took possession of all comraissary

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 211
and quartermaster stores in the possession of United States
officials within her borders. On the first of February, she
seized the mint and customhouse containing $599,303 in gold
and silver.
Texas, on the 20th of February, took Ports Chadbourne and
Belknap with all the property of the Overland Mail Company.
On the 25th, General Twiggs, an officer of the army of the
United States, traitorously surrendered all government stores
in his command, estimated at $1,300,000 in value, including
money and specie, thirty-five thousand stand of arms, twenty-
six pieces of mountain artillery, and other military stores.
On the 2ud of March, she seized the revenue cutter "Dodge"
and Fort Brown.
Arkansas seized the arsenal at Little Rock, containing nine
thousand small arras, forty cannon, and a quantity of ammuni
tion. Virginia, according to the statement of Governor Letcher,
Avould have seized Fortress Monroe, but that it was firmly held
by national troops.
These Avero some of the acts of war committed by the seced
ing states before the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln.
What was done by the administration of James Buchanan
to meet these acts of war? The ansAver to this question is a
most painful confession of feebleness, vacillation and dishonor.
It was shown conclusively that Floyd, the Secretary of War,
during 1860 transferred from Springfield and other armories to
southern arsenals 65,000 percussion muskets, 40,000 altered
muskets and 10,000 rifles. On the 20tli of October, he ordered
40 columbiads and four 32 pounders to be sent from the arsenal
to the Fort, at Galveston in Texas, the building of which had
hardly been commenced. It was shown by a report of a com
mittee of the House that the vessels of the United States were
dispersed by the Secretary of the Navy to distant ports, for the
purpose of preventing their use in the defense of the property
of the United States.
The Mobile "Advertiser" said:
" During the past year, 135,430 muskets have been quietly transferred
from the northern arsenal at Springfield alone, to those in the southern

212 RECOLLECTIONS
states. We are much obliged to Secretary Floyd for the foresight he has
thus displayed in disarming the north and equipping the south for this emer-
ge7icy.'" Jefferson Davis, on January 9, 1860, in introducing into the
Senate a bill to authorize the sale of public arms to the several
states and territories, significantly said: "There are a number
of volunteer companies 'wanting to purchase arms, but the
states have not a sufficient supply."
This bill wa,s agreed to by the Senate by a party vote, yeas
28, nays 18. In the House the bill was never reported.
Mr. Buchanan, in his annual message at the beginning of
the 2nd session of the 36th Congress, announced the startling
doctrine that a state could not be coerced by the general gov
ernraent, and said:
" After much serious reflection, I have arrived at the conclusion that
no such power has been delegated to Congress nor to any other department
of the federal government. It is manifest, U[K)n an insjiection of the con
stitution, that this is not among tho S[)ccilio and eiiumeiatcd powera granted
to Congress ; and it is ecpially apparent that its exercise is not 'necessary
and proper for carrying into execution ' any one of these powers."
Again he says:
" Without descending to particulars, it may be safely asserted that the
power to make war against a state is at variance with the whole spirit and
intent of tho constitution. . . .
"The fact is, that our Union rests upon public opinion, and can never
be cemented by the blood of its citizens shed in civil war. If it cannot live
in the affections of the people it must one day perish. Congress possesses
many means of preserving it by conciliation ; but the sword was not placed
in their hand to preserve it by force."
This doctrine, if acquiesced in, would leave the United
States utterly powerless to preserve its own life, whatever
might be the exigencies, even against the most insignificant
state in the Union. It was manifest that Avhile Buchanan re
mained President, and Commander-in-Chief of the array and
navy, it was utterly futile to resist the secession of the least of
these states, or even to protect the public property in them.
, On the 4th of December, 1860, tho House of Representatives
organized what is known as the "committee of thirty-three,"
of which Mr. Corwin, of Ohio, was chairman. So much of the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 213
President's message as related to the perilous condition of the
country was referred to it. Propositions of all kinds were sent
to the committee, but the final result was, as anticipated, a
disagreement upon all the measures proposed.
On the 16tli of January, 1861, Mr. Crittenden offered his cele
brated resolutions, proposing certain amendments to the con
stitution of the United States, in relation to slavery, but they
were rejected in the Senate and were not acted upon in the
House. A peace conference was held at Washington, at the request
of the legislature of Virginia, composed of delegates from the
several states appointed by the governors thereof. John Tyler
was president and Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, was one of the most
active and influential members of the conference. It sat dur
ing nearly all the month of February and recommended seven
articles of amendment to the constitution. These propositions
were adopted by the conference and reported to the Senate on
the 2nd of March, and were rejected by a vote of 3 yeas and
34 nays. Subsequently they were again offered by Mr. Critten
den and rejected by a vote of 7 yeas and 28 nays. They were
presented to the House on the 1st of March, 1861, and were
there rejected.
A Senate committee of 13 was organized on the 18th of
December, 1860, to consider the condition of the country, but
its report was disagreed to by the Senate. Many other propo
sitions of adjustment were made both in the Senate and
House, but none of them were agreed to. Not only were no
measures adopted to prevent secession, but it was proposed by
Mr. Mason, that, to avoid the possibility of a conflict between
the forces of the army and navy and of the seceding states, all
the laws providing for the use of the army in aid of the civil
authorities in executing the laws of the United States, should
be suspended and made inoperative in those states. These
were the laws passed during the term of President Jackson and,
at his earnest request, to enable the government to enforce the
laws of the United States against the opposition of the State of
South Carolina. It Avas a striking presentation of the differ
ence between General Jackson and James Buchanan.

214 RECOLLECTIONS
Mr. Hunter, pf Virginia, proposed to retrocede to the seced
ing states, the property of the United States. The last act of
Jefferson Davis was to offer a joint resolution providing:
" That upon the application of a state, either through a convention or
legislature thereof, asking that the federal forces of the army and navy may
be withdrawn from its limits, the President of the United States shall order
the withdrawal of the federal garrisons, and take the needful security for
tho safety of the public property which may remain in said state.
"That whenever a state convention, duly ami lawfully assembled, shall
enact that the safety of the state requires it to keep troo|)S and ships of war,
the President of the United States be, and he Is hereby authorized and
directed to recognize the exercise of that power by the state, and by proc
lamation to give notice of the fact for the information and government of all
parties concerned."
On the nth of February, 1861, Burton Craige, of North Caro
lina, offered a joint resolution:
"That the President of the United States be, and is hereby required to
acknowledge the independence of said government (The Confederacy of
the United States South) as soon as he is informed officially of its establish
ment ; and that he receive such envoy, ambassador, or commissioner as may
or shall be appointed by said government for the jiurpose of amicably ad
justing the matters in dispute with said government."
Such was the hopeless condition of the United States in the
last months of the administration of James Buchanan. It
would appear from the resolute action of the seceding states,
their union as Confederate States, the hopeless imbecility of
the President of the United States, the presence of the seceded
traitors in both houses of Congress, the weakness and feeble
ness of that body, left but little hope for the preservation of
the Union. The future presaged a civil war, and opened up a
dark prospect, a discouraging example for future republics, but
the 4th of March carae, and a new life was infused into the
national councils.
The second session of the 36th Congress commenced on the
3rd day of December. The message of the President I have
already commented upon. It was regarded as a feeble wail of
despair, an absolute abnegation of the powers of the general
governraent. No expectation or hope was indulged in that
the President would do any act or say any word to arrest or

OP JOHN SHERMAN. 215
delay the flagrant treason, then being committed in South
Carolina. "After me the deluge " was written on every page
of his message. Our only hope was in the good time coming,
when, at the close of his term, he would retire to private life.
Having charge of the appropriation bills as chairman of the
committee of ways and means, of the 36th Congress, I was only
solicitous to secure the passage of these bills, so that the new
administration would have money to meet the current wants
of the government. Within a few days, all these bills were
reported, and were pushed forward and passed at an early
period of the session.
I purposely postpone consideration of the financial condi
tion of the United States during this session so as to consider
it in connection with the measures adopted at the called ses
sion in July, 1861.
The House of Representatives was almost constantly occu
pied in considering and rejecting the many schemes "to save
the country," already referred to. The only political speech I
made was in reply to an ingenious speech of my colleague,
George 11. Pendleton, made on the 18th day of January, 1861.
I replied on the same day without preparation, but Avith a
lively appreciation of the dangers before us. As I believe that
it states fully and fairly the then condition of the impend
ing revolution, I insert extracts from it here:
" I have listened with respect and attention to all that has fallen from
my colleague. Much that he has said I approve ; but it seems to me that
instead of appealing to this side of the House for conciliation, kindness and
forbearance, he should appeal to those around him, who alone, provoke the
excitement now prevailing in this country.
" He says tho army should not be used to coerce a state. If by this he
means that tho army should not be used to conquer a state, to compel her to
be represented, to maintain the courts or post offices within her limits, to
burn her cities or desolate her fields, he is entirely correct. I do not be
lieve that any administration will pursue such a policy. But, sir, we have
a government, a great government, to maintain. It is supreme within the
powers delegated to it ; and it is provided with ample authority to protect
itself against foreign or domestic enemies. It has the exclusive right to
collect duties on imports. It is the exclusive owner of forts, arsenals, navy
yards, vessels, and munitions of war. It has a flag, the symbol of its nation
ality, the emblem of its power and determination, to protect all those who
S.— IG

216 RECOLLECTIONS
may of right gather under its folds. It is our duty, as the representatives
of this government, to maintain and defend it in the exercise of its just
powers. Has it trespassed upon the rights of a single individual ? Does
any citizen of South Carolina allege that this government has done him
wrong ? No man can say that. The government for years has been in the
hands of the Democratic party, whose power and patronage have been con
trolled chiefly by southern citizens ; and now, when the Republican Jiarty is
about to assume the reins, these citizens seek to subvert it. They organize
revolution under the name of secession.
" What have they done ? The State of South Carolina has seized the
customhouse in the city of Charleston, has closed that port, and prevented
the United States from the exercise of their conceded exclusive power of
collecting the revenue from imports. It has taken, by force, money from
the treasury of the United States, and applied it to its own use. It has
seized the arms and munitions of war of the United States deposited in
arsenals within the conceded exclusive jurisdiction of tho United States, and
turned them against the army of the United States. It has seized a loyal
citizen of the United States engaged in the discharge of his duty, impris
oned him, and threatened his life, for the exercise of a plain constitutional
duty, charging him with treason against the State of South Carolina. It
has taken citizens of different states rightfully and peacefully attending to
their business, insulted them, inilicted the most degrading indignities upon
them, and then forcibly expelled them. It has raised a military force of
artillery, cavalry, and infantry, with the avowed purpose of expelling, or,
to use their own chosen word, coercing, the United States from the forts,
arsenals, and other property of the United States. When Major Anderson
removed from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, it seized Fort Moultrie, Fort
Pinckney, and other property of tho United States.
" More recently they fired upon a vessel in the employ of the United
States, conveying reinforcements and provisions to our troops. In this act
of war, they used the cannon and munitions of war paid for out of our
treasury. Forts ceded by the State of South Carolina to tho United States
were used to expel a vessel of the United States in the pursuit of its law
ful commerce. When the ' star-spangled banner' was hoisted to her mast
head, as a sign of nationality, appealing to all the yiatriotic recollections
which cluster around it — your flag, my flag, the flag of Virginia, of Ohio, of
Kentucky, of Massachusetts, tho Hag of every state and of tho whole Union,
the rustle of whoso folds has so often excited the [irido and patriotic ardor
of Americans in every part of tho habitable globe — that flag, invoked for
the protection of an unarmed vessel, carrying provisions to our own troops,
was flred upon and dishonored. An act of war by citizens of the United
States, and therefore an act of treason, was applauded by officers and citi
zens of that state, and perhaps by those of other states. It was not an act
of war against you and me merely, but against every loyal and patriotic
citizen of this great republic. Up to that moment we had done nothing.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 217
This government had been more forbearing, more quiet, more complacent,
under this series of offenses, than any government instituted since the foun
dation of governments.
"And now, Mr. chairman, the same lawless violence is breaking out in
other parts of the country. Forts, arsenals, navy yards, and vessels of war,
intrusted without defense to the ])atrlotism of the people, have, upon one
pretext or another, been seized, and are now hold by lawless force. Upon
the rocommendatlon of Members of Congress, Fort Pulaski was seized by
troops, under an order from the Governor of Georgia. I suppose there is
not a Member upon the other side who will declare that it would be given
up peacefully to the troops of the United States if it were demanded by
our national authorities. More recently still, the navy yard at Pensacola
was t.aken by an armed force, under the order of the Governor of Florida.
I have here a telegraphic dispatch sent to this government :
'Ja7iuary 12, 1861. — Commissioners appointed by the Governor of Florida,
with a regiment of arined men at the gate, demanded the surrender of
this navy yard, having previously taken possession of one of the magazines.
I surrendered the place and struck my flag at half-past one o'clock, p. in.,
this day.'
" Mr. chairman, suppose Great Britain, suppose France, suppose all the
])owers of tho world combined, had thus outraged the flag of the United
Slates ; would not every one of us have domand(!d men and money to wipe
out the indignity, and to rejiel further like assaults, at whatever hazard ?
Yet, sir, the Governor of Florida, before the State of Florida had seceded,
goes with an armed force, seizes upon our property, and turns the guns of
the people of the United States against the army and the navy of the United
States. I am also told — with what truth I do not know — that cannon are
planted upon the banks of the Mississippi River, at or near the city of Vicks-
burg, in the State of Mississippi, and tliat our steamboats are now compelled
to land there and to give an account of themselves. We do not know at what
moment they may be subject to tribute and seizure. To whom ? To the
State of Mississippi ? I agree with all my colleagues from the State of
Ohio, from both sides of this House, that there is one thing immutable — a
law that is a higher law. It is, that the Mississippi River, gathering all the
rivulets of the northwest into one current, must be permitted to float our
commerce, uninterrupted and untrammeled, to the sea, or thousands of men
will float down upon its waters and make it free.
" No one doubts, I suppose, that the forts at the raouth of the Mississippi
are in the possession, not of the troops of the United States, but troops that
will resist the troops of the United States. There is no doubt that Baton
Ron ere has been seized ; no doubt, sir, that act after act of war has been
repeated. ¦•
" I ask you, as the representative of a brave people, what shall we do ?
The question is not, shall we coerce a state ? but shall we not defend the

218 RECOLLECTIONS
property of the United States against all enemies, at home and abroad, here
or wherever the flag of our country floats ? Must this government submit
to insult and indignity ? Must it surrender its property, its flag, its nation
ality ? Do you, gentlemen from Virginia, whose great statesman had so
large a share in laying the foundations of our government, desire to see it
thus dishonored ? Are you ready to join excited men, who will not listen
to reason ; who even spurn your patriotism as timidity ; who reject your
counsels, and who would drag you as unwilling victims at the heel of their
car of juggernaut, crushing under its weight all hojio of civil liberty for
ages to come ? Are you aroused into madness by political defeat ? . . .
" Sir, it was but the other day that I was told by a distinguished citizen
of an absolute monarchy — and the remark made a deep impression on my
mind- — that he deplored the events now transacting around us ; that he de
plored what he considered the inevitable fall of this republic, but, said he,
one good will result from it ; it will stop forever the struggle for free insti
tutions in Europe ; it will establish upon a secure basis the existing govern
ments of the Old World. I felt that the reraark was true. If this govern
ment cannot survive a constitutional election ; if it cannot defend its prop
erty and protect our flag ; if this governraent crumbles before the first sign
of disaffection, what hope is there for free institutions in countries where
kings and nobles and marshals and hereditary institutions and laws of
primogeniture have existed for ages ? Sir, when the masses of any people,
inspired by the love of country, have demanded in modern times the right of
self-government, they have been pointed to France with its revolution of
1798, to South America, where changing republics rise and disappear so
rapidly that not ten men in this House can tell me their names, and also to
Mexico. God forbid that the despots of the Old World should ever adorn
their infernal logic by pointing to a disrupted Union here 1 It is said, with
a poet's license, that —
' Freedom shrieked as Kosciusko fell.'
" But, sir, freedom will die with the fall of this republic, and the sur
vivors of the calamity will find springing into existence military despotism
north, south, east and west. Instead of two divisions, there will be many
divisions. The condition of this country will be woi-se than that of Mexico,
because we are a braver, a more powerful, people, who will fight each
other with greater tenacity. If this republic is dissolved, the man now
lives who will be the Napoleon of sorae section thereof. All history teaches
us that whenever a free government is disrupted a military despotism of
force is substituted for the will of the people ; and we have no right to sup
pose that our country will be an exception to the general rule.
" I appeal to the Representatives of the border states to arrest the prog
ress of this storm for a little tirae, at least. Let us see whether there is
any hope for peace and conciliation. If there is not, then, if we cannot
agree, let us fight ; but if we can agree, let us do it like men, and not be

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 219
hurried off by wild and insane feelings of rage and disappointment, by the
weakest state in this confederacy. Sirs, if you do calm this storm, peace
will again sinile upon our country. If you do not, I see nothing but civil
war before us. My colleague may paint in beautiful language the blessings
of peace ; and cry ' peace ! peace ! ' when there is no peace ; but, Mr.
chairman, you and I see already rising in the west, where military feeling is
so rifo, a spirit which will not brook much longer the insults already cast
upon the flag of fiur country. I do not threaten, for I dread — not for you
or me, or the Members of this House, for I suppose we have the ordinary
courage of our race, and we are but atoms in the storm — but thousands and
millions of men, like us, will regret the day when this government was
hurried into revolution, without opportunity for parley or delay.
" If your people will not aid the government in maintaining the public
property iu the seceding states, then we must do it in spite of you, or perish
in the attempt. We must not allow the government to crumble at our feet.
You can arrest this movement, and you alone can do it. I ask you, gentle
men from Virginia and the south, does not your blood boil with indignation
when you read of the surrender of our forts and the dishonor of our flag ?
Are they not yours as well as mine ? Has the feeling of sectionalism become
stronger than the love of country ? I ask if the same patriotism which
brought your fathers and mine into common battlefields, amid all the storms
of the Revolution, does not now rebel when you are forced into a civil war
by tho madiioss of a fow mon in the southern states ? Sir, I do not believe
it. For tho momont, under the smart of imaginary wrongs, under the dis-
ajipointment of political defeat, your people may be hurried into acts of
madness ; but when returning reason comes, woe be to those who have led
them astray ! Then a single wave of the star-spangled banner will silence
the miserable party cries with which you have misled them.
" Let us not deceive ourselves with the idea that this government can
be broken up on Mason and Dixon's line, or upon any other line, without in
volving us in all we dread. There is no man, with a head to reason and a
he.art to feel, who does not shudder at the idea of civil war. Do you sup
pose that this government can be divided in two, according to the plan of
the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Garnett), with this capitol, with the mouth
of the Mississippi, with the territories, and a thousand things that unite us,
without provoking civil war ? Why, sir, we may do all we can to prevent
it ; we may throw ourselves into the breach ; we may stand up and yield
everything, or cringe down and yield everything ; but I tell you that will
not stop the surging waves. If this government is divided, though we may
agree to separate in peace — though every man here may sign the bond —
we know that events hurriedly running forward will bring these two sections
in hostile array against each other ; and then, what a war is there, my
countrymen ! I know that your southern people are brave, spirited, active,
quick ; no man doubts that ; but if you have raade any misapprehen
sion about the northern people — if you suppose that, because they are cold,

220 RECOLLECTIONS
because theyare not fired by your hot blood, they will not perform their duty
everywhere, you are very much mistaken. We are the equals of each other ;
we are of the same blood, the same parentage, the same character ; your
warm sun has quickened your blood, but our cold climate has steadied our
intellects and braced our energies.
" I again repeat, Mr. chairman, that we should not allow ourselves to be
deceived by words. The question is not whether the United States will
coerce a state, but whether a state shall coerce tho government ; whether
this noble fabric, devised by our fathers, shall fall without a blow. I appeal
to you again ; I appeal to the Representatives of all the states, whether we
shall allow Fort Sumter, the only place where our fiag floats in the harbor
of Charleston, to be surrendered at discretion.
" For one, I say, never 1 never ! Even if to-morrow I should vote to
give South Carolina license to leave the Confederacy, if I had the power,
yet, while that flag floats, it is the bounden and sacred duty of this govern
ment to protect it against all enemies, and at all hazards. I had fondly
hoped, while we disagreed, and while I knew that our disagreement was
marked and decided, that you, gentlemen of the south, would yourselves
take the lead in the defense of our property and our honor ; therefore I
sat silent. I had hoped that, while we were discussing, you would insist
u]ion tho protection of tho jiroperty of the United Slates, and that our flag
should not bo dlshonoreil until wo sopaiatcul, in pciaco or in war.
" I was much struck by a remark made the other day by the honorable
Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Davis), that if we could not agree with each
other, we ought to separate in peace — that we should take this old flag, and
fold it away, and keep it as a much-loved memento for us all. But, sir, we
cannot do that now. It has been lowered and tarnished, and we all know
and feel it.
" I was surprised that my colleague (Mr. Pendleton) did not vote for the
resolution offered by the gentleman from New .lersey, in regard to Major
Anderson. I hoped that the Ohio delegation would unite in favor of that
resolution. I was still more surprised, allow mo to say to the Representa
tives of Kentucky, that when their own gallant son had but performed his
bounden duty they should have refused to vote to sustain him in his removal
frora Fort Moultrie to the strongest point in his command.
" The resolution simply expressed a dosire to enforce the laws and to
preserve the Union — no more. I am willing to stand on this ])hitform. I
can join heartily with all those who iiiado that pledge, whatever else they
may think or believe about the questions that divide our people. If v/e can
stand by each other, if our constituents will stand by us in that emphatic
declaration, I do believe the good ship that has borne us thus far on a
prosperous voyage will outlive the storra. But, sir, if we yield too far to the
fury of the waves; if we now surrender, without resistance, tho forts, arsenals,
dock-yards, and other property of tho govornnieiit, we only duinonstiate that
we are not fit for the duties assigned us ; and, if our naraes survive our

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 221
times, thoy will only bo nitiorded as those of a degenerate race, who had not
the manhood to preserve what thoir fathers won.
" Gentlemen cannot come here and say, 'We demand this ; or, we de
mand that ; stand and deliver.' That is the language of the highwayman.
This is a great tribunal, where men reason and judge and weigh and doubt
and hesitate and talk — and wo have a good deal of that. No section and no
state can, becauso tho |)rosid(intial eh^ction has gone against it, say, 'We
will have this change in the constitution, or we will fire upon your flag ; we
will have that change in the constitution, or we will seize upon your forts.'
That is not the principle upon which this government was founded. Mr.
Jefferson, when elected President in 1801, dechared the true principle. He
said it was the duty of all good citizens to obey the constitution ; to submit
to a constitutional election ; and ho congratulated the country that the
Federalists wore willing to give the Democrats a fair trial.
" Under the grave resjioiisibilitjr uj)on which we are acting, I feel it to
be my duty to you, to my fellow-Members, and to my countrymen, north
and south, to say frankly, that, in voting for this array bill, I vote with the
expectation that the army will be used in protecting the acknowledged
profierty of the United States, in recovering that which has been unlawfully
taken, and in maintaining the Union.
" It may be said that the gravity of the events that surround us demands
a greater force than is j)rovided by this bill. The regular army is a mere
skeleton. Tlio present force will scarcely defend our frontier from Indian
incursions ; but it forms a nucleus capable of any re-enforcement demanded
by the exigencies of the times. I do not contemplate, in any event, hostile
invasions of the soil of any state, unless demanded for the defense of the
acknowledged property of the United States. It is the duty of the govern
ment to suppress insurrection in a state ; but in this event the military power
can only be used In strict subordination to the civil authority. If the civil
authority refuse to call for such aid, or suppress the courts, the military
power cannot interfere. If the courts are closed, the duties of postmasters
cannot be enforced, or the mails protected, and therefore the postal service
must necessarily be suspended. No doubt this measure will soon be
adopted. If the revenue is refused, or cannot be collected, then goods can
not bo irnjiorted, iind ports must bo closed. If a state shall, in violation of
the constitution, undertake to uigulato commerce, then her commerce must
be suspended. "No doubt other measures can be devised that will preserve the peace
of the country until the people of the states raay confer in a constitutional
way, unless one or more of the seceding states shall, by military force, shed
the blood of thoir fellow-citizens, or refuse to surrender to the proper
authorities the acknowledged property of the government. I know that all
tho gentlemen around me must deeply deplore a civil war, especially if that
war shall involve tho fate of this capital and the disruption of the gov
ernment. No man can contemplate the inevitable results of such a war

222 RECOLLECTIONS
without the most serious desire to avert it. It is our duty as Members of this
House, it is the duty of Congress, I am happy to say it is now the acknowl
edged cluty of the Presiilent, as it is of the incoming administration, to use
forbearance to the extremest point. Let not physical force be arrayed in
civil war until the last hope of peace and conciliation has been exhausted ;
then let each branch of the government, acting in concert with each other,
perform its respective duties, though the heavens fall 1
" What can we do for peace and conciliation ? I anticipate at once
your reply ; you say, 'Let us conipromiso ; yield what we demand ot you.'
Let us compromise, and wo will preserve the Union ; civil war will be
averted. This, I know, is the earnest appeal of patriotic men in the southern
states, who would gladly give their lives to stoji the march of treason in those
states. How useless it is to talk about compromises, concessions, concilia
tion, adjustment, when, if everything was conceded, the integrity of the
government raay be broken up by a majority of a single state. If we hold
this Union, and all the rights it secures to us, and all the liojies we base
upon it, upon the whim or will of a single state, then, indeed, it is the
weakest government ever devised by man. If a single state may destroy our
nationality, then, indeed, is the wisdom of our fathers the wisdom of babes.
We can no longer talk about the weakness of the old confederacy or
anarchy of Mexico.
"Sir, we owe it as the most sacred of duties to jiut down this heresy.
If it now fortifies itself by sectional animosities, if it rises from party
rebellion to sectional and civil war, still it must, and will, be met with
determined resistance. Upon this point, I am glad to say, the people of
Ohio are united, if the unanimous voice of the legislature of that state is a
true indication.
"Again, I say, what is the use of concession, conciliation, or com
promise, when, if we yield everything you demand, you cannot say to us
' It will save us from disunion or war ? ' Are we not in danger of quarrel
ing about terms of conciliation, when traitors are overthrowing the govern
ment we wish to preserve? Are we not dividing ourselves for their benefit?
What will satisfy South Carolina and Florida and Mississippi and Alabama?
They want disunion, and not compromise or conciliation. The Democratic
party would not agree to their terras, and they seceded from the Charleston
and Baltimore conventions. Is it likely that we will yield what our northern
Democratic friends could not yield? Can you expect this 'black Repub
lican party,' as you please to call it, will yield to yon what your northern
Democratic associates dare not? It is utterly idle to talk about any such
terms of concession. I do not believe any terms which our people could
yield, and preserve their own self-respect, would satisfy South Carolina,
Florida, or some of the other southern states, because they are bent upon
disunion. " We know that gentlemen who represented South Carolina on this
floor, if the newspapers correctly report them, declared in the Charleston

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 223
convention, held recently, that thoy had brooded over this matter from long
years, and that they only sought an opportunity, an occasion, or, if I may
use the word, a pretext, for the secession of the State of South Carolina and
the disruption of the Union. Some stated that they had brooded over dis
union and prayed for its ccmsummation since boyhood. Wo know, sir, that
the seeds of this revolution were sowed in the time of Andrew .lackson and
.lohn C. Calhoun. We know that in 1832 tho doctrines upon which this
rovoliition is going forward wi^re iiiitiat(id, and from that time the young
men of South Carolina have been educated in the school of disunion. They
have cherished those doctrines in their innermost hearts. All the conces
sions we might raake, all tho comproraises we could agree to, all the offer
ings of peace we could raake for the salvation of this Union, would not be
able to secure that desired end, if South Carolina could prevent it.
" Again, we raight, on this side, properly say we have done nothing to
impair any constitutional right. We propose to do nothing to infringe
yours. We have succeeded in a constitutional way in electing a President
of the United States. All wo ask is that he m.ay bo inaugurated in jieace,
and may develop his policy in the usual manner. We can add that this is
the demand of all our people, not only of those who voted for Mr. Lincoln,
but of every loyal citizen. You tell us your people are excited and alarmed,
that they apprehend that an overwhelming anti-slavery element is about to
be inaugurated in ])ower that will, directly or indirectly, affect the constitu
tional rights of your states.
" Perhaps you will coiifoss, what you know to be true, that for jiolltical
purposes, in the struggle of jiartisans for ascendancy, both parties in the
south have united to lire the southern mind against the hated ' black Re
publicans ' of the north. Speeches have been distorted, single sentences
have been torn from their context and made to deceive and mislead. Gar
rison, Wendell Phillips, Seward, Lincoln, and latterly Douglas, have been
mixed in a hated conglomerate, and used to excite your people. A philo
sophic opinion of Mr. Sew.ard has been construed as the statement of a
settled purpose to overthrow slavery in the states, although in the very
paragraph itself all idea of interference by the people of the free states with
slavery in the slave states is expressly excluded. It is but a year since you
inflamed your constituents because some of your fellow-Members recom
mended, without reading, a book written by one of your own citizens, con
taining obnoxious opinions about slavery. Nearly all of you gave birth,
vitality, and victory to the Republican party, by adopting a policy you now
join in condemning. Some of you broke down the only political organiza
tion that could compete with us, and thus gave us an easy victory. You
have all contributed, more or less, in perverting the public mind as to our
principles and purposes. And I tell you, gentlemen, that when you call the
Republican party an abolition party, in the sense you use the word aboli
tion ; when you quote from Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and from like
extreme men, and circulate their opinions all over the south, telling the

224 RECOLLECTIONS
people of your states that the people of the north have been educated in
these sentiments, profess them, and are going to put down slavery in the
states, you do a great injustice to the intelligence and the safety of your
people. "I have heard here, over and over again, this course of agitation, pur
sued only the other day in the Senate of the United States. Mr. Douglas
quoted from one of the speeches of Mr. Lincoln that passage so familiar to
us all, that, in his opinion, the states would at sorae day be all slave or all
free. Sir, in this time when tho people of the southern states are in a storra
of excitement, that speech of the Senator from Illinois is sent over those
states as tending to show that Mr. Lincoln would in some way interfere
with slavery in the states. Mr. Lincoln answered this inference with a
solemn disclaimer over and over again on the same ' stump ' with that Sena
tor. I ask whether it was just to quote the opinion without giving the dis
claimer? It certainly was not. We might answer all you say by declaring
that tho Republican party does not propose to interfere with your constitu
tional rights. I have no doubt that the administration of Mr. Lincoln will
carry out the doctrines of the Chicago platform ; but not the platform as
you pervert it. Sir, it will convince the southern people that all the things
said about us are unfounded. What, then, will be the fate of hundreds of
politicians in the southern states who have stirred their peojile up to the
present iiitonse excitement ?
" Yet the baptism of misrepresentation, through which this Republican
party has thus far advanced, does not excuse us frora doing all in our power
to produce conciliation, harmony, peace, quiet, a fair and honest adjustment
of all tho difficulties that surround us.
" Now, Mr. chairman, I have gone over the whole field. I have given
my views, speaking for no other man, frankly and fearlessly, and I will
stand by them now and in the future. I have given you my opinion upon
all these points. I tell you that this whole controversy was fought and
won by us two years ago, and all you have to do now is to admit Kansas.
That is the only act of power now needed. There let it stand. Let us
live together like a band of brothers. If we cannot agree with you about
slavery, why, you do not agree with us. I know there has been a great
deal of intemperance of language on this subject ; but I ask, if it has been
used upon our side, has it not been used upon yours ? If there has been
harsh and violent words used, I havo not uttered them that I know of. If
1 have, I beg every man's pardon ; because 1 think that violent language,
calculated to stir up oxcitoment and agitation, ought not to be used in a
deliberative assembly. I ask you if you havo not sins to repent of, if we
have ? Let us be at peace. Lot us go on with tho administration of the
government kindly, harmoniously, hopefully, trusting in that providence of
Almiglity God which has thus far guided and guarded us, until this nation has
become a marvel to tho world. Can wo not go on in tho same way in which
we have gone on in the past ? Why not let the Republican administration

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 225
bo inangurat(id in poaco and quiol ? Try it in tho name of God I Are
you onwards, that you would (loo from an Hji|)relionsion ? I know you aro
not. Stand by the old ship of state 1 Give the Republican administration
a fair chance. If it does not do right, you will find thousands — ay, mil
lions — in the northern states who will stand by you. I believe it will do
right. Give it a trial. That is all we ask, and what we will demand at all
hazards." The delegation from Ohio, during this Congress, was re
garded as a very strong one. I do not disparage any by a
brief reference to a few.
Thomas Corwin was, by far, the most distinguivshed member
of the delegation. 1 have already referred to his eminence as
a popular orator. His speech against the Mexican War, though
unfortunate as a political event, has always been regarded as
one of the most eloquent ever made in either House of
Congress. His speech in reply to Crary, of Michigan, is still
remembered as the best specimen of humorous satire in our
language. lie had served in the legislature of Ohio, as a Mem
ber of Congress for ten years, as Governor of Ohio, as a Member
of the Senate, and as Secretary of the Treasury. After an ab
sence from public life for six years, he was elected a Member
of the 36th Congress. Here he was regarded as the "peace
maker" of the House. In the contest for speaker, he made a
long speech, in which he exhibited marked ability, humor,
pathos and persuasive eloquence. As chairman of the com
mittee of thirty, he did all that man could do to quiet the
storm, to compromise and soothe the contending factions, but
this was beyond human power. He was re-elected to the 37th
Congress, but in 1861 was appointed minister to Mexico
by Mr. Lincoln. In December, 1865, he attended a party
of his Ohio friends, at which 1 Avas present. He was the
center of attraction, and, apparently, in good health and spirits.
He was telling amusing anecdotes of life in Ohio "in the olden
times," to the many friends who gathered around him, when,
without warning, he suffered a stroke of apoplexy and died
within two or three days, leaving behind him none but friends.
Tom Corwin, "the wagon-boy," had traveled through all the
gradations of life, and in every stage Avas a kind friend, a
loving father, a generous, noble and honest man.

226 • RECOLLECTIONS
The life of George H. Pendleton was a striking contrast to
that of Corwin. He was a favorite of fortune. His father was
a distinguished lawyer and Member of Congress. George had
the advantage of a good education and high social position, a
courtly raanner, a handsome person and a good fortune. He
served several terras in the House of Representatives and six
years in the Senate. He was the candidate for Vice President
on the Democratic ticket with McClellan, and a prominent
candidate for nomination as President in 1868. He was min
ister to Germany during the first term of Cleveland as Presi
dent. He died November 24, 1889. My relations with him
were always pleasant.
Samuel S. Cox was an active, industrious and versatile
Member of Congress for more than twenty years. He w.as born
in Ohio, graduated at Brown University, was adraitted to the
bar, but, I believe, rarely practiced his profession. His natural
bent was for editorial and political conflicts, in which raost of
his life was spent. Hq was a good debater, overflowing with
humor without sarcasm. In the campaign of 1860, he and I
had a running debate at long range. In a speech at Columbus,
then his residence, I spoke of his erratic course on the Lecomp
ton bill. He replied at Mansfield with shrewdness, humor and
ability. I reviewed his speech at the sarae place, and we kept
up a running fire during that canvass, but this did not disturb
our friendly relations. Some years later, he removed to New
York, where he was soon taken into favor, and was elected
several times to Congress. He was the author of several books
of merit, and was the champion of a measure establishing the
life-saving service of the country upon its present footing. He
raay be classified as a leading Member of the House of Repre
sentatives, a bright and successful speaker and a copious
author. He died September 10, 1889.
John A. Bingham was regarded, next to Mr. Corwin, as the
most eloquent member of the Ohio delegation, and, perhaps
with one or two exceptions, of the House of Representatives.
He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He
served for sixteen years in the House of Representatives on the
judiciary and other important committees, and took an active

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 227
and leading part in all the debates during this long period.
He was a man of genial, pleasing address, rather too much
given to flights of oratory, but always a favorite with his col
leagues and associates. He was subsequently appointed United
States minister to Japan, where he remained for many years.
lie still lives at a rijic old age a,t (!a,diz, Ohio.
During the existence of the 36th Congress, I do not recall
any political divisions in the committee of ways and means,
unless the tariff is considered a political measure. It was not
so treated by the coramittee. The comraon purpose was to
secure sufficient revenue for the support of the government.
The incidental effect of all duties was to encourage home
manufactures, but, as the rule adopted was applied impartially
to all productions, whether of the farm, mine, or the workshop,
there was no controversy except as to the amount or rate of
the duty. The recent dogma that raw materials should not
have the benefit of protection did not enter the mind of any
one. The necessity of economy limited the amount of appro
priations, but if the war had not changed all conditions, the
revenues accruing would have been sufficient for an econom
ical administration of the government.
In a retrospect of my six years as a Member of the House of
Representatives, I can see, and will freely admit, that ihy chief
fault was my intense partisanship. This grew out of a con
scientious feeling that the repeal of the Missouri Compromise
was an act of dishonor, committed by a dominating party con
trolled by slaveholders and yielded to by leading northern
Democrats, headed by Douglas, with a view on his part to pro
mote his intense ambition to be President of the United States.
I felt that this insult to the north should be resented by the
renewed exclusion, by act of Congress, of slavery north of the
line of latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes. This feeling was in
tensified by my experience in Kansas during the investigation
of its affairs. The recital by the Free State men of their story,
and the appearance and conduct of the "border ruffians," led
me to support extreme measures. The political feebleness of Mr.
Buchanan, and the infamy of the Dred Scott decision, appeared
to me conclusive evidence of the subserviency of the President

228 RECOLLECTIONS
and the Supreme Court to the slave power. The gross injustice
to rae personally, and the irritating language of southern Mem
bers in the speakership contest, aroused my resentment, so
that in the campaign of 1860 I was ready to meet the threats
of secession with those of open war.
It was unfortunate that the south at this time was largely
represented in Congress by men of the most violent opinions.
Such men as Keitt, Hindman, Barksdale, and Rust, were offen
sive in their conduct and language. They were of that class
in the south who believed that the people of the north were
tradesmen, hucksters, and the like, and therefore were cowards ;
that one southern man was equal in a fight to four northern
men; that slavery was a patent of nobility, and that the owner
of slaves was a lord and master. It is true that among the
southern Merabers there were gentlemen of a character quite
different. Such men as Letcher, Aiken and Bocock entertained
no such opinions, but were courteous and friendly. But even
these shared in the opinions of their people that, as slaA^ery
was recognized by the constitution, as an institution existing
in many of the states, it should not be excluded from the com
mon territory of the Union, except by the vote of the people of
a territory when assuming the dignity and power of a state. It
would appear that as in 1860 the exclusion of slavery from
Kansas was definitely settled by the people of that state, and
that as the only region open to this controversy was New
Mexico, from which slavery was excluded by natural condi
tions, there was no reason or ground for an attempt to disrupt
the Union. In fact, this pretense for secession was abandoned
by South Carolina, and the only ground taken for attempting it
was the election of Mr. Lincoln as President of the United
States. If this was conceded to be a just cause for secession,
our government would become a rope of sand; it would be
worse than that of any South American republic, because our
country is raore populous, and sections of it Avould have greater
strengtii of attack and defense. This pretense for secession
would not have been concurred in by any of the states north
of South Carolina, but for the ]»revious agitation of slavery,
which had welded nearly all the slaveholding states into a

OF JOHN SHERMAN. , 229
compact confederacy. This was done, not for fear of Lincoln,
but to protect the institution of slavery, threatened by the
growing sentiment of mankind. Upon this question I had been
conservative, but I can see now that this contest was irrepres
sible, and that I would soon have been in favor of the gradual
abolition of slavery in all the states. This could not have been
effected under our constitution but for the Rebellion, so that,
in truth, South Carolina, unwittingly, led to the only way by
Avhich slavery could be abolished in the present century.
The existence of slavery in a republic founded upon the
declaration that all men are created equal, that they are en
dowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and
that among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
is an anomaly so pregnant with evil that it is not strange that
while it existed it was the chief cause of all the serious conten
tions that threatened the life of the republic. The framers of
the constitution, finding slavery in existence in nearly all the
states, carefully avoided mention of it in that instrument, but
they provided against the importation of slaves after a brief
period, and evidently anticipated the eventual prohibition of
slavery by the voluntary action of the several states. This proc
ess of prohibition occurred until one-half of the states became
free, when causes unforeseen made slavery so profitable that it
dominated in the states where it existed, and dictated the
policy of the United States. The first controversy about
slavery was happily settled by the Missouri Compromise of
1820. But a greater danger arose from the acquisition of ter
ritory from Mexico. This, too, was postponed by the com
promise of 1850, but unhappily, within four years, the repeal
of the Missouri Compromise re-opened the controversy that
led to the struggle in Kansas. Douglas prescribed the doc
trine of popular sovereignty. Davis contended that slaves
were property aud must be protected by law like other
property. Lincoln declared that "a house divided against
itself cannot stand," that slavery must be lawful or unlawful
in all the states, alike north as well as south. Seward said
that an irrepressible conflict existed between opposing and
enduring forces, that the United States must and would

230 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
become either entirely a slaveholding nation or entirely a free
labor nation. Kansas became a free state in spite of Buchanan
and then the conflict commenced. The southern states pre
pared for secession. Lincoln became President. The war carae
by the act of the south and ended with the destruction of slav
ery. This succession of events, following in due order, was the
natural sequence of the existence of slavery in the United
States. " God moves in a mysterious way.
His wonders to perforra."

CHAPTER X.
Beginning of Lincoln's First Administration.
Arrival of the President Elect at Washington — Impressiveness of His Inaugural
Address — I am Elected Senator from Ohio to Succeed Salmon P. Chase —
Letters Written to and Received from My Brother William Tecumseh — His
Arrival at Washington —A Dark Period in the History of the Country —
Letter to General Sliorman on tlie Attack Upon Fort Sumter —
Dojiarture for Mansfield to Encourage Enlistments — Ohio
Regiments Reviewed by the President — General McLaugh
lin CompIiment€!d — My Visit to Ex-President
Buchanan — Meeting Between rny Brother
and Colonel George 11. Thomas.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, the President elect, arrived in the
city of Washington on the 23rd day of February,
1861, and, Avith Mrs. Lincoln, stopped at Willard's
Hotel where 1 was then living. On the evening of
his arrival 1 called upon him, and met him for the first time.
When introduced to him, he took my hands in both of his,
drew himself up to his full height, and, looking at me steadily,
said: "You are John Sherman! Well I am taller than you; let's
measure." Thereupon we stood back to back, and some one
present announced that he Avas two inches taller than I. This
was correct, for he was 6 feet 3^ inches tall when he stood
erect. This singular introduction was not unusual with him,
but if it lacked in dignity, it was an expression of friendliness •
and so considered by him. Our brief conversation was cheer
ful, and my hearty congratulations for his escape from the
Baltimore "roughs" were received with a laugh.
It was generally understood when Mr. Lincoln arrived that
his cabinet was definitely formed, but rumors soon prevailed
that dissensions existed among its members, that Seward and
Chase were rivals, that neither could act in harmony with the
other, and that both were discontented with their associates.
I became satisfied that these rumors were true. I do not feel
S.-I7 (231)

232 RECOLLECTIONS
at liberty, even at this late day, to repeat what was said to me
by sorae of the members selected, but I was convinced that
Lincoln had no purpose or desire to change the cabinet he had
selected in Springfield, and that he regarded their jealousies (if
I may use such a word in respect to gentlemen so distin
guished) as a benefit and not an objection, as by that means he
would control his cabinet rather' than be controlled by it.
Mr. Lincoln delivered his inaugural address from the east
steps of the capitol, on the 4th day of March, 1861. I sat near
him and heard every word. Douglas stood conspicuous behind
him and suggesting many thoughts. I have witnessed many in-
auguratioiis, but. never one so impressive as this. The condi
tion of the south, already organized for war, the presence of
United States troops with general Scott in command, the mani
fest preparation against threatened violence, the sober and
quiet attention to the address, all united to produce a profound
apprehension of evils yet to come. The eloquent peroration of
Mr. Lincoln cannot be too often repeated, and I insert it here:
"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in iniiie, is
the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you.
You can have no conflict, without being yourselves the aggressors. You
have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while -T shall
have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect, and defend' it.
"I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not
be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break, our
bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching frora 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."
Salmon P. Chase, then Senator, was appointed Secretary of
the Treasury. I know with what doubt and reluctance he ac
cepted this office. On the 7th of March his resignation as
Senator was communicated to the Senate. Tn anticipation of
it the legislature of Ohio was canvassing for his successor.
My name was mentioned with raany others. I was in doubt
whether I ought to be a candidate, or even to accept the posi
tion if tendered. I had been elected as a Member of the next
Congress and was quite certain of election as speaker of the
House of Representatives. The Republicans had a decided

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
FROM A PHOTOCHAPH TAKEN IN CHICAGO IN I860.

J t*v«^«>rv»JtcJ**.l^ (XaiVv^. <vJ^(V.<rv— M^yv.^' tjt'.«*'^~' t
k-u. — jw V>Ao. <Vyv««/.^ '^"¦^1 I ''^^^ -^ (VrtvJt^ «-<- «^ •- O^vti., t3j^

^x«.^

Va^ o.~ Mf' yp^ »L4..' VjU/..» V— l[Wt.- It—M/- (f.n'.tlA.s.'-^ tbs Sw  K!X.Ji,f^ ¦
(WvJ.^ U>/»>' Ww V/v\<... .tXO . OivMvl fW.-« Sv~U!<.~*v.
JUU.aUJ^UA*-'. 0.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 233
majority in that body and a feeling was manifest that I should
have, without opposition, the position of which I had been un
justly deprived by the previous House. This was to me a
coveted honor. I, therefore, did not follow the advice of my
friends and go to Columbus. A ballot was taken in the caucus
of Republican members of the general assembly, and I received
a plurality but not a majority, the votes being scattered among
many other candidates of merit and ability. My name was
then withdrawn. Several ballots were taken on a number of
days without result. I was then telegraphed to corae to Co
lumbus. I went and was nominated on the first vote after my
arrival, and promptly elected as Senator, to fill the vacancy
occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Chase.
I received many letters of congratulation, among which
were two which I insert : Dubuque, March 23, 1861.
Hon. John Sherman : — Allow me to sincerely congratulate you upon.
your signal triumph at Columbus. I can assure you that no recent event
hiis given me so much sincere gratification as your election, which I think a
most worthy reward to a faithful public servant. Republics are not so
ungrateful as I supposed when I wiis defeated for dist. atty.
Sincerely your friend, Wm. B. Allison.

Ste AFFORD, April 1, 1861.
Hon. John Sherman, Mansfield, Ohio.
Mt Dear Sir : — I congratulate you upon your election to the Senate
of the TJ. S., but still I regret that you have left the House where I think
you might have rendered more important services to your county than you
will find opportunity to do in the Senate. You could without doubt, I
think, have been Speaker, had you possessed any ambition for the position.
That would have been for two years only, but it would be at a crisis that
will figure in our history. Then you are greatly needed in economical
questions with our party — many of whom have no just idea of the responsi
bility of the Republican party or a Republican Representative. I see no
material worth mentioning for leaders in our House, and though I am glad
to have you suited, I do much regret your translation to the higher branch.
I suppose we may be called back by Seward about the 1st of June.
Our tariff bill is unfortunate in being launched at this time, as it will
be made the scape-goat of all difficulties. In fact the southern Confederacy
would have made a lower tariff had we left the old law in force and pre
cisely the same troubles would have been presented.
Yours, very sincerely, Justin S. Mokeill.

234 RECOLLECTIONS
The Senate being then in special session, the oath pre
scribed by law was administered to me, and on the 23rd of
March, 1861, I took my seat in that body. I had, hoAvever,
before my election, witnessed, with deep hurailiation, the Senate
debates, feeling that the Republican Senators were too timid in
the steps taken to purge that body of persons whom I regarded
as traitors. I cannot now read the debates without a feeling
of resentment. Breckenridge, Mason, Hunter and Powell still
retained their seats as Senators from Kentucky and Virginia,
and almost daily defended the secession of the southern states,
declaring that the states they represented would do likewise.
These and other declarations I thought should have been
promptly resented by the immediate expulsion of these Sena
tors. Wigfall, of Texas, though his state had seceded, was per
mitted to linger in the Senate and to attend executive sessions,
where he was not only a traitor but a spy. His rude and
brutal language and conduct should have excluded him from
the Senate in the early days of the session, but he was permit
ted to retire without censure, after a long debate upon the
terms of his proposed expulsion. I took no part in the debate
of that session, which closed March 28, 1861, five days after my
becoming a Member. I remained in Washington until after
the fall of Sumter in April following.
During this period my brother, William Tecumseh, carae to
Washington to tender his services in the array in any position
in whicli he could be useful. I had corresponded with him
freely in regard to his remaining in Louisiana, where he was
president of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and
Military Academy. He had been embarrassed in his position by
my attitude in Congress, and, especially, by the outcry against
rae for signing the Helper book. He was very conservative in
his opinions in regard to slavery, and no doubt felt that I was
too aggressive on that subject. In the summer of 1860 he
made his usual visit to Lancaster, and, finding that I was en
gaged in the canvass and would on a certain day be at Coshoc
ton, he determined to go and hear rae "to see whether I was an
Abolitionist." He was greatly embarrassed by a memorable
speech made by Mr. Corwin, the principal speaker on that

^

X

5 ,

¦.!

^

^^>1ti

1^

J

•^.' ^
^ ^ ^

i^

:j ^ ^ ,1
1

I

^

\

•^

4
¦^

v^

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 235
occasion. We sat upon the stand together, and he very excit
edly said: "Jolm, you must not speak after Corwin." He was
evidently impressed with the eloquence of that orator and did
not wish me to speak, lest the contrast between our speeches
would be greatly to ray disparagement. I told him that he
need not troulile himself, that I was to speak in the evening,
though I might say a few words at the close of Mr. Corwin's
address. He remained and heard me in the evening, and con
cluded on the whole that I was not an Abolitionist.
After the election of Mr. Lincoln I wrote him a letter,
which will speak for itself, as follows:
Mansfield, Ohio, November 26, 1860.
My Dear Brother: — Since I received your last letter, I have been so
constantly engaged, first with the election and afterwards in arranging my
business for the winter, that I could not write you.
The election resulted as I all along supposed. Indeed, the division of
the Democratic party on precisely the same question that separated the Re
publican party from the Democratic party made its defeat certain. The suc
cess of the Republicans has saved the country from a discreditable scramble
in the House. The disorders of the last winter, and the fear of their re
newal, have, without doubt, induced many good citizens to vote for the
Republican ticket. With a pretty good knowledge of the material of our
House, I would far prefer that any one of the candidates be elected by the
people rather than allow the contest to be determined in Congress. Well,
Lincoln is elected. No doubt, a large portion of the citizens of Louisiana
think this a calamity. If they believe their own newspapers, or, what is far
worse, the lying organs of the Democratic party in the free states, they have
just cause to think so. But you were long enough in Ohio, and heard
enough of the ideas of the Republican leaders, to know that the Republican
party is not likely to interfere, directly or indirectly, with slavery in the
states or with the laws relating to slavery ; that, so far as the slavery ques
tion is concerned, the contest wiis for tho possession of Kansas and perhaps
New Mexico, and that the chief virtue of the Republican success was in its
condemnation of the narrow sectionalism of Buchanan's administration and
the corruption by which his policy was attempted to be sustained. Who
doubts but that, if Buchanan had been true to his promises in submitting
the controversy in Kansas to its own people, and had closed it by admitting
Kansas as a free state, that the Democratic party would have retained its
power ? It was his infernal policy in that state (I can hardly think of the
mean and bad things he allowed there without swearing) that drove off
Douglas, led to the division of the Democratic party and the consequent
election of Lincoln.

236 RECOLLECTIONS
As a raatter of course, I rejoice in the result, for in my judgment the
administration of Lincoln will do much to dissipate the feeling in the south
against the north, by showing what are the real purposes of the Republican
party. In the meantime, it is evident we have to meet in a serious way
the movements of South Carolinian Disunionists. These men have for years
desired this disunion ; they have plotted for it. They drove Buchanan into
his Kansas policy ; they got up this new dogma about slave protection ;
they broke up the Charleston convention merely to advance secession ; they
are now hurrying forward excited men into acts of treason, without
giving time for passion to cool or reason to resume its sway. God knows
what will be the result. If, by a successful revolution, they can go out of
the Union, they establish a principle that will break the governraent into
fragments. Sorae local disaffection or teraporary exciteraent will lead one
state after another out of the Union. We shall have the Mexican Repub
lic over again, with a fiercer race of men to fight with each other. Seces
sion is revolution. They seem bent upon attempting it. If so, shall the
governraent resist ? If so, then comes civil war, a fearful subject for Ameri
cans to think of.
Since the election I have been looking over the field for the purpose
of marking out a course to follow this winter, and I have, as well as I
could, tested my political course in the past. There has been nothing done
by the Republican party but what merits the cordial approval of my judg
ment. There have been many things said and done by Republican leaders
that I utterly detest. Many of the dogmas of the Democratic party I like,
but their conduct in administering the government, and especially in their
treatment of the slavery question, I detest. I know we shall have trouble
this winter, but I intend to be true to the moderate conservative course I
think I have hitherto undertaken. Whatever may be the consequences, I
will insist on preserving the unity of the states, and all the states, without
exception and without regard to consequences. If any southern state has
really suffered any injury or is deprived of any right, I will help redress
the injury and secure the right. These states must not, merely because
they are beaten in election, or have failed in establishing slavery where it
was prohibited by compromise, attempt to break up the government. If
they will hold on a little while, they will find no injury can come to them,
unless, by their repeated misrepresentation of us, they stir up their slaves
to insurrection. I still hope that no state will follow in the wake of South
Carolina ; then the weakness of her position will soon bring her back again
or subject her to ridicule and insignificance.
It may be supposed by some that the excitement in the south has
produced a corresponding excitement in the north. This is true in financial
matters, especially in the cities. In political circles it only strengthens the
Republican party. Even Democrats of all shades say, ' The election is
against us ; we will submit and all must submit.' Roimbliciins say, ' The
policy of the government has been controlled by the south for years, and

I

OF JOHN SHERMAN 237
we have submitted ; now thoy must submit.' And why not ? What can
the Republicans do half as bad as Pierce and Buchanan have done ?
But enough of this. You luckily are out of politics, and don't sym
pathize with my Republicanism, but as we are on the eve of important
events, I write about politics instead of family matters, of which there is
nothing new. Affectionately yours,
John Sherman.
In December I received this letter from him:
Louisiana State Serainary of Learning and Military Academy
Alexandria, December 1, 1860.
Dear Brother: — . . . The quiet which I thought the usual acquies
oence of the people was merely the prelude to the storm of opinion that
now seems irresistible. Politicians, by hearing the prejudices of the people
and running with the current, have succeeded in destroying the govern
ment. It cannot be stopped now, I fear. I was in Alexandria all day
yesterday, and had a full and unreserved conversation with Dr. S. A. Smith,
state senator, who is a man of education, property, influence, and qualified
to judge. He was, during the canvass, a Breckenridge man, but, though a
southerner in opinion, is really opposed to a dissolution of our government.
He has returned from New Orleans, where he says he was amazed to see
evidences of public sentiment which could not be raistaken.
The legislature meets December 10, at Baton Rouge. The calling of a
convention forthwith is to be unanimous, the bill for army and state ditto.
The convention will raeet in January, and only two questions will be agi
tated, — immediate dissolution, a declaration of state independence, and a
general convention of southern states, with instructions to demand of the
northern states to repeal all laws hostile to slavery and pledges of future
good behavior. . . . When the convention meets in January, as they will
assuredly do, and resolve to secede, or to elect members to a general con
vention with instructions inconsistent with the nature of things, I must quit
this place, for it would be neither right for rae to stay nor would the gov
ernor be justified in placing me in this position of trust ; for the moment
Louisiana assumes a position of hostility, then this becomes an arsenal and
fort. . . .
Let me hear the moraent you think dissolution is inevitable. What
Mississippi and Georgia do, this state will do likewise.
Affectionately, W. T. Sherman.
On the 15th of December I wrote him :
" I am clearly of the opinion that you ought not to remain much longer
at your present post. You will, in all human probability, be involved in
complications from which you cannot escape with honor. Separated from
your family and all your kin, and an object of suspicion, you will find your
position unendurable. A fatal infatuation seems to have seized the southern

238 RECOLLECTIONS
mind, during which any act of madness may be committed. ... If the
sectional dissensions only rested upon real or alleged grievances, they
could be readily settled, but I fear they are deeper and stronger. You can
now close your connection with the seminary with honor and credit to your
self, for all who know you speak well of your conduct, while by remaining
you not only involve yourself, but bring trouble upon those gentlemen who
recommended you.
"It is a sad state of affairs, but it is nevertheless true, that if the conven
tions of the southern states make anything more than a paper secession,
hostile collisions will occur, and probably a separation between the free and
the slave states. You can judge whether it is at all probable that the pos
session of this capital, the commerce of the Mississippi, the control of the
territories, and the natural rivalry of enraged sections, can be arranged with
out war. In that event, you cannot serve in Louisiana against your family
and kin in Ohio. The bare possibility of such a contingency, it seems to
me, renders your duty plain, to make a frank statement to all the gentlemen
connected with you, and with good feeling close your engagement. If the
storm shall blow over, your course will strengthen you with every man
whose good opinion you desire ; if not, you will escape humiliation.
" When you return to Ohio, I will write you freely about your return to
the army, not so difficult a task as you imagine."
General Sherman then wrote me as follows:
Alexandria, La., December, 1861.
Events here seem hastening to a conclusion. Doubtless you know
more of the events in Louisiana than I do, as I am in an out-of-the-way
place. But the special session of the legislature was so unanimous in arming
the state and calling a convention that little doubt remains that Louisiana
will, on the 23rd of January, follow the other seceding states. Governor
Moore takes the plain stand that the state must not submit to a ' black Re
publican President.' Men here have ceased to reason ; they seem to con
cede that slavery is unsafe in a confederacy with northern states, and that
now is the time ; no use of longer delay. All concessions, all attempts to
remonstrate, seem at an end,
A rumor says that Major Anderson, my old captain (brother of Charles
Anderson, now of Texas, formerly of Dayton and Cincinnati, Larz, William
and John, all of Ohio), has spiked the guns of Fort Moultrie, destroyed it,
and taken refuge in Sumter. This is right. Sumter is in mid-chiinnel,
approachable only in boats, whereas Moultrie is old, weak, and easily
approached under cover. If Major Anderson can hold out till relieved and
supported by steam frigates, South Carolina will find herself unable to con
trol her commerce, and will feel, for the first tirae in her existence, that she
can't do as she pleases.
A telegraph dispatch, addressed to me at Alexaiidria, could bo miiilud
at New Orleans, and reach me in three days from Washington.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 239
I wrote him the following letter on the 6th of January, 1861:
Dear Beothee : — ... I see some signs of hope, but it is probably
a deceptive light. The very moment you feel uncomfortable in your posi
tion in Louisiana, come away. Don't for God's sake subject yourself to
any slur, reproach, or indignity. I have spoken to General Scott, and he
heartily seconds your desire to return to duty in the army. I am not at all
sure but that, if you were here, you could get a position that would suit
you. I see many of your friends of the army daily.
As for my views of the present crisis, I could not state them more
fully than I have in the inclosed printed letter. It has been very generally
published and approved in the north, but may not have reached you, and
therefore I send it to you. Affectionately your brother,
John Sherman.
Later he wrote me: Alexandria, January 16, 1861.
Mt Dear Brother : — I am so much in the woods here that I can't
keep up with the times at all. Indeed, you in Washington hear from New
Orleans two or three days sooner than I do. I was taken aback by the
news that Governor Moore had ordered the forcible seizure of the Forts
Jackson and St. Philip, at or near the mouth of the Mississippi ; also of Forts
Pike and Wood, at the outlets of Lakes Bogue and Pontchartrain. All,
tliese are small forts, and have rarely been occupied by troops. They are
designed to out off approach by sea to New Orleans, and were taken doubt
less to prevent their being occupied, by order of General Scott. But the
taking the arsenal at Baton Rouge is a different matter. It is merely an
assemblage of store-houses, barracks, and dwelling-houses, designed for the
healthy residence of a garrison, to be thrown into one or the other of the
forts in case of war. The arsenal is one of minor importance, yet the stores
were kept there for the moral effect, and the garrison was there at the
instance of the people of Louisiana. To surround with the military array,
to demand surrender, and enforce the departure of the garrison, was an act
of war. It amounted to a declaration of war and defiance, and was done by
Governor Moore without the authority of the legislature or convention.
Still, there is but little doubt but that each of these bodies, to assemble
next week, will ratify and approve these violent acts, and it is idle to
discuss the subject now. The people are mad on this question.
I had previously notified all that in the event of secession I should
quit. As soon as a knowledge of these events reached me, I went to the
vice president. Dr. Smith, in Alexandria, and told him that I regarded
Louisiana as at war against the federal government, and that I must go.
He begged me to wait until some one could be found to replace me. The
supervisors feel the importance of system and discipline, and seem to think
that my departure will endanger the success of this last effort to build up
an educational establishment. . . . You may assert that in no event

240 RECOLLECTIONS
will T forego my allegiance to the United States as long as a single state is
true to the old constitution. . . .
Yours, W. T. Sherman.
And again :
Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, )
Alexandria, January 18, 1861. \
Dear Brother: — Before receiving yours of the 6th, I had addressed
a letter to Governor Moore at Baton Rouge, of which this is a copy: —
' Sir: — As I occupy a quasi military position under the laws of the state,
I deem it proper to acquaint you that I accepted such position when Louisi
ana was a state in the union and when the motto of this seminary was
inscribed in marble over the main door: "By the liberality of the General
Government. The Union Esto perpetua." Recent events foreshadow a great
change, and it becomes all men to choose. If Louisiana withdraw from
the federal Union, I prefer to maintain my allegiance to the old constitu
tion as long as a fragment of it survives, and my longer stay here would be
wrong in every sense of the word. In that event, I beg that you will send
or appoint some authorized agent to take charge of the arms and munitions
of war here belonging to the state, or advise me what disposition to make of
them. And furthermore, as president of the board of supervisors, I beg
you to take immediate steps to relieve me as superintendent the moment
the state determines to secede ; for on no earthly account will I do any act
or think any thought hostile to, or in defiance of, the United States.
With respect, etc., W. T. Sherman.'
I regard the seizure by Governor Moore of the United States arsenal
as the worst act yet committed in the present revolution. I do think every
allowance should be made to southern politicians for their nervous anxiety
about their political powers and the safety of slaves. I think that the con
stitution should be liberally construed in their behalf, but I do regard this
civil war as precipitated with undue rapidity. . . . It is inevitable. All
legislation now would fall powerless on the south. You should not alienate
such states as Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri. My notion is
that this war will ruin all politicians, and that military leaders will direct
the events. Yours, W. T. S.
On the first of February he wrote as follows:
" I have felt the very thoughts you have spoken. It is war to surround
Anderson with batteries, and it is shilly-shally for the south to cry 'Hands
off! No coercion 1 ' It was war and insult to exjiel the guirison at Butoii
Rouge, and Uncle Sam had better cry 'Ca\e !' or assert his power. Fort
Sumter is not material save for the principle ; but Key West and the Tor-
tugas should be held in force at once, by regulars if possible, if not, by
militia. Quick I They are occupied now, jjut not in force. Whilst main
taining the high, strong ground you do, I would not advise you to Inter
pose an objection to securing concessions to the middle and moderute
states, — Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. Slavery there is

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 241
local, and even if the world were open to them, its extension would involve
no principio. If these states feel the extreme south wrong, a seeming con-,
cession would make them committed. The cotton states are gone, I sup
pose. Of course, their commerce will be hampered. .
" But of myself. I sent you a copy of my letter to the Governor.
Here is his answer :
' Dear Sir : — It is with the deepest regret I acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 18th instant. In the pressure of official business I can
only request you to transfer to Professor Smith the arms, munitions, and
funds in your hands, whenever you conclude to withdraw from the position
you have filled with so much distinction. You cannot regret more than I
do the necessity which deprives us of your services, and you will bear with
you the respect, confidence, and admiration of all who have been associated
with you. Very truly, your friend and servant,
Thos. D. Mooee.'
" This is very handsome, and I do regret this political imbroglio. I do
think it was brought about by politicians. The people in the south are
evidently unanimous in the opinion that slavery is endangered by the cur
rent of events, and it is useless to attempt to alter that opinion. As our
government is founded on the will of the people, when that will is fixed,
our government is powerless, and the only question is whether to let things
slide into general anarchy, or the formation of two or more confederacies
which will be hostile sooner or later. Still, I know that some of the best
mon of Louisiana think this chiuige may be effected peacefully. But even
if the southern states be allowed to depart in peace, the first question will
be revenue. "Now, if the south have free trade, how can you collect revenues in the
eastern cities ? Freight from New Orleans to St. Louis, Chicago, Louisville,
Cincinnati, and even Pittsburg, would be about the same as by rail from
New York, and importers at New Orleans, having no duties to pay, would
undersell the east if they had to pay duties. Therefore, if the south make
good thoir confederation and their plan, the northern confederacy must do
likewise or blockade. Then conies the question of foreign nations. So,
look on it in any view, I see no result but war and consequent changes in
the forra of government."
These letters, written at their dates, on the spur of the mo
ment, present the condition of affairs as viewed by General
Sherman and myself when they occurred.
With the convictions just stated General Sherman came to
Washington about the time of my election to the Senate. He
was deeply impressed with the certainty of war and of its mag
nitude, and was impelled by the patriotic sentiment that, as
he had been educated at the expense of the government for
military service, it was his duty, in the then condition of the

242 RECOLLECTIONS
country, to tender his services. I therefore escorted him to the
White House. His statement of the interview given in his
"Memoirs" is not very full, for, while Mr. Lincoln did say, in
response to his tender, "I guess we will manage to keep house,"
he also expressed a hope, which General Sherman knew to be
delusive, that the danger would pass by and that the Union
would be restored by a peaceful compromise. This was, un
doubtedly, the idea then uppermost in the minds of both the
President and Mr. Seward. At this time the jiublic mind in
the north was decidedly in favor of concessions to the south.
The Democrats of the north would have agreed to any proposi
tion to secure peace and the Union, and the Republicans would
have acquiesced in the Crittenden Compromise, or in any meas
ure approved by Lincoln and Seward.
The period between the 4th of March and the 12th of April
was the darkest one in the history of the United States. It was
a time of humiliation, timidity and feebleness. Fortunately for
the future of our country the rebels of the south were bent upon
disunion; they were hopeful and confldent, and all the signs of
the times indicated their success. They had possession of all the
forts of the south, except Fortress Monroe, Fort Sumter, and
two remote forts in Florida. They had only to wait in patience,
and Fort Sumter would necessarily be abandoned for want of
supplies. Fortress Monroe could not be held much longer by the
regular array, weakened as it was by the desertion of officers and
men, and public sentiment would not justify a call for troops in
advance of actual war. The people of South Carolina were
frenzied by their success thus far, and, impatient of delay,
forced an attack on Fort Sumter, then held by a sraall garrison
under coraraand of Major Robert Anderson. The first gun
fired on the 12th of April, 1861, resounded throughout the
United States and the civilized world, touching an electric
chord in every family in the northern states and changing the
whole current of feeling. From this time forth, among the
patriotic people of the loyal states, there was no thought or
talk of compromise. That this insult to our flag must be pun
ished, "that the Union must and shall be preserved," were the
resolves of millions of men, without respect to party, who but

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 243
the day before were eager for compromise. The cold and cau
tious men of the north were at last awakened from their in
difference. The impression made upon my mind by the attack on Fort
Sumter is expressed in a letter I wrote from Washington
to my brother. General Sherman, as he was then called,
at midnight of the 12th of April: Washington, April 12, 1801.
Dear Brother: — I was unexpectedly called here soon after receiving
your letter of the Sth, and at midnight write you. The military excitement
here is intense. Since my arrival I have seen several officers, many citizens,
and all the heads of departments except Blair. There is a fixed determina
tion now to preserve the Union and enforce the laws at all hazards. Civil
war is actually upon us, and, strange to say, it brings a feeling of relief ; the
suspense is over. I have spent much of the day in talking about you.
There is an earnest desire that you go into the war department, but I said
this was impossible. Chase is especially desirous that you accept, saying
that you would be virtually Secretary of War, and could easily step into
any military position that offers.
It is well for you seriously to consider your conclusion, although my
opinion is that you ought not to accept. You ought to hold yourself in
reserve. If troops are called for, as they surely will be in a few days,
organize a regiment or brigade, either in St. Louis or Ohio, and you will
then get into the army in such a way as to secure promotion. By all means
take advantage of the present disturbances to get into the army, where you
will at once put yourself in a high position for life. I know that promotion
and every facility for advancement will be cordially extended by the author
ities. You are a favorite in the army and have great strength in political
circles. I urge you to avail yourself of these favorable circumstances to
secure your position for life ; for, after all, your present employment is of
uncertain tenure in these stirring times.
Let me now record a prediction. Whatever you may think of the
signs of the times, the government will rise from this strife greater,
stronger, and more prosperous than ever. It will display energy and mili
tary power. The men who have confidence in it, and do their full duty by
it, may reap whatever there is of honor and profit in public life, while those
who look on merely as spectators in the storm will fail to discharge the
highest duty of a citizen, and suffer accordingly in public estimation. . . .
I write this in great hurry, with numbers around me, and exciting and
important intelligence constantly repeated, even at this hour; but I am
nono the less in earnest. I hope to hear that you are on the high road to
the ' General ' within thirty days. Affectionately your brother,
John Sheeman.
S.— 18

244 RECOLLECTIONS
Two days later I wrote hiin :
Washington, Sunday, April 14, 1861.
Dear Brother : — . . . The war has really commenced. You will
have full details of the fall of Sumter. Wo are on the eve of a terrible
war. Every man will have to choose his position. You fortunately have
the military education, prominence, and character, that will enable you to
play a high part in the tragedy. You can't avoid taking such a part. Neu
trality and indifference are impossible. If the government is to be main
tained, it must be by military power, and that immediately. You can choose
your own place. Some of your best friends here want you in the war
department ; Taylor, Shiras, and a number of others, talk to rae so. If you
want that place, with a sure prospect of promotion, you can have it, but you
are not compelled to take it ; but it seems to me you will be corapelled to
take sorae position, and that speedily. Can't you come to Ohio and at once
raise a regiment ? It will immediately be in service. The administration
intends to stand or fall by the Union, the entire Union, and tho enforcement
of the' laws. I look for preliminary defeats, for the rebels have arms,
organization, unity ; but this advantage will not last long. The government
will maintain itself or our northern people are the veriest poltroons that
ever disgraced huraanity.
For me, I am for a war that will either establish or overthrow the gov
ernment and will purify the atmosphere of political life. Wo need such a
war, and we have it now, . . . Affectionately yours,
John Sherman.
He wrote in reply :
" The time will come in this country when professional knowledge will
be appreciated, when men that can be trusted will bo wanted, and I will
bide my tirae. I may miss the chance; if so, all right; but I cannot and
will not mix myself in this present call. . . .
" The first movements of the government will fail and the leaders will
be oast aside. A second or third set will rise, and among thera I may be,
but at present I will not volunteer as a soldier or anything else. If Con
gress meet, or if a national convention be called, and the regular army be
put on a footing with the wants of the country, if I am offered a place that
suits me, I may accept. But in the present call I will not volunteer."
He criticised the call for 75,000 militia for three months,
saying that the best of men could only be made indifferent sol
diers in three months, and that the best of soldiers could ac
complish nothing in three months in such a country as ours.
He therefore would not volunteer for such a service, but his
mind was occupied with military plans. The correspondence

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 245
between us shows that he had a better conception of the mag
nitude and necessities of the war than civilians like myself.
He wrote to Mr. Cameron, Secretary of War, from St. Louis,
on May 8, 1861 :
"I hold myself now, as always, prepared to serve my country in the
capacity for which I was trained. I did not and will not volunteer for
three months, because I cannot throw my family on the cold support of
charity, but for the three years' call made by the President an officer could
prepare his command and do good service. I will not volunteer, because,
rightfully or wrongfully, I feel myself unwilling to take a mere private's
place, and having for many years lived in California and Louisiana, the
men are not well enough acquainted with me to elect me to my appro
priate place. Should my services be needed, the record or the war depart
ment will enable you to designate the station in which I can render best
service." When Mr. Lincoln was elected President, there was no gen
eral feeling among the northern people that war would result
from his election. It was not believed, although it had been
threatened, that the southern states would take up arms to re
sist the accession of a President not of their choice. The love
of Union and the orderly obedience to constituted authority
had been so well established among our people that, while poli
ticians might threaten, but few really believed that war, of
which they knew nothing, was to come upon us. The result
was that when the southern states, one by one, seceded, and
Fort Sumter was fired upon, and the forts and arsenals of the
south were captured, a new inspiration dawned upon the peo
ple of the north, a determination became general that, cost what
it would, the Union should be preserved to our children and our
children's children. That feeling was not confined to party
lines. I am bound to say that the members of the Democratic
party in the loyal States, in the main, evinced the same patri
otic determination to maintain the cause of the Union, as
those of the Republican party. Their sons and their kindred
formed part of every regiment or force raised in the United
States. At this distance of time from the opening of the Civil War,
I have endeavored to take an impartial retrospect of the
causes that led the south to engage therein. Undoubtedly, the

246 RECOLLECTIONS
existence of negro slavery in the south was the governing in
citement to war. The owners of slaves knew that the tenure
of such property was feeble. Besides the danger of escape,
there was the growing hostility to slavery in a preponderance
of the people of the United States, restrained only by its recog
nition by the constitution. The slave owners believed that,
by secession, they could establish a republic, founded on slav
ery, with an ample field in Mexico and Central America for
conquest and expansion. They had cultivated a bitter sectional
enmity, amounting to contempt, for the people of the north,
growing partly out of the subserviency of large portions of the
north to the dictation of the south, but chiefly out of the wordy
violence and disregard of constitutional obligations by the
Abolitionists of the north. They believed in the doctrine of an
irrepressible conflict long before it was announced by Seward.
South Carolina, far in advance of other southern states, led
in promulgating the legal rights of secession, until they came
to be acquiesced in by all these states. They coramitted them
selves to it in the Charleston convention. Their speakers de
clared, during the canvass, that if Lincoln was elected, their
states would secede. When elected, the first gun was fired on
Fort Sumter, in South Carolina, where all the people were
determined on war. The struggle once commenced, the natu
ral sympathy of the southern states was with South Carolina.
The States of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, where a
strong Union sentiment prevailed, hesitated and delayed, but
the young and active spirits were with the south, and these
carried the states named into the general confiict. Once in
the war, there was no way but to fight it out. I have no sym
pathy with secession, but I can appreciate the action of
those who were born and reared under the infiuence of such
teachings. Who of the north can say, that in like conditions,
he would not have been a rebel?
Looking back from my standpoint now, when all the states
are re-united in a stronger Union, when Union and Confeder
ate soldiers are acting together in both Houses of Congress in
legislating for the common good, when, since 1861, our coun
try has more than doubled its population and quadrupled its

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 247
resources, when its institutions have been harmonized by the
abolition of slavery, when the seceding states are entering into
a friendly and hopeful rivalry, in the development of their
great resources, when they have doubled or trebled their pro
duction of cotton, when they are producing the greater part of
their food, when they are developing their manufactures of
iron and steel, and introducing the spindle and loom into their
cities and villages, it seems to me that men of the south surely
will appreciate, if they do not approve, what I said in the Sen
ate early in the war:
" I would stake the last life, the last dollar, the last man, upon the
prosecution of the war. Indeed, I cannot contemplate the condition of my
country if it shall be dissevered and divided. Take the loyal states as they
now stand and look at the map of the United States, and regard two hostile
confederacies stretching along for thousands of miles across the continent.
Do you not know that the normal condition of such a state of affairs would
be eternal, everlasting war ? Two nations of the same blood, of the same
lineage, of the same spirit, cannot occupy the same continent, much less
standing side by side as rival nations, dividing rivers and mountains for
their bound.ary. No, Mr. president, rather than allow this war to terminate
except upon tho restoration of the Union intact in all its breadth and length,
I would sacrifice the last man and see the country itself submerged.
" Rather than yield to traitors or the intervention of foreign powers,
rather than bequeath to the next generation a broken Union, and an inter
minable civil war, I would light the torch of fanaticism and destroy all that
the labor of two generations has accumulated. Better a desert and univer
sal poverty than disunion ; better the war of the French Revolution than an
oligarchy founded upon the labor of slaves. But, sir, there is no need of
this. The resources, wealth, and labor of twenty millions of freemen are
amply sufficient to raeet not only the physical, but financial, difficulties of
the war. Thank God 1 the test to which all nations in the course of their
history are subjected, is applied to us when- we have an insignificant na
tional debt; wlion our resources wore never more manifest; when the loyal
states are so thoroughly united ; when our people are filled with a generous
enthusiasm that will make the loss of life and burden of taxation easy to
bear. If we conquer a peace by preserving the Union, the constitution,
our nationality, all our ample territories, the rebound of prosperity in this
country will enable a single generation easily to pay the national debt,
even if the war is protracted until desolation is written upon every rebel
hearthstone." This, I believe, expressed the spirit and determination of
the loyal states of the north, at the beginning of the war.

248 RECOLLECTIONS
With opinions so widely divergent in the two sections, and
with a fixed purpose of each to stand by them, there was no
way that poor frail huraan nature could devise to decide the
controversy except to fight.
From the graves of the dead, who fought on opposite sides
for their country or their state, there has been a resurrection,
honorable to both sections, a Union stronger, more united and
glorious than the Union established by our fathers, and with a
rebound of prosperity greater than we could conceive of in
1862. This war, though fearful in the sacrifice of property
and life, has resulted in a better understanding among the
people of both sections. Each has for the other a higher
respect and regard. I sincerely hope and believe in the good
time coming when sectional lines will not divide political par
ties, and coraraon interests and a broader nationality will have
destroyed sectional feeling and jealousy.
As the result of the war we coramand the respect of all for
eign nations. The United States, as a great republic, has be
come an example already followed by European nations. It
has at least secured the respect and forbearance of the ruling
class in Great Britain, who never forgot or forgave the rebel
lion of our ancestors against King George III and the parlia
ment of Great Britain. It has stamped the language, the laws,
and the boasted freedom of Englishmen, upon a population
double that in the raother country, and they, in turn, are tak
ing lessons frora us in extending to their people equality of
rights and privileges.
I remained in Washington a few days and then started for
my home at Mansfield, to encourage enlistments, but found
that no help was needed; that companies were enlisted in a
day. One was recruited by William McLaughlin, a gallant
soldier in the war in Mexico, a major general of Ohio militia
who had arrived at the age of sixty years. He dropped his law
books and in twelve hours had a company of one hundred raen
ready to move at the command of the governor. A like pa
triotism was aroused in all parts of the state, so that in a very
short time two full regiments, numbering 2,000 men, were or
ganized under the coraraand of Colonel A. McD. McCook, of the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 249
United States army, and were on the way to Washington, then
blockaded by the roughs of Baltimore. I met them at Harris
burg and went with them to Philadelphia. They were camped
at Fairmont Park, and were drilled with other regiments by
Colonel Fitz John Porter, the entire force being under the com
mand of General Patterson.
When the blockade was opened, by the skill and audacity of
General Benjamin F. Butler, the two Ohio regiments were or
dered to Washington and were there reviewed by President Lin
coln, at which time a pleasant incident occurred which may be
worthy of mention. I accompanied the President to the parade,
and passed with him down the line. He noticed a venerable
man with long white hair and military bearing, standing in posi
tion at the head of his company with arms presented, and in
quired his name. I said it was General McLaughlin and hur
riedly told him his history, his politics and patriotism. The
President, as he came opposite him, stopped, and leaving his
party advanced to McLaughlin and extended his hand. Mc
Laughlin, surprised, had some difficulty in putting his sword
under his left arm. They shook hands and Lincoln thanked him,
saying when men of his age and standing came to the rescue of
their country there could be no doubt of our success. McLaugh
lin highly appreciated this compliment. He afterwards en
listed for the war and died in the service of his country.
These two regiments were subsequently ordered to Harris
burg, to which place they Avent, accompanied by me, and there
they formed a part of the command of General Patterson, which
was to advance on Martinsburg and Winchester to aid in a
movement of General McDowell against the enemy at Bull
Run. I was serving on the staff of General Patterson as a vol
unteer aid without pay. While at Harrisburg it was suggested
to me that ex-President Buchanan, then at his country home
near that city, had expressed a wish to see me. As our per
sonal relations had always been pleasant, though our political
opinions were widely different, I called upon him, I think with
Colonel Porter, and we were cordially received. I was sur
prised at the frankness and apparent sincerity of the opinions
expressed by him in relation to the war. He said he had done

250 RECOLLECTIONS OP JOHN SHERMAN.
all he could to prevent the war, but now that it was upon us it
was the duty of all patriotic people to make it a success, that
he approved all that had been done by Mr. Lincoln, of whom
he spoke in high terras of praise. I believe he was sincere
in the opinions he then expressed, and know of nothing said or
done by hira since that time that could create a doubt of his
sincerity. About the middle of June the command of General Patter
son moved slowly to Chambersburg, where it remained several
days under constant drill, then to Hagerstown and to the vil
lage of Williamsport on the Potoraac. While at the latter
place General Sherman, who had been at Washington and
received his commission as colonel of the 13th United States
infantry, then being recruited, came to visit me at my lodg
ings in a country tavern. He then met for the first tirae '
in raany years his old classmate. Colonel, afterwards Major-Gen
eral, George H. Thomas, who then commanded a regular regi
ment of the United States army in the force under the
command of General Patterson. The conversation of these
two officers, who were to be so intimately associated in great
events in the future, was very interesting. They got a big map
of the United States, spread it on the floor, and on their hands
and knees discussed the probable salient strategic places of
the war. They singled out Richmond, Vicksburg, Nashville,
Knoxville and Chattanooga. To me it has always appeared
strange that they were able confidently and correctly to desig
nate the lines of operations and strategic points of a war not
yet commenced, and more strange still that they should be
leading actors in great, battles at the places designated by them
at this country tavern.
The next day General Thomas crossed the river into Vir
ginia, but the order was soon countermanded, it is said, by
General Scott, and General Thoraas returned to the north bank
of the Potoraac. General Sherman returned to Washington to
drill his raw troops for the battle of Bull Run. I soon after re
turned by stage to Frederick, Maryland, to take my seat in the
Senate, Congress having been convened to meet in special
session on the 4th of July.

CHAPTER XL
Special Session op Congress to Provide for the War.
Condition of the Treasury Immediately Preceding the War — Not Enough Money
on Hand to Pay Members of Congress — Value of Fractional Silver ot
Earlier Coinage — Largely Increased Revenues an Urgent Neces
sity— -Lincoln's Message and Appeal to the People — Issue of
New Treasury Notes and Bonds — Union Troops on
the Potomac — Battle of Bull Run— Organ-.
ization of the "Sherman Brigade" —
The President's Timely Aid —
Personnel of the Brigade.
TO understand the measures to be submitted to Congress
at its approaching session, it is necessary to have a
clear conception of the condition of the treasury at
that time, and of the established financial policy of
the government immediately before the war.
On the meeting of Congress in December, 1860, the treasury
was empty. There was not enough money even to pay
Members of Congress. The revenues were not sufficient to
meet the demands for ordinary expenditures in time of peace.
Since 1857 money had been borrowed by the sale of bonds and
the issue of treasury notes bearing interest, to meet deficien
cies. The public debt had increased during the administration
of Mr. Buchanan about .$70,000,000. The- Secretary of the
Treasury, Howell Cobb, resigned on the 10th of December, 1860,
declaring that his duty to Georgia required such action. He
had aided in every possible way to cripple the department
while in charge of it.
On the 16tli of the same month Congress authorized the
issue of $10,000,000 treasury notes, to bear interest at. the
lowest rate bid. On the 18th Secretary Philip F. Thomas, Mr.
Cobb's successor, invited bids for $5,000,000 of treasury notes,
part of the $10,000,000 authorized, at par, at the rate of interest
(251)

252 RECOLLECTIONS
offered by the lowest bidder. Offers at 12 per cent, or less
were made for $1,831,000 (the bulk of the offers being at 12
per cent.), which were accepted and additional offers were re
ceived at interest varying from 15 to 36 per cent., but were
refused. Immediately after the decision of the department
on these offers was announced, the assistant treasurer at
New York advised the secretary that certain parties would
take the residue of the $5,000,000 offered, through the
Bank of Commerce, at 12 per cent. This proposition was
accepted, on condition that the araount required to raake up
the five raillions should be deposited without delay. The
whole araount was applied to the payraent of overdue treasury
notes and other pressing demands on the treasury.
Secretary Thomas resigned on the 11th of January, 1861,
and John A. Dix became Secretary of the Treasury. In
answer to my inquiry Secretary Dix, in an official letter,
dated January 18, 1861, stated the terms of the sale of
treasury notes and that: " The amount required to meet
the outstanding current and accruing dues before the close
of the present fiscal year, besides any additional charges on
the treasury created by legislation during the present ses
sion of Congress, is $44,077,524.63." He recommended a fur
ther issue of $25,000,000 of bonds, and suggested that the states
which had received deposits under the act for the distribution
of surplus revenue in General Jackson's time might be called
upon to return such deposits, and added: "If, instead of calling
for these deposits, it should be deemed advisable to pledge them
for the repayment of any money the government might find it
necessary to borrow, a loan contracted on such a basis of secu
rity, superadding to the plighted faith of the United States that
of the individual states, could hardly fail to be acceptable to
capitalists." In this connection I received the following note :
Treasury Department, February 6, 1861.
Hon. John Sherman.
Dear Sir : — I send a preamble and resolution, and a letter to your
governor. Will you read and send them at once V You, us a Member
of Congress, can say what I cannot with propriety — that no states which

I

N

^^ I

I

Jv

'sl'^,

'^

^

1^

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 253
guarantee bonds of the United States to the amount of the public moneys
in its hands, will be likely to be called on to repay those moneys — at all
events during the twenty years the bonds of the United States will run.
I am truly yours, John A. Dix.
P. S. — I cannot put out my notice for a loan till your state acts, and
the time is very short.
Subsequently I received the following letter:
Treasury Department, February 11, 1861, 7 p. m.
Dear Sir : — My plan for raising money to meet the outstanding liabili
ties of the government, and to enable the incoming administration to carry
on its financial operations without embarrassment till it shall have time to
mature a plan for itself, has met with an obstacle quite unexpected to me.
The committee of ways and means in the House has declined to report a
bill to authorize me to accept the guaranties voluntarily tendered by the
states. Mr. Spaulding, of New York, and Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, I learn,
have objections. Unless they withdraw their opposition the bill cannot be
reported, and the plan must fail. In that case I shall not deem it proper to
ask for a loan of more than two millions to meet the redemption of treasury
notes, which fall due before the 4th of March. The state of the country is
such that a larger amount thrown on the market would have a most disas
trous influence on the public credit. I do not think I can borrow two mil
lions at more than 90 per cent. With a guaranty such as the states have
offered, I can get eight millions at par. The alternative is to authorize me
to accept the guaranty, or leave the treasury with scarcely anything in it and
with outstanding demands, some of them very pressing, of at least six mil
lions of dollars, for you and your political friends to provide for. If any
thing is done it should be to-morrow, as I ought to publish the notice on
Wednesday. Perhaps you can see the gentlemen referred to to-night and
remove their objections. I am, very truly, your obedient servant,
John A. Dix.
On the 8th of February, 1861, a bill became a law providing
for the sale of $20,000,000 six per cent, bonds, and these were
sold at the rate of $89.10 for $100, yielding $18,415,000.
Such was the humiliating financial condition of the govern
ment of the United States at the close of Mr. Buchanan's
administration. The expenditures of the government for the
fiscal year, ending June 30, 1861, were $84,577,258.60, of which
$42,064,082.95 was procured from loans and treasury notes,
leaving a balance in the treasury, at the close of the fiscal year
1861, of $2,395,635.21. This condition still existed when Con
gress subsequently met in special session.

254 RECOLLECTIONS
Under the sub-treasury laws then in force, the revenues of
the government were received and held only in the treasury at
Washington, and in sub-treasuries located in a few of the prin
cipal cities of the United States, and could be paid out only
upon the draft of the treasurer of the United States, drawn
agreeably to appropriations made by law. No money could be
received into the treasury except gold and silver coin of the
United States, and such treasury notes as were receivable for
bonds. State bank notes were not received for government
dues. This exclusion grew out of the general failure of banks
after the War of 1812 and the panic of 1837, and had caused the
outcry in 1840 of : "Gold for the office holders; rags for the
people." But this policy of the government to receive only its
own coin or notes was sustained by popular opinion.
Silver dollars were not in circulation in 1861. Their issue
was provided for at the beginning of our government, but, as
they were most of the time more valuable than gold coin of
like face value, they were hoarded or exported. Their coinage
was suspended by an order of President Jeft'erson in 1805, and
after this order only 1,300 silver dollars were coined by the
United States prior to 1836. From 1836 to 1861 silver dollars
were coined in small quantities, the aggregate being less than
one and one-half million, and they were generally exported.
It is probable that when Mr. Chase becarae Secretary of the
Treasury, there was not in the United States one thousand sil
ver dollars. In 1853, and prior to that year, fractional silver
coins were worth for bullion raore than their face value, and,
therefore, did not circulate. Small change was scarce, and frac
tional notes, called " shinplasters," were issued in many parts
of the United States. Mexican coin, debased and worn, was in
circulation. To remedy this evil. Congress, by the act of Feb
ruary 21, 1853, during Pierce's administration, prescribed the
weight of the silver half dollar as 192 grains instead of 206|
grains, fixed by the coinage act of 1792, and the weight of the
quarter, dime and half dime of silver was reduced in the same
proportion. As these new coins were less valuable than gold
at the rate coined, they were made a legal tender in piayment
of debts only for suras not exceeding five dollars, ^i^he silver

OF .rOIIN SHERMAN. 255
bullion for these coins was purchased at market value, and the
privilege theretofore granted to a depositor of silver bullion to
have it coined for him was repealed. This law had the benefi
cial effect of driving out of circulation " shinplasters " and worn
coins, and supplied in ample quantity new full weight silver
coins of handsome device, the government receiving the profit
of the difference between the market value of the silver and
its coinage value. Under this law the coinage of silver rapidly
increased, so that, within two years after the passage of the act
of 1853, more silver was converted into fractional coins and
was in active use among the people than was contained in all
the silver dollars coined under " free coinage " from the begin
ning of the government to 1878.
While silver was thus made useful to the fullest extent pos
sible, it was, from its weight and bulk, inadequate and incon
venient for the vast demands of the government during the
the war. Silver and gold together could not meet this demand.
There was knoAvn to be in the country at that time, of specie
in circulation, $250,000,000, of state bank notes, $180,000,000, in
all $430,000,000. This amount, experience had shown, was
necessary to meet exchanges in ordinary times of peace. The
disturbance of a civil war would likely stimulate production
for a time and require even more circulation for current busi
ness. This circulation, if drawn from its ordinary channels,
would bring no end of confusion and distress to the people, and
the government, to meet the demand occasioned by carrying on
a war, must look elsewhere for a circulating medium with which
to meet its enormous disbursements which must necessarily be
made almost wholly in actual cash— checks being, from the
character of the payments, of little avail.
There was no escaping the issue of credit money in some
form, and of whatever form adopted we knew that gold and
silver would soon disappear under the shadow of war— that
they would be hoarded or exported.
This is the universal result of great wars long protracted. It
was our experience during our Revolution and the War of 1812,
and of Great Britain and all European nations during the Na
poleonic wars. What should take the place of gold and silver

256 RECOLLECTIONS
for currency? The only ansAver was to substitute for the tirae
the notes of the United States, with all the sanction and credit
which the republic could confer, in the place of coin. We
could not, with safety, accept bank notes issued by state cor
porations, varying in terras and credit according to the laws of
twenty-three separate states.
To establish a credit of our bonds and notes these raeasures
at least were necessary : First, increase largely the revenues
frora customs duties to be paid in coin; second, impose all forms
of internal taxes authorized by the constitution ; third, create
a national currency redeemable in coin, with no fixed time for
redemption, but raade a legal tender for all debts, public and
private, except customs duties ; fourth, borrow any moneys
needed on the most favorable terms possible.
On the 4th of July, 1861, the Senate convened in com
pliance with the proclamation of the President, from whom it
received a message containing a clear statement of the events
that followed his inaugural address. He described the attack
upon Fort Sumter and said :
" By the affair at Fort Sumter, with its surrounding circumstances, that
point was reached. Then and thereby the assailants of the government
began the conflict of arms, without a gun in sight or in expectancy to return
their fire, save only the few in the fort, sent to that harbor years before for
their own protection, and still ready to give that protection in whatever was
lawful. In this act, discarding all else, they have forced upon the country
the distinct issue, ' immediate dissolution or blood.'
" And this issue embraces more than the fate of these United States. It
presents to the whole family of man the question, whether a constitutional
republic, or democracy — a government of the people by the same people —
can or cannot maintain its territorial integrity against its own domestic foes.
It presents the question, whether discontented individuals, too few in num
bers to control administration according to organic law in any case, can
always, upon the pretenses made in this case, or on any other pretenses, or
arbitrarily, without any pretense, break up thoir govorniiient, and thus prac
tically put an end to free governraent upon the earth. It forces us to ask:
' Is there, in all republics, this inherent and fatal weakness?' ' Must a govern
ment, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too
weak to maintain its own existence?'
" So viewing the issue, no choice was left but to call out the war power
of the government ; and so to resist force employed for its destruction, by
force for its preservation."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 257
He clo.sod with this appeal to tho people:
" It was with the deepest regret that the Executive found the duty of
employing the war power in defense of the government forced upon him.
He could but perform this duty, or surrender the existence of the govern
ment. No compromise by public servants could in this case be a cure ; not
that coinpromisoa aro not often proper, but that no popular government can
long survive a marked precedent that those who carry an election can only
save the government from immediate destruction by giving up the main
point upon which the people gave the election. The people theraselves, and
not their servants, can safely reverse their own deliberate decisions.
" As a private citizen, the Executive could not have consented that
these institutions shall perish ; much less could he, in betrayal of so vast and
so sacred a trust as these free people have confided to hira. He felt that he
had no moral right to shrink, or even to count the chances of his own life, in
what might follow. In full view of his great responsibility, he has, so far,
done what he has deemed his duty. You will now, according to your own
judgment, perform yours. He sincerely hopes that your views and your
action may so accord with his as to assure all faithful citizens who have been
disturbed in their rights of a certain and speedy restoration to them, under
the constitution and the laws.
" And having thus chosen our course, without guile and with pure pur
pose, lot us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear and with
manly hearts."
Secretary Chase also submitted to Congress, on the first day
of the session, a clear statement of the financial condition of
the United States. He estimated the sum needed for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1862, at $318,519,581. He recommended
a large increase of duties on imports, especially upon such
articles as were then free from duty; also a direct tax of $20,-
000,000, to be apportioned among the states according to
population; also a tax on distilled spirits, ale, beer, tobacco,
bank notes, and other articles of domestic production. He
also suggested that the property of those engaged in insurrec
tion or in giving aid and comfort to insurgents should be made
to contribute to the expenditures made necessary by their
criminal misconduct. As the receipts from taxation would
still be inadequate to meet the expenses of the war, he dis
cussed the best mode and form of borrowing money, including
bonds running for a long period with a fixed rate of interest,
and treasury notes bearing interest, payable on demand.
S.— 19

^58 RECOLLECTIONS
Kansas having recently been admitted into the Union,
twenty-three states were represented in the Senate by forty-six
Senators. Eleven states being in open war against the United
States, twenty-one of their Senators withdi'ew, but AndrcAV
Johnson, of Tennessee, denying the validity of the secession of
his state, remained in the Senate, making the total of Senators
forty-seven. Some of these Senators were new in congres
sional life, and some had been ti-ansferred from the House of
Representatives. This transfer of a Member, though eagerly
sought, is not for a time agreeable. However conspicuous the
Member may have been in the House, he must take his place
in the Senate at the bottom of the ladder, and, according to
Senatorial usage, must be reasonably modest in expressing his
opinions. The withdrawal of so many Senators in 1861, how
ever, gave the new Members better positions than usual. I
was assigned to the coramittee on finance and on naval afl'airs.
At that time the committee on finance had charge of all bills
appropriating money for tlie support of the government, all tax
or revenue bills, all loan and coinage bills, and, generally, all
bills relating to the treasury department, and to the finances of
the government. It was soon manifest that, in view of the
war, and the enormous sums required to conduct it, the task of
the comraittee would be a Herculean one, and that the labor
required would fall chiefly on Mr. Fessenden, the chairman of
the committee, and, I raay with due modesty add, myself. My
former position in the House of Representatives, as chairman
of the coramittee of ways and means, and my personal associa
tion with Secretary Chase, with whom I was intimate, led to
my taking an active part in financial legislation, which was
considered my specialty. Congress, in substantial conformity
with the recommendations of Secretary Chase, passed the act
to authorize a loan which was approved July 17, 1861, provid
ing for the issue of $250,000,000 of bonds running twenty years,
bearing not exceeding seven per cent, interest, or treasury
notes for not less than fifty dollars each, bearing interest at not
less than seven and three-tenths per cent, annually, and paya
ble in three years, and treasury notes of less dcnoini nation than
fifty dollars, not bearing interest and not exceeding $50,000,000,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 259
payable on demand, and commonly known as demand notes.
We knew that this act was entirely inadequate for the great
struggle before us. The problem was not whether we could
muster men, but whether we could raise money. We had to
create a systera of finance that would secure an enlarged reve
nue, unquestioned credit, absolute certainty of payment of
interest in coin, a national currency, and such economy as is
possible during Avar.
The first feeble attempt to create a national currency was
the issue of demand notes under the act of July 17, 1861,
described as follows:
"And the Secretary of the Treasury may also issue, in exchange for
coin, and as part of the above loan, or m.ay pay for salaries or other dues
from the United States, treasury notes of a less denomination than fifty
dollars, not bearing interest, but payable on demand by the assistant treas
urer of the United States, at Philadelphia, New York or Boston."
The fatal defect of these notes was the promise to pay on
demand. How could they be paid? In what kind of money?
They could not be paid out of the current revenue, for that
was insufficient to meet current expenses. No reserve was
provided for their payment, and, when paid, there was no
authority for their re-issue. All other forras of securities bore
interest, and these notes, not bearing interest, were convertible
into bonds and that was the end of them. If that was the proc
ess why issue them at all ? They did not prevent, but rather
expedited, the disappearance of gold. Of American silver
dollars there were none. Even the new fractional silver coins
rose to a premium, and were hoarded or exported. Still, the
necessity existed for some form of paper money that would be
available for circulation. The solution of this problem was
properly left to the next regular session of Congress.
Congress did not act upon the recommendations for internal
taxes, but this subject was also left over until the next session.
It did provide, however, for a large increase of revenue from
imports, mainly upon articles that were then free from taxa
tion and upon articles regarded as luxuries ; also for a direct
tax on the states of $20,000,000, and for a graded tax, from and
after the first day of January, 1862, upon the annual income

260 RECOLLECTIONS
of every person residing in the United States, from whatever
source the income should be derived ; if such annual income
should exceed the sum of $800 a tax of three per cent, on its
excess above that limit. A provision was raade reducing the
tax on incomes from treasury notes and other securities of the
United States one-half. The tax on incomes of citizens of the
United States residing abroad was placed at five per cent., ex
cept on that portion derived from interest on treasury notes
and other securities of the United States, which was taxed
one and one-half per cent.
While Congress was engaged in legislative duties in Wash
ington, the military forces of the Confederate States were gath
ering in Virginia, with the principal force at Manassas, about
twenty-five miles southwest of Washington, under the cora
raand of General Beauregard. The Union troops, composed
mainly of three months' volunteers, were in camp occupying
the region about Washington on both banks of the Potomac
River, under the immediate command of General McDowell,
but with Lieutenant General Scott in full command. I fre
quently visited the Union camps where the soldiers, fresh from
civil life and confident of easy success over the " rebels," were
being drilled. The cry was, " On to Richmond!" They could
not foresee the magnitude of the task they had undertaken. I
will not atterapt to narrate the incidents of the Battle of Bull
Run. I knew it was to be fought on Sunday, the 21st of July.
Soon after noon of that day I mounted my horse, and with James
Rollins, a Member of Congress from Missouri, called on Gen
eral Scott, and inquired for news of the battle then going on.
He told us he was quite sure of a favorable result, but feared
the loss of his gallant officers as, the troops being raw, it would
be necessary for their officers to lead them. We crossed the
pontoon bridge from Georgetown, and then, passing by Arling
ton, we went to a new fort on the main road from the Long
Bridge. As we approached we could hear the distant firing of
cannon. We asked a sentinel on duty if he had heard the
sound all day. He said, " Yes, but not so loud as now." This
was significant but not encouraging. We returned to ray lodg
ings on Fifteenth street. Everywhere there was an uneasy

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 261
feeling. At eight o'clock in the evening I started for the resi
dence of the Secretary of War to get information of the battle.
As I approached 1 was seized by the arm, and, turning, saw
Secretary Cameron. I asked about the battle, but, without
answering, he hurried me into his house and said: "Our army
is defeated, iind my brother is killed." He then gave way to
passionate grief, liis brother, Colonel Cameron, had been
killed, and the Union army was in full retreat. I was enjoined
to say nothing until morning. I obeyed his injunction. At
eleven o'clock that night I heard the clatter of a horse's feet in
full gallop. My nephew, Robert McComb, a boy about nine
teen, a private soldier in an Ohio regiment, but detailed as an
orderly, had been sent to the rear with a message. He saw
the army in retreat, and, being well mounted and believing
that discretion was the better part of valor, rode rapidly to my
lodgings in Washington. It is uncertain whether he or
" Bull-Run " Russell, an English reporter, made the best time to
the Long Bridge. McComb gave me a doleful account of the
battle and retreat. The official reports from both armies show
that it was a drawn battle. General Sherman, in his
"Memoirs," gives a graphic history of the battle and expresses
the same opinion.
Still, the battle of Bull Run was an important event. It
dispelled the illusion of the people of the north as to the
duration and gravity of the war. It demonstrated the
folly of ninety days' enlistments. It brought also, to every
intelligent mind, the dangers that would incAdtably result
from disunion. On the 22nd of July, the day after the battle,
the bill to authorize the employment of 500,000 volunteers
became a law.
On the 29tli of July two bills, one for the increase of the
military establishment of the United States, and one to provide
for the suppression of the rebellion, were passed. On the 5th
of August an act passed for the better organization of the mili
tary establishment. Armed with the largest military power
ever conferred upon a President, with the almost unlimited
power of taxation, the administration of Mr. Lincoln entered
upon the task before it.

262 RECOLLECTIONS
Having passed these provisions in aid of the government,
the special session of Congress closed on the 6th of August,
1861. I iramediately returned to my home at Mansfield. Regi
ments were being organized but it seemed to me that the mode
of enlistment was too slow. The people, though still resolute,
were somewhat troubled by the failure of military operations.
I felt this so strongly that I determined at once to adopt some
plan to raise a brigade to be composed of two regiments of
infantry, one battery of artillery and one squadron of cavalry.
When I made application to Governor Dennison for the req
uisite authority, he feared my plan might interfere with
existing organizations then being enlisted in the different parts
of the state, and I was persuaded to wait until after the 15th
regiment was recruited and in the field, and the 42nd was well
under way. I also made up my raind to delay actual recruiting
until after the election in October of that year, so that no
political bias raight enter into it.
On the 24th of September I addressed a letter to the Hon.
Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, as follows :
Mansfield, Ohio, September 24, 1861.
Hon. Simon Cameeon, Secretary of War :
Deae Sie : — I respectfully ask for an order granting me leave to re
cruit and organize, in this part of Ohio, a brigade of two regiments of
infantry, one squadron of cavalry, and two companies of artillery. I know
I can do it promptly. The squadron of cavalry authorized to Major Mc
Laughlin may, if desired, be considered as part of the brigade.
For reasons that are probably unjust the governor and state mili
tary authorities are less successful than I hoped, and I know that I can get
you recruits tha^ they cannot. I wish no rank, pay, or expenses for myself,
and will freely act without compensation. I care not who are the field
officers, so I know they are men of honor, honesty and experience. I will
only ask of the department the usual rations, pay and armament and equi
page for the men ; I ask nothing for myself, will undertake upon my individ
ual responsibility to purchase any of them desired, receiving in return gov
ernment securities therefor.
I will so execute the order as not to interfere with tho state authori
ties, and will act in subordination to them. 1 will freely confer with the
government as to details, but would rather be left as free as practicable in
the selection of oCioers.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 263
1 hope, my dear sir, this applloation will receive your sanction, and I
will stake my reputation and jiroporty that what I offer shall be accom
plished. Very truly yours,
John Sherman.
On the same day, in order to secure the active cooperation
of Secretary Chase, I wrote him as follows:
Mansfield, Ohio, September 24, 1861.
Hon. S. p. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury :
My Dear Sir : — I have to-diiy written to General Cameron, asking an
order allowing me to recruit a brigade in this part of Ohio. I know I can
do it. I ask no office, rank, pay, or expenses for myself, and will under
take to recruit this force in subordination to the state and general govern
ment, and within such limits as may be allowed. Whatever may be the
reason, it is manifest that voluntary enlistment needs the spur of active ex
ertion and solicitation. This I am willing to give, and, from offers freely
made to me by personal acquaintances, know that I can enlist hundreds
whom the state authorities cannot reach.
Can I ask your favorable influence and cooperation ? I will pay my
own expenses, and ask only rations, tents and armament for the men. Any
of these I am willing to purchase upon my individual credit, receiving in
payment government securities. I pledge you my reputation and all I am
worth to accomplish what I offer.
If it is objected that my operation will interfere with state enlistments,
I will agree to subordinate my movements to the orders of the governor,
but for the good of the service I hope to be left as free as possible. In the
selection of officers I should want to be especially consulted, so as to insure
the honor, probity and personal habits of such officers. Further than this I
have no choice.
If this meets your approbation promptly say so to General Cameron,
and let hiin set me to work. Very truly yours,
John Sheeman.
About the same time I had ananged with Governor Denni
son for a plan of enlistment which enabled the recruits to
select their oflicers, by allowing persons securing a certain
number of recruits to be captains, a less number first lieuten
ants, and a less number second lieutenants. The governor very
kindly agreed that he would commission the persons selected
in this Avay, leaving the regimental organization to be com
posed of the best material that could be found anywhere. On
the 28th of September I issued and distributed, mainly in the

264 RECOLLECTIONS
region near the line of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago
railroad, this circular:
"TO THE YOUNG MEN OF OHIO.
"I am authorized by the governor of Ohio to raise at once two regi
ments of infantry and a battery of artillery, and a squadron of cavalry.
" I am also authorized to recommend one lieutenant for each company,
who shall at once receive their commission and be furnished with proper
facilities for enlisting. I am now ready to receive applications for such
aiipointments, aocompaniod with evidence of good habits and character, the
age of applicant, and his fitness and ability to recruit a company.
"Major Wm. McLaughlin will command the squadron of cavalry.
" The company officers will be designated by the soldiers of each com
pany, subject to the approval of the governor.
"The field officers are not yet designated, but shall be men of expe
rience, and, if possible, of military education.
"The soldiers shall have, without dirainution, all they are entitled to by
law. "Danger is imminent. Promptness is indispensable. Let the people
of Ohio now repay the debt which their fathers incurred to the gallant peo
ple of Kentucky for the defense of Ohio against the British and Indians.
They now appeal to us for help against an invasion more unjustifiable and
barbarous. "Letters can be addressed to rae, marked "Free," at Mansfield, Ohio.
John Sherman."
Mansfield, Ohio, September 28, 1861.
The matter thus rested until after the election on the 9th of
October, when squads rapidly formed into companies, and with
in twenty days Camp Buckingham was opened near Mansfield.
In the performance of this self-imposed duty, I encountered
but one difficulty, and at one time a very serious one, the
selection of regimental officers, and especially of commanders
of regiments. I knew that military warfare was an art, a trade,
an occupation, where education, experience and preparation
are absolutely essential to effective service. The materials for
soldiers abound everywhere, but without discipline, order,
obedience, and severe drilling men are not soldiers. It was my
desire to secure for the coramanders of regiments Iavo gradu
ates of West Point. I made application directly to Washington
for various details of officers of the regular army, so that the
soldiers in Camp Buckingham might have experienced drill
masters from the beginning. I failed to receive an answer.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 265
and went to Washington, earnestly impressed with the impor
tance of my mission, and determined, if possible, that these
men enlisted by me should not be placed in the front of the
enemy until they had had all the benefit they could derive
from military discipline and drilling. When I arrived I found
that Secretary Cameron was indisposed to interfere with the
purely military details of the army, while General Scott, a
brave old soldier whom I always loved and admired, was firmly
of the opinion that the favorable result- of the war depended
upon strengthening the regular army, maintaining its force
and discipline, and especially retaining its valuable officers.
The regular army, almost disbanded at the beginning of the war,
was gradually filling up upon the basis of a new organization
and long enlistments, but it was idle, it seemed to me, to expect
that the young men of the country would enlist in the regular
service. While ready to respond to the call of their country
in its actual peril, they had no purpose to become regular sol
diers for life. It appeared to me, therefore, that the raanifest
policy of the government should be to allow the regular army
to be gradually absorbed into the volunteer service, where the
young officers educated at the expense of the government
might impart instruction to regiments and brigades, instead of
to squads and companies. I spoke to General Scott about this,
and the result of my interview was very unpleasant. I fear we
both lost our temper, though I never ceased to respect the old
general for the great service he had rendered his country; but
his day was past.
After consulting Major Garesche, Assistant AdjutantGeneral,
as to the names of officers, I then applied to the President, ex
plained to him fully the situation of affairs, my promise, the
gathering of the soldiers in Camp Buckingham, their inexpe
rience, and want of drill masters, their ardent patriotism, stated
my interview with General Scott, and appealed to him to help
me out of the dilemma.
I never shall forget the interview with Mr. Lincoln, for he
did not hesitate, but sent for Major Garesche, and gave me the
coveted order before I left him, directing the Secretary of War
to detail two second lieutenants, James William Forsyth, of

266 RECOLLECTIONS
Ohio, and Charles Garrison Harker, of New Jersey, and Sergeants
Bradley and Sweet, of the regular array, for service in the Ohio
Volunteers, under ray direction. This order was the key that
unlocked the difficulty and gave to the force the elements of
military discipline. At the same time the requisite orders
were given for uniforms, arms of the best pattern, cannon,
horses and various equipments.
I then procured the detail of Major Robert S. Granger,
of the United States army, to command the camp and to or
ganize the force. He had graduated as a cadet from Ohio,
was one of the officers of the regular array surrendered by
General Twiggs to the State of Texas before the beginning of
the war, and had given his parole not to serve in the army
until exchanged. Though this was not held to apply to the
enlistment of volunteers he so construed his parole as to pre
vent hira from serving in his regiment until duly exchanged.
When this was done he entered the service and was rapidly
promoted to Major General of Volunteers.
Within sixty days 2,340 young men of Ohio were formed
into the 64th and 65th regiments, the 6th battery of artillery,
and McLaughlin's squadron of cavalry, armed with the best
arms then in the service, uniforraed, equipped and partly
drilled as soldiers, ready to raarch, and actually raarching,
to the seat of war. No better raaterial for soldiers, and no
better soldiers in fact, ever enlisted in any cause or any service.
I insert a letter from General Garfield written when he was
-in command of this brigade :
Headquarters, 20th Brigade, )
In the Field, 6 Miles feom Coeinth, Miss., May 17, 1862. J
Hon. John Sheeman, Washington, D. C.
Dear Sie : — I am now in command of the 20tli Brigade, composed of
the 64th and 65th Ohio (the regiments raised by yourself) and the 13th
Michigan and 51st Indiana Regiments. I have sent forward to Washington
the name of Lt. D. G. Swain (65th Ohio) of Salem, O., for appointment as
A. A. Gen. on my staff. He is an excellent officer, and his nomination has
been approved by Gen. Buell. I will be particularly obliged to you if you
will aid in securing his appointment as soon as possible. The whole army
advances toward Corinth this morning.
Very respectfully yours, .1. A. Garfield,
Brig. Gen. Vols., U. S. A.

£L„^£^ y ^  ^i^ y^ /^ -^ >^i-o4^ . ^ t/7-^ X-^^i..*-— /»—
<;^2-<C^,^z-, /.^c__-<5^ 4S^ A.^-'>^-<-^ d-<--,^...-d^ i^-e^-t,T..„^^.t  ^e^:^ <y
'^:Tt«.^ (^^^r,,.-^,/^.^, Qy (h^-t-C& d^ d,„.^U^C^d'c.  <^
^^^fdi.,A,c,i>d) 'Oi—^^ ^ 'y^"^ /^^'-T/Cd/ .^-o^ ^"-^

/.^ <^^ ^>«i- 'S-.yrVe .
1

s

^

'^

^^'lll

n«1

1

1

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 267
When General Sherman was in Louisville in October, 1861,
he was called upon by Secretary Cameron, and they engaged
in a general discussion of the military situation. General
Sherman said that for aggressive movements, the United States
would require 200,000 men. This was so far beyond the ideas
of the time that he was regarded as crazy, and was soon after
relieved from his command by General Buell. Secretary Cam
eron was blamed for this, but his letter to me, here inserted,
shows that he was absent from Washington when the order
was raade : Wae Department, November 14, 1861.
Sir: — Your letter of the 10th inst. is received. General Sherman
was recalled from the command in Kentucky during ray absence at the
north on official business. Since my return on the 11th, I have not had
time to make any inquiries concerning the cause of the change, but I feel
certain it was not from any want of confidence in the patriotism or capacity
of your brother. He has been ordered to Missouri, under the immediate
command of Major General Halleck, of the regular army, and the fact that
he has been so assigned is evidence of the confidence reposed in hira.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Simon Cameron, Secretary of War.

CHAPTER XII.
Passage of the Legal Tender Act in 1862.
My Interview with Lincoln About Ohio Appointments — Governmental Expenses
Now Aggregating Nearly $2,000,000 Daily — Secretary Chase's Annual Report
to Congress in Deceraber, 18C1 — Treasury Notes a Legal Tender in Pay
ment ot Public and Private Debts — Beneficial Results from the Paa-
sage of the Bill — The War Not a tjuestion of Men but of Money —
Proposed Organization of National Banks — Bank Bills Not
Taxed — Local Banks and Their Absorjitioii by the Govern
ment—The 1802 Lssue of |150,000,000 iu "Green
backs" — Legal Tender Act a Turning Point in
Our Financial History — Compensation
ot Officers of the Government.
ABOUT this tirae I had an interview with Mr. Lincoln
which may be of interest. In making the local ap
pointments in Ohio he was naturally governed largely
by his strong affinities for old Whig associates in Con
gress, of one of whora. General Schenck, he was especially fond.
I thought sorae of his appointments in Ohio were not judicious,
and concluded I would go to him and make a general com
plaint of the distribution of these offices. I felt that he failed to
consider the fact that the Republican party contained many men
who had not belonged to the Whig party. I requested an inter
view with him which Avas promptly granted, and called at his
office one evening. He was seated in an easy chair and seemed
to be in excellent humor. I proceeded to complain of sorae of
his appointraents in Ohio and as I progressed the expression of
his face gradually changed to one of extreme sadness. He did
not say a word, but sank in his chair, placing his feet upon the
table, and looking, as I thought, the picture of despair. • I pro
ceeded with my complaint until I began mentally to reproach
rayself for bothering the President of the United States with
so unimportant a matter as the choice of persons to fill local
offices in Ohio, when the country was in the throes of revolution.
(268)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 269
Finally I told him I felt ashamed to disturb him with such mat
ters and Avould not bother him again with them. His face bright
ened, he sat up in his chair and his whole manner changed, until
finally he almost embraced me. He then told me many interest
ing stories of his short service in Congress and of the men with
wlioin he was brought iu contact. The close of the interview
was very pleasant and 1 kept my promise to him about his
appointments. When Congress convened on the 2nd of December, 1861,
the financial condition of the government was more alarming
than at any other period during the war.
The Secretary of the Treasury had ample and complete au
thority, given him by the act of July, 1861, tp borrow money
on the credit of the government, but he could not deal with the
system of state banks then existing in the several states. He
was forbidden, by the sub-treasury act of 1846, to receive notes
of state banks and was required to receive into and pay from
the treasury only the coin of the United States ; but by the
act of August 5, 1861, he was permitted to deposit to the credit
of the Treasurer of the United States, in such solvent specie-
paying banks, as he might select, any of the moneys obtained
from loans, the moneys thus deposited to be withdrawn only
for transfer to the regularly authorized depositaries, or for the
payment of public dues, including certain notes payable on
demand, as he might deem expedient. He had, however, no
authority to receive from individuals or banks any money
but coin.
The coin received from the Boston, New York, and Phila
delphia banks, in payment of their subscriptions to the govern
ment loans, to the amount of nearly $150,000,000, had to be
sent to every point in the United States to meet public obliga
tions, and, when thus scattered, was not readily returned to
the banks, thus exhausting their resources and their ability to
loan again.
The demand notes, authorized by the act of July 17, 1861,
were also paid out by the treasury; but from time to time
were presented for redemption in coin or in payment of cus
toms duties to the exclusion of coin, and thus both the banks

270 RECOLLECTIONS
and the government were greatly crippled, the banks suspend
ing specie payments on the 30th day of Deceraber, 1861.
At this tirae an array of 500,000 Union soldiers was in the
field, and a powerful navy, with vast stores of artillery and
aramunition, had been created. In providing for their suste
nance, comfort and equipment the governraent had been
obliged to incur expenses far exceeding in magnitude any
which had been hitherto known in its history, aggregating
neariy $2,000,000 per day.
It was apparent that a radical change in existing laws
relating to our currency must be made, or the govern
ment would practically be unable to make the current dis
bursements on account of the war, and the destruction of
the Union would be unavoidable, notwithstanding the im
raense resources of the country which had then hardly been
touched. The annual report of Secretary Chase reached Congress on
the 10th of Deceraber, having been delayed by the press of
business. So much of it as related to the currency was the
basis of the long debates that followed. The circulation of
the banks of the United States on the 1st of January, 1861,
was reported at $202,000,767. Of this $152,000,000, in round
numbers, was in the loyal states, including West Virginia, and
$50,000,000 in the rebel states, the whole constituting a loan
without interest from the people to the banks, costing the lat
ter only the expense of issue and redemption and the interest
on the specie kept on hand for the latter purpose. The secre
tary called especial attention to the organization and nature of
these banks, and questioned whether a currency of banks is
sued by local institutions under state laws was not in fact pro
hibited by the national constitution. He said :
"Such emissions certainly fall within the spirit, if not within the letter,
of the constitutional prohibition of the emission of ' bills of credit ' by the
states, and of the making by them of anything except gold and silver coin
a legal tender in payment of debts. However this may be, it is too clear
to be reasonably disputed that Congress, under its constitutional powers to
lay taxes, to regulate commerce, and to regulate the value of coin, possesses
ample authority to control the credit circulation which enters so largely into

OP JOHN SHERMAN. 271
the transaction of commerce, and affects in so many ways the value of coin.
In the judgmont of tho secretary, the time has arrived when Congress
should exercise this authority."
He described with great force the weakness of the state
banking system, and the repeated losses by the people of the
United States on account of the failure of such banks. He
recommended two plans by either of which he held that these
banks might be absorbed, and a national currency be substi
tuted in the place of their issues. One plan proposed the grad
ual Avithdrawal from circulation of the notes of private corpo
rations, and the issue in their stead of United States notes,
payable in coin on demand, in amounts sufficient for the useful
ends of a representative currency. The other proposed a sys
tem of national banks authorized to issue notes for circulation
under national direction, to be secured as to prompt converti
bility into coin by the pledge of the United States bonds and
other needful regulations. He discussed these two plans at
length, but concluded by recommending a system of national
banks, the advantages of which would be uniformity in cur
rency, uniformity in security, an effectual safeguard against
depreciation, and protection from losses from discounts and ex
changes. He expressed the opinion that such notes would give
to the government the further advantage of a large demand
for government securities, of increased facilities for obtaining
the loans required for the war, a reduction of interest, and a
participation by the government in the profit of circulation
without risking the perils of a great money monopoly. It will
be noticed that the secretary nowhere suggested the suspension
of coin payments, or making the notes a legal tender in pay
ment of public and private debts, or the redemption in coin of
the bank notes to be issued.
These recommendations were referred to the committee of
ways and means of the House, and by it to a sub-committee,
of which Elbridge G. Spaulding, of New York, was chairman.
Undoubtedly we owe to him, more than to any other individual
Member, the important and radical changes made in our cur
rency system by the act reported by him to the House and
amended in the Senate. Mr. Spaulding perceived the objection
S.— 20

272 RECOLLECTIONS
to the recommendations of Secretary Chase that they did not
provide for any payraents but in coin, or call for a suitable
provision that the notes when issued should be a legal tender
for public and private debts, or for their reissue in case of pay
ment, nor did they provide for the absorption of the demand
notes outstanding, which were, on their face, payable on de
mand, an obligation that could not be ignored without severely
impairing the public credit. It was also apparent that the sys
tem of national banks proposed by the secretary could not be
organized and put in effective force for a year or more, and
that in the meantime the state banks would be in a condition
of suspension, without coin or the possibility of obtaining it,
and, with no effective money which the people were bound to
receive, or which the government could receive, it would have
been difficult to carry on the operations of the war.
The first bill introduced by Mr. Spaulding, on the 30tli of
December, met some of these difficulties. It provided for the
issue of $50,000,000 treasury notes, payable on demand, the
notes to be receivable for all debts and demands due to or by
the United States, to be a legal tender in payment of all debts,
public or private, within the United States, and exchangeable
at their face value, the same as coin, at the treasury of the
United States, and the offices of the assistant treasurers in
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, for
any of the coupon or registered bonds which the secretary
was authorized to issue. It also contained this provision:
" Such treasury notes raay be reissued from time to tirae as
the exigencies of the public service may require," the first au
thority ever given for the reissue of treasury notes after re
demption. On the 7th of January, 1862, Mr. Spaulding reported the bill
to the House with some important changes, and it soon became
the subject of a long and interesting debate. On the 22nd of
January, Secretary Chase returned Mr. Spaulding's bill to him
and suggested some raodifications, referring to the legal tender
clause as follows, being his first reference to that clause:
"Regretting exceedingly that it is found necessary to resort to the
measure of making fundable notes of the United States a legal tender, but

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 273
heartily desiring to cooperate with the committee in all measures to meet
existing necessities in the most useful and least hurtful to the general in
terest, I remain," etc.
In a letter to the comraittee of ways and means, on the
29th of January, the secretary said:
"The condition of the treasury certainly needs iraraediate action on the
subject of affording provision for tho expenditures of the government, both
expedient and necessary. The general provisions of the bill submitted to
me seem to me well adapted to the end proposed. There are, however,
some points which may, perhaps, be usefully araended.
"The provision making United States notes a legal tender has doubt
less been well considered by the committee, and their conclusion needs no
support from any observation of mine. I think it my duty, however, to
say, that in respect to this provision my reflections have conducted me to
the same conclusions they have reached. It is not unknown to them that
I have felt, nor do I wish to conceal that I now feel, a great aversion to
making anything but coin a legal tender in payment of debts. It has been
my anxious wish to avoid the necessity of such legislation. It is, however,
at present impossible, in consequence of the large expenditures entailed by
the war, and the suspension of the banks, to procure sufficient coin for dis
bursements ; and it has, therefore, become indispensably necessary that we
should resort to tho issue of United States notes. . . . Such discrimi
nation should, if possible, be prevented ; and the provision making the notes
a legal tender, in a great measure at least, prevents it, by putting all citi
zens, in this respect, on the same level, both of rights and duties."
On the 3rd of February the secretary wrote to Mr. Spaulding
as follows: " Mr. Seward said to me on yesterday that you observed to him that my
hesitation in coming up to the legal tender proposition embarrassed you,
and I am very sorry to observe it, for ray anxious wish is to support you in
all respects. " It is true that I came with reluctance to the conclusion that the legal
tender clause is a necessity, but I came to it decidedly, and I support it
earnestly. I do not hesitate when I have made up my mind, however much
regret I may feel over the necessity of the conclusion to which I come."
On the 5th of February the secretary became more urgent,
and wrote to Mr. Spaulding the following brief note:
My Dear Sir: — I make the above extract from a letter received from
the collector of Now York this morning. It is very important the bill
should go through to-day, and through the Senate this week. The public
exigencies do not admit of delay. Yours truly,
Hon. E. G. Spaulding. S. P. Chase.

274 RECOLLECTIONS
It will thus be perceived that, whatever may have been the
constitutional scruples of Secretary Chase in respect to the
legal tender clause, he yielded to it under the pressure of neces
sity, and expressed no dissent frora it until, as chief justice, his
opinion was delivered in the case of Hepburn vs. Griswold, in
the Supreme Court of the United States.
The bill, much modified from the original, passed the House
of Representatives by the decided vote of yeas 93, nays 59. As it
passed the House it contained authority to issue, on the credit
of the United States, United States notes to the amount of
$150,000,000, not bearing interest, payable to bearer at the
treasury of the United States, at Washington or New York.
It provided that $50,000,000 of said notes should be in lieu of
the demand treasury notes authorized by the act of July 17,
1861, and that said deraand notes should be taken up as rapidly
as practicable. It provided that the treasury notes should be
receivable in payraent of all taxes, duties, iraports, excise, debts
and demands of all kinds due to the United States, and all
debts and demands owing by the United States to individ
uals, corporations and associations within the United States,
and should be lawful raoney and a legal tender, in payment of
all debts, public and private, within the United States.
This bill carae to the Senate on the 7tli of February. It
was followed on the same day by a letter from Secretary Chase
to Mr. Fessenden, as follows:
Sie: — The condition of the treasury requires immediate legislative pro
vision. What you said this morning leads me to think that the bill which
passed the House yesterday will hardly be acted upon by the Senate this
week. Until that bill shall receive the final action of Congress, it seems
advisable to extend the provisions of the former acts, so as to allow the issue
of at least |10,000,000 in United States notes. In addition to the 150,000,000
heretofore authorized. I transmit a bill framed with that object, which will,
I trust, meet your approval and that of Congress. Immediate action on it is
exceedingly desirable.
The request for authority to issue $10,000,000 additional
demand notes was imraediately granted, and the bill was passed
without opposition.
The currency bill was considered in the coramittee on finance
of the Senate, and four important and radical amendments

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 275
were reported by that committee. These amendments were as
follows :
First— That the legal tender notes should be receivable for
all claims and demands against the United States, of every kind
whatsoever, " crrept for interest on bonds and notes, which shall he
paid in coin."
Second — That the secretary might dispose of United States
bonds, " at the market value thereof, for coin or treasury notes."
Third — A new section authorizing deposits in the sub-treas
uries at five per cent., for not less than thirty days, to the amount
of $25,000,000, for which certificates of deposit might be issued.
Fourth — An additional section. No. 5, " that all duties on
imported goods and proceeds of the sale of public lands," etc.,
should be set apart to pay coin interest on the debt of the
United States ; and one per cent, for a sinking fund, etc.
It was felt that if no provision was made for the payment
of the interest on the bonds in coin, they would depreciate
more and more, while such payment would tend, as it
did, to maintain them nearer to the specie standard. In
order to obtain coin for the payment of interest, provision
was made that all duties on imported goods, and the proceeds
of the sale of public lands, should be payable in coin and be set
apart to pay coin interest on the debt of the United States, and
one per cent, for a sinking fund to provide for ultimate redemp
tion of the bonds. These amendments were considered of
prime importance. It was felt that the duty on imported
goods should not be lessened by any depreciation of our local
currency. Such importations were based upon coin values, and
the tax levied upon them was properly required to be paid in
coin. This security of coin payment enabled the government
to sell the bonds at a far higher rate than they would have
commanded without it, and tended also to limit the deprecia
tion of United States notes. The bill and amendments were
reported on the 12th, and became the subject of what was
regarded a,s a very able debate.
There was decided opposition in the Senate to the legal ten
der clause, headed by Mr. Fessenden. Mr. Collamer, who also
was opposed to it, made a motion to strike it out. Upon that

276 RECOLLECTIONS
subject I made my first lengthy speech in the Senate, a few
extracts from which I insert :
" The motion of the Senator from Vermont now for the first time pre
sents to the Senate the only question upon which the members of the com
mittee of finance had any material difference of opinion, and that is, wheUier
the notes provided for in this bill shall be made a legal tender in payment
of public and private debts. Upon this point I will commence the argu
ment where the Senator from Maine left it.
" In the first place, I will say, every organ of financial opinion — if that is
a correct expression — in this country agrees that there is such a necessity, in
case we authorize the issue of demand notes. You commence with the Secre
tary of the Treasury, who has given this subject the raost amy)le considera
tion. He declares, not only in his official communications here, but in his
private intercourses with the members of the committee, that this clause is
indispensably necessary to the security and negotiability of these demand
notes. We all know from his antecedents, from his peculiar opinions, that
he would probably be the last man among the leading politicians of our
country to yield to the necessity of substituting paper money for coin. He
has examined this question in all its length and breadth. He is in a position
where he feels the necessity. He is a statesman of adraitted ability, and dis
tinguished in his high position. He informs us that, without this clause, to
attempt to circulate as money the proposed araount of demand notes of the
United States, will prove a fatal experiment.
"In addition to his opinion, we have the concurring opinion of the
Chamber of Commerce of the city of New York. With almost entire una
nimity they have passed a resolution on the subject, after full debate and
consideration. That resolution has been read by your secretary. You have
also the opinion of the committee of public safety of the city of New York,
composed of distinguished gentlemen, nearly all of whom are good finan
ciers, who agree fully in the same opinion. I may say the same in regard
to the Chambers of Commerce of the city of Boston, of tho city of Philadel
phia, and of almost every recognized organ of financial opinion in this
country. They have said to us, in the most solemn form, that this measure
was indispensably necessary to maintain the credit of the government, and
to keep these notes anywhere near jiar. In addition, we have the deliberate
judgment and vote of the House of Representatives. After a full debate,
m which the constitutionality, expediency and necessity of this measurj
were discussed, in which all the objections that have been made here and
many more, were urged, the House of Representatives, by a large 'vote
declared that it was necessary to issue United States notes, and that this
clause was indispensable to their negotiation and credit.
"A hard necessity presses the government. 1100,000,000 is' now due
the army, and |250 000,000 more up to July first. The banks of New
York, Boston and Philadelphia, have exhausted their capitals in making
loans to the government. They have already tied up their capital in your

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 277
bonds. Among others, Mr. Vail, the cashier of the Bank of Commerce, the
largest bank corporation in the United States, and one that has done much
to sustain the government, appeared before the finance committee, and
stated explicitly that the Bank of Commerce, as well as other banks of
New York, could aid the government no further, unless your proposed cur
rency was stamjiod by, and invested with, the attributes of lawful money,
which they could pay to others as well as receive themselves.
" Bonds cannot be sold except at a great sacrifice, because there is no
money to buy them. As soon as the banks suspended, gold and silver
ceased to circulate as money. You cannot sell your bonds for gold and
silver, which is the only raoney that can now be received under the sub-
tre.asury law. This currency made a legal tender was necessary to aid in
making further loans. I insisted that the bill was constitutional. The
Senator from Vermont has read extracts from the debates in the national
convention, and from Story's "Commentaries," tending to show that Congress
cannot authorize the issue of bills of credit. But I submit to him that this
question has been settled by the practice of the government. We issued
such bills during the War of 1812, during the war with Mexico, and at the
recent session of Congress. We receive thera now for our services ; we pay
them to our soldiers and our creditors. These notes are payable to bearer ;
they pass from hand to hand as currency; they bear no interest. If the argu
ment of that Senator is true, then all these notes are unauthorized. The
Senator admits that when we owe a debt and cannot pay it, we can issue
a note. But where does he find the power to issue a note in the constitution?
Where does he find the power to prescribe the terms of the note, to make it
transferable, receivable for public dues? He draws all these powers as in
cidents to the power to borrow money. According to his argument, when
we pay a soldier a ten dollar demand bill, we borrow ten dollars from the
soldier ; when I apply to the secretary of the Senate for a month's paj', I loan
the United States |250. This certainly is not the view we take of it when we
receive the money. On the other hand, we recognize the fact that the gov
ernment cannot pay us in gold. We receive notes as money. The govern
ment ought to give, and has the power to give, to that money, all the sanc
tion, authority, value, necessary and proper, to enable it to borrow money.
The power to fix the standard of money, to regulate the medium of ex
changes, must necessarily go with, and be incident to, the power to reg
ulate commerce, to borrow money, to coin money, to maintain armies and
navies. All those high powers are expressly prohibited to the states and
also the incidental power to omit bills of credit, and to make anything but
gold and silver a legal tender. But Congress is expressly invested with
all these high powers, and, to remove all doubt, is expressly authorized to use
all necessary and proper means to carry these powers into effect.
"If you strike out the legal tender clause you do so with a knowledge
that these notes will fall dead upon the money market of the world. When
you issue demand notes, and announce to the world your purpose not to pay

278 RECOLLECTIONS
any raore gold and silver, you then tender to those who have furnished you
provisions and services this paper money. What can they do ? They can
not pay their debts with it ; they cannot support their families with it, with
out a depreciation, The whole then depends on the promise of the govern
ment to pay at some time not fixed on the note. .Justice to our creditors
demands that it should be a legal tender ; it will then circulate all over this
country, and it will be the lifeblood of the whole business of the country,
and it will enable capitalists to buy your bonds. The only objection to the
measure is that too much may be issued. He did not believe the issue of
$150,000,000 would do any harm. It is only a mere temporary expedi
ent. " I have thus, Mr. president, endeavored to reply to the constitutional
argument of the Senator from Vermont. Our arguments must be submitted
finally to the arbitration of the courts of the United States. When I feel
so strongly the necessity of this measure, I am constrained to assume the
power, and refer our authority to exercise it to the courts. I have shown, in
reply to the argument of the Senator from Maine, that we must no longer
hesitate as to the necessity of this measure. That necessity does exist,
and now presses upon us. I rest my vote upon the proposition that this is
a necessary and proper measure to furnish a currency— a medium of ex
change — to enable the government to borrow raoney, to raaintain an army
and support a navy. Believing this, I find ainjile authority to authorize ray
vote. We have been taught by recent fearful experience that delay and
doubt in this time of revolutionary activity are stagnation and death. I
have sworn to raise and support your armies ; to provide for and maintain
your navy ; to borrow money ; to uphold your government against all ene
mies, at home and abroad. That oath is sacred. As a Member of this
body, I am armed with high powers for a holy purpose, and I am author
ized — nay, required — to vote for all laws necessary and proper for execut
ing these high powers, and to accomplish that purpose. This is not the
time when I would limit these powers. Rather than yield to revolutionary
force, I would use revolutionary force. Here it is not necessary, for the
framers of the constitution did not assume to foresee all the means that might
be necessary to raaintain the delegated powers of the national government.
Regarding this great measure as a necessary and proper one, and within our
power to enact, I see plain before me the path of duty, and one that is easy
to tread." The motion to strike out the legal tender clause in the bill
was defeated by a vote of yeas 17, nays 22. The amendments
proposed by the finance committee were agreed to substan
tially as reported by the committee. The bill finally passed
by a vote of yeas 30, nays 7. The House agreed to the amend
ment providing for the payment of the interest on bonds and

OF JOHN SHERMAN.

279

notes in coin, and disagreed to the remaining amendments, and
these were referred to a committee of conference, composed of
Messrs. Fessenden, Sherman and Carlisle, of West Virginia, of
the Senate, and Messrs. Stevens, Horton, and Sedgwick, of the
House. The conference met, and, after two or three days of
full discussion, the material parts of the disagreements between
the two Houses were settled. The provision that coin only be
received for duties on imports, and that it be held as a fund to
pay the interest on the bonded debt, was retained. The report
of the conference was agreed to by both Houses, and on the
same day the bill was approved by the President. Thus, the
legal tender act, after a most able and determined opposition,
became a law on the 25th of February, 1862.
It would be difficult to measure the beneficial results that
rapidly followed the passage of this bill. The public credit was
greatly strengthened by the provision for the payment of inter
est in coin furnished by duties on imported goods. The legal
tender clause was acquiesced in by all classes, and we had, for
the first time, in circulation national paper money as the actual
standard of value. It was silent as to time of its payment,
but each note contained a promise of the United States to pay
a specific sum, and the implied obligation was to pay in coin as
soon as practicable.
On the nth of July, 1862, a further issue of $150,000,000
United States treasury notes (or " greenbacks," as they were
commonly called from their color) of the same description was
authorized, and subsequent issues increased the total amount
to $450,000,000, the exti-eme limit. By the act of March 31,
1863, fractional currency was authorized to an amount not
exceeding $50,000,000, to take the place of fractional silver
coins, which had entirely disaj)peared from circulation, and this
amount was issued.
The passage of the legal tender act was the turning point
of our physical and financial history. Less than a year before
the government was bankrupt ; our bonds bearing six per cent.
interest were sold at a discount; our national expenditures
exceeded our receipts ; loans could only be made upon the basis
of coin, and this coin was disappearing from circulation. We

280 RECOLLECTIONS
had to appeal to the patriotism of bankers to accept the de
mand notes of the United States as money, with no prospect of
being able to pay thera. Our regular army was practically dis
banded by the disloyalty of many of its leading officers. Wash
ington was then practically in a state of siege, forcing me, in
May, 1861, to go there at the heels of the 7th regiment of New
York militia, avoiding the regular channels of travel. The
city of Baltimore was decked under the fiag of rebellion.
Through the State of Maryland, loyal citizens passed in dis
guise, except by a single route opened and defended by military
power. The great State of Kentucky, important as well from
its central position as from the known prowess and courage of
its people, hung suspended in doubt between loyalty and seces
sion. In the State of Missouri, St. Louis was the only place of
unquestioned loyalty, and even there we regarded it a fortu
nate prize that we were able to take the public arras from a
government arsenal. The whole State of Virginia, with the
single exception of Fortress Monroe, was in the possession of
the revolutionary force.
But frora the passage of the legal tender act, by which
raeans were provided for utilizing the wealth of the country in
the suppression of the rebellion, the tide of war turned in our
favor. Delaware, after a short hesitation, complied with the
proclamation of the President. Maryland had, by clear and
repeated votes and acts, arrayed herself on the side of the
Union. Her rebellious sons who fought against the old flag
could not tread in safety on a single foot of the soil of that
state. Western Virginia, the eastern peninsula, and many ports
on the eastern coast, were securely reclaimed. The State of
Kentucky had distinctly, by the vote of her people, and by the
action of all her constituted authorities, proclairaed her loy
alty, and her sons were fighting side by side with the soldiers
of other states to expel traitors who, in her days of doubt,
had seized upon a sraall portion of her soil, which they still
occupied. In the State of Missouri the constituted authorities,
organized by a convention of the people duly elected, were sus
tained by physical power in nearly all the state, and the rebel
lion there was subsiding into bands of thieves, bridge burners,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 281
and small parties of guerrillas, who could soon be readily con
trolled by local militia. In nearly every rebellious state, the
government had secured a foothold, and an army of half a
million men, armed, organized and disciplined, impatiently
awaited the word of command to advance the old banner of
our country against every foe that stood in its way. Where
does the history of nations present an example of greater phys
ical weakness followed so soon by greater physical strength?
When have results more wonderful been accomplished in eight
months? At the beginning of the year 1862 we were physically strong
but financially weak. Therefore, I repeat, the problem of this
contest was not as to whether we could muster men, but
whether we could raise money. There was great wealth in
the country but how could it be promptly utilized? To that
question the diligent attention of Congress was applied. The
banks Avhich had aided us with money were crippled and had
suspended coin payments. The Secretary of the Treasury Avas
begging at the doors of both Houses for means to meet the
most pressing demands. On the 15th of January, 1862, the
London "Post," the organ of Lord Palmerston, said:
" The monetary intelligence frora America is of the most important kind.
National bankruptcy is not an agreeable prospect, but it is the only one pre
sented by the existing state of American finance. What a strange tale does
not the history of the United States for the past twelve months unfold?
What a striking moral does it not point ? Never before was the world
dazzled by a career of more reckless extravagance. Never before did a
flourishing and prosperous state make such gigantic strides towards effecting
its own ruin."
The legal tender act, with its provision for coin receipts to
pay interest on bonds, whatever may be said to the contrary
liy theorists, Avas the only measure that could have enabled the
government to carry on successfully the vast operations of the
Avar. Our annual expenditures at that time were four times
the amount of our currency; were three times the aggregate
coin of the country; were greater than any ever borne by any
nation in ancient or in modern times. The highest expendi
ture of Great Britain during her war with Napoleon, at a tirae

282 RECOLLECTIONS
when her currency was inflated, when she made the Bank of
England notes a legal tender, was but £100,000,000.
Anticipating these enormous expenditures I introduced a
bill which becarae a law on the 31st of July, 1861, which pro
vided for a commission to examine and report as to the com
pensation of all offices for the government, the coraraission to
be coraposed of two Members of the Senate, three Members of
the House of Representatives, one officer of the navy, and one
oflicer of the army, who Avere directed to examine and report,
as soon as practicable, a fair and just compensation for each
officer of the governraent, and such regulations as would secure
a more economical collection of the revenue. When this bill
was pending I stated its purpose and my hope to accomplish a
reduction of the expenditures of the government, or, at least,
an equalization of the salaries then paid to the different ofli
cers. We sought economy by the reduction of expenses. I
was chairman of this commission, and Senator Clark, of New
Hampshire, was my associate. The commission collected a
mass of information, and upion it based several bills intro
duced in the second session of the 37th Congress. Some of
these were made nugatory by the rise of prices, measured in
most cases by the fall in the value of our currency, but many
of their provisions were ingrafted into other bills that became
laws. The organization of national banks, authorized to issue cir
culating notes, is so intimately connected with legal tender
United States notes that I think it proper to consider them in
connection, though the banking law did not pass until 1863. The
two forms of currency, one issued directly by the governraent
as lawful raoney of the United States and a legal tender, and
the other issued by private corporations, but secured by bonds
of the United States, constitute a system of national currency
which, organized in the raidst of war, was an iraportant aid to
the goviornraent in its great struggle, and when placed at par
with coin by the resumption act has proven to be the best
paper money created by legislation in this or any other country.
The issue of circulating notes by state banks had been the
fruitful cause of loss, contention and bankruptcy, not only of

OF JOIiN SHERMAN. 283
the banks issuing them, but of all business men depending upon
them for financial aid. Infiation and apparent prosperity were
often followed by the closing of one bank and distrust of all
others. The notes of a broken bank were rarely paid, the as
sets of such bank being generally applied to the payment of
other liabilities, leaving the loss to fall on the holders of the
notes, mostly innocent persons of limited means. This led to
the adoption in 1846 of the sub-treasury systera, by which all
payraents to the treasury were required to be in coin, to be
held until required for disbursements on government account.
This protected the United States, but it did not save the people
from loss, as, from necessity, they were compelled to use bank
bills authorized by the several states, varying in value and se
curity, and chiefly limited in circulation to the state in which
issued. With a narrow view of the powers of the national
government, Congress had repeatedly refused to authorize a
national bank, a policy I heartily approve, not from a doubt of
the power of Congress to grant such a charter, but from the
danger of intrusting so vast a power in a single corporation,
with or without security. This objection did not lie against
the organization of a system of national banks extending over
the country, which required every dollar of notes issued to be
secured by a larger amount of bonds of the United States, to
be deposited in the treasury of the United States, thus saving
the note holder from all possibility of loss.
Secretary Chase, iu his report of December 9, 1861, recom
mended that a tax be imposed upon notes issued by state banks
and also that Congress should exercise its authority to estab
lish a system of national banks, with proper safeguards and
limitations. A bill was introduced for the latter purpose in
the House of Representatives in 1861, but, owing to the ur
gency for legislation on war measures, it was not acted upon.

CHAPTER XIII.
Abolishment op the State Banks.
Measures Introduced to Tax Them out of Existence — Arguments That Induced
Congress to Deprive Them of the Power to Issue Their Bills as Money — Bill
to Provide a National Currency — Why Congress Authorized an Issue of
$400,000,000, of United States Notes— Issue of .^)-20 mid 10-40
Bonds to Help to Carry on the AVar— High Rates of Inter
est Paid — Secretary Chase's Able Management of the
Public Debt — Our Internal Revenue System— Re
peal of the Income Tax Law — My Views
on the Tnxability of Incomes.
LONG before I became a Member of Congress 1 had
carefully studied the banking laws of the several
states. The State of Ohio adopted, in 1846, an im
proved system of banking. My study and experience
as a lawyer in Ohio convinced me that the whole system of
state banks, however carefully guarded, was both unconstitu
tional and inexpedient and that it ought to be overthrown.
When I entered Congress I was entirely prepared, not only to
tax the circulation of state banks, but to tax such banks out of
existence. But, while this feeling prevailed in the west, the
opposite feeling prevailed in the New England and Middle
States, where their banking system had been so improved that
bank failures were rare, and bank bills were protected by mu
tual guaranties.
The Secretary of the Treasury had, in two annual messages,
proposed a tax on the circulation of bank bills. He believed
that the existing bank circulation prevented or embarrassed the
process of funding, by which alone the bonds of the United
States could be absorbed. He was forbidden by law to receive
bank bills in exchange for bonds or for any purpose, so that the
current money of the people was not available for the pur
chase of bonds. This was an additional arguraent for taxing
the state banks out of existence. I introduced a measure for
(284)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 285
this purpose as an amendment to the revenue bill, but it
was postponed to save it from defeat.
I introduced a bill in January, 1863, containing two sec
tions, the first to levy a tax of two per cent, per annum on
the circulation of all bank bills, and the second to provide for a
tax of ten per cent, on all fractional currency under one dollar
issued by corporations or individuals. Upon this bill I made a
carefully prepared speech, not only defending the proposed tax,
but declaring my purpose to urge a gradual increase of the tax
until all state bank bills were excluded from circulation. As
the reversal of this policy is threatened I feel justified in
briefly restating the argument that induced Congress to de
prive all state banks of the power to issue their bills as
money. I drew the distinction between the ordinary powers of
banking and the issue of bank bills. I said that the business of
banking proper consisted in loaning niouey, discounting bills,
facilitating exchanges of productions by the agency of com
mercial pai^er, and in receiving and disbursing the deposits of
individuals. The issue of bank bills was an exclusive privilege
conferred only on a few corporations. It was a privilege that
an individual could not enjoy. No person could issue his bills
in the forra of paper money without a corporate franchise
granted him and his associates, either by a general banking
laAV, or by an act of incorporation. All the business of banking
might be exercised by private individuals except this franchise.
There was no reason why any one individual or a partnership
might not carry on all the business incident to banking except
this one of issuing bills to circulate as money. The largest
banking houses in the world did not exercise the privilege of
issuing bills. The strongest banks in the United States, such
as the Bank of Commerce of New York, had but little or no
circulation, while the weakest banks supported themselves and
made profit by issuing the largest quantity of bills authorized.
The law then existing taxed heavily the business of banking
proper. All commercial paper— checks, drafts, orders, bills of
exchange, protests, bonds — every instrument that was used in
the ordinary process of banking— was heavily taxed, while bank

286 RECOLLECTIONS
bills were not taxed at all. A private banker doing business
had to pay a license of $100, but a bank of circulation was ex
pressly exempted from the necessity of procuring a license.
The tax law, as it stood, had this significant provision: "But
not to include incorporated banks legally authorized to issue
notes as circulation." Every commercial instrument was
required to pay a stamp tax, but this did not attach to
a bank bill. Bank notes issued for circulation were expressly
excepted. The only tax levied upon banks of circulation
was a tax of three per cent, on the net income. This tax
could be deducted frora the dividend of the stockholders. This
discrimination in favor of the banks of circulation ran through
all the tax laws, while other corporations, such as railroad
companies, insurance companies and the like, were subject to
heavy taxes.
The profits of banking were then very great. The aver
age profits of the banks of New York were twelve and one-
half per cent, per annum. The burdens imposed upon the
banks by their charters were lessened by the suspension of spe
cie payments. When the banks had to keep in their vaults
coin to the amount of one-third of their circulation, and were
liable to be called upon any day for the redemption of their
notes in gold and silver, they might claira exemption from
taxes on their circulating notes. But during the suspension of
coin payment there was no such liability. Whether right or
wrong the banks suspended specie payments, and increased
their currency without paying either principal of it or interest,
or tax on it, though in direct violation of law in some states.
I referred in my speech to an interview which was sought
by the bankers of our chief commercial cities with the Secre
tary of the Treasury, to which they invited the financial commit
tees of the two Houses to hear their propositions for carrying
on the financial operations of the government. We all went
to the office of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the proposi
tion was there raade that the United States should issue no
paper money whatever, that the specie clause, as it is called, of
the sub-treasury act should be repealed, and that we should
carry on the war upon the basis of the paper money of the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 287
banks, legalizing the suspension of specie payments, and that
the government should issue no paper except upon an interest
of six per cent., or higher if the money markets of the world
demanded more. That was their plan of finance, the plan sub
stantially adopted in the War of 1812, and which had been con
demned by every statesman since that time, a plan of carry
ing on the operations of our government by an association of
banks over which Congress had no control, and which could
issue money without limit so far as national laws affected it.
That was the scheme presented to us by very intelligent
gentlemen engaged in the banking business. They were
honest and in earnest, but it appeared to me as pretentious
and even ludicrous.
It was claimed that a tax on banks interfered with vested
rights. I said that all taxes that were levied by the govern
ment were to maintain vested rights, liberty and life. All these
corporate franchises were held subject to the power of taxation
in Congress, which was sometimes necessary to be exercised in
the most potent manner in order to maintain the government.
The states could not, by an act of incorporation, place their
property beyond the power of Congress. The only question was
what rate of taxation ought to be adopted. The rate proposed — •
two per cent. — I insisted was not too high, because it was
only one-third of the profit derived from the issue of paper
money without interest, the principal of which was not paid
in coin. I stated distinctly that the purpose of the bill was
not merely to levy a reasonable tax on banks, but also to in
duce them to withdraw their paper, in order to substitute for
it a national currency. I then reviewed in considerable detail
the history of our currency legislation, from the act chartering
the first bank of the United States to the beginning of our
Civil War, showing the view taken by the most eminent
statesmen of our country in favor of the establishment of uni
form national currency as the highest object of legislation.
Mr. Madison said in his message :
"It is, however, essential to every modification of the finances that the
benefits of a uniform national currency should be restored to the community.
The absence of the precious metals will, it is believed, be a temporary evil ;
S.-2I

288 RECOLLECTIONS
but, until they can again be rendered the general medium of exchange, it
devolves on the wisdom of Congress to provide a substitute which shall
equally engage the confidence and accommodate the wants of the citizens
throughout the Union."
I said that when coin, the best of currency, was driven out
of circulation, by the existence of war or extraneous circum
stances, it was the duty of Congress to provide a substitute. In
1816 Congress did this by establishing the Bank of the United
States. Most of the state banks shortly afterward exploded,
and almost their entire issue outstanding at the time fell as a
loss to the people of the United States. The Bank of the
United States did furnish for a while a stable currency. After
its charter expired in 1836, the controversy was between gold
and silver, and paper money as a currency. Nearly all the
statesmen of that time believed it was necessary to have a na
tional currency in some form, but there was a party in the
country that believed the only true national currency was gold
and silver coin. After a controversy that I would not review,
the sub-treasury system was finally adopted. The government
had then no occasion to borrow money. Its debt was paid off'
and there was a large surplus in the treasury, which was dis
tributed among the states. The agency of a United States
bank was no longer necessary to sustain the public credit. The
object then was to secure a safe deposit and custody of the
public revenues. The state banks failed to furnish a safe re
deemable currency. In 1837 their notes were in the hands of
the people, depreciated and dishonored, if not entirely worth
less. Therefore, I thought Avisely, the sub-treasury system was
adopted, by which gold and silver coin was the only raoney
received or paid out by the governraent. I believed that such
was a true policy in the absence of national banks. I also
stated that if peace were restored to our country, we ought,
as soon as possible, to go back to the basis of gold and silver
coin, but, in the meantime, we must meet the exigencies of
the hour. Paper money was then a necessity. Gold and
silver were hoarded. War always had led, and always would
lead, to the hoarding of the precious metals. Gold and sil
ver fiee from a state of war. All nations in the midst of

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 289
great wars have been compelled to resort to paper money.
It was resorted to by our fathers during the Revolution. It
was only by the use of paper money that England main
tained her wars with Napoleon. At several periods during
these wars gold and silver were at a greater premium in
England than they were in this country.
I then proceeded to discuss the power of Congress to issue
paper money. I quoted an extract from the report of Mr.
Dallas, in December, 1815, in which he said :
" By the constitution of the United States, Congress is expressly vested
with the power to coin money, to regulate the value of domestic and foreign
coin in circulation, and (as a necessary implication from positive provisions)
to emit bills of credit ; while it is declared by the same instrument that ' no
state shall coin money, or emit bills of credit.' The constitutional authority
to emit bills of credit has also been exercised in a qualified and limited
manner. " The constitutional and legal foundation of the monetary system of the
United States is thus distinctly seen ; and the power of the federal gov
ernment to institute and regulate it, whether the circulating medium con
sist of coin or of bills of credit, must, in its general policy, as well as in the
terms of its investment, be deemed an exclusive power."
These extracts from a document of great ability, state the
whole question in a few words. Congress has the power to
regulate commerce ; Congress has the power to borrow money,
which involves the power to emit bills of credit ; Congress has
the power to regulate the value of coin. These powers are
exclusive. When, by the force of circumstances beyond our
control, the national coin disappears, either because of war
or of other circumstances. Congress alone must furnish the
substitute. No state has the power to interfere with this ex
clusive authority in Congress to regulate the national currency,
or, in other words, to provide a substitute for the national
coin. I next stated the objections to local banks. The first was
the great number and diversity of bank charters. There were
1,642 banks in the United States, established by the laws of
twenty-eight different states, and these laws were as diverse, 1
might say, as the human countenance. We had the state bank
system with its branches. We had the independent system,

290 RECOLLECTIONS
sometimes secured by local bonds, sometimes by state bonds,
sometimes by real estate, sometimes by a mixture of these. We
had every diversity of the bank system in this country that has
been devised by the wit of man, and all these banks had the
power to issue paper money. With this multiplicity of banks,
depending upon different organizations, it was impossible to
have a uniform national currency, for its value was constantly
affected by their issues. There was no common regulator ;
they were dependent on different systems. The clearinghouse
system adopted in the city of New York applied only to that
city. There was no check or control over these banks. There
was a want of harmony and concert among them. Whenever
a failure occurred, such as that of the Ohio Life Insurance and
Trust Company, it operated like a panic in a disorganized army ;
all of the banks closed their doors at once and suspended specie
payments. Another objection to these local banks was that of their
unequal distribution among the states. In New England the
circulation of the banks was about $50,000,000, while in Ohio, a
state with three-fourths of the population of all New England,
it was but $9,000,000. The contrast, if made with other states,
was still more marked. I called attention to the fact that the
circulation of banks in the eastern states had then reached
about $130,000,000, and of that amount, $40,000,000 was circu
lating in the west. If these notes were driven out of circula
tion and the United States notes substituted, a contribution
would be made to the treasury of the United States of $2,400,-
000 a year, for the mere interest of a currency which the west
did not prefer, but was compelled to use.
1 called attention to the loss to the people by counterfeiting,
which could not be avoided when we had such a multitude of
banks. It then required experts to detect counterfeits. It
was impossible to prevent counterfeiting. An expert could
save the banks, but the loss fell upon the people. By the sub
stitution of national currency we substantially could lose noth
ing by counterfeiting. The notes would be few in kind, only
three or four of them, all issued by the United States, all of a
uniform character, that could not be counterfeited. 1 described,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 291
Avith some detail, the loss to the people of the United States by
bills of broken banks, computed then to be equivalent to five
per cent, per annum of all the bills issued. On an average, every
twenty years the entire bank circulation ceased to exist or
deteriorated. The loss of exchange from the west to the east on local cur
rency was one per cent. This loss was usually made a gain to
themselves by the bankers and "shavers." Under the most
favorable state of trade between the east and west an ex
change of one per cent, was demanded for drafts and bills of
exchange. With a national currency, uniform and equal
throughout the country, this cost for exchange would not exist
or would be greatly reduced. I called attention to the then
increasing volume of local currency in the United States.
When the United States had issued $250,000,000 of notes, the
banks had largely increased their circulation. This tended to
depreciate both United States and bank notes.
I discussed at similar length the proposition that, as the
states were forbidden by the constitution to authorize the issue
of bills of credit, they were equally forbidden to authorize cor
porations to issue circulating notes, which were bills of credit.
Upon this point it seemed to me that the authorities were abso
lutely conclusive. That position was taken by the most emi
nent members of the constitutional convention, by Joseph
Story in his "Commentaries," by Daniel Webster, and other
great leaders of both parties since that time. It was in refer
ence to these bills that Mr. Webster used the language often
quoted:
" A disordered currency is one of the greatest of political evils. It under
mines the virtues necessary for the sujiport of the social system, and
encourages projiensities distructive of its happiness. It wars against indus
try, frugality, and economy ; and it fosters the evil spirits of extravagance
and speculation. Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of
mankind, none has been more effectual than that which deludes them with
j)at)er money. This is the most effectual of inventions to fertilize the rich
man's field by the sweat of the jioor man's brow. Ordinary tyranny, oppres
sion, excessive taxation, these bear lightly on the happiness of the mass of
the community, compared witli a fraudulent currency, and the robberies com
mitted by depreciated paper."

292 RECOLLECTIONS
In speaking of the bank circulation then afloat in the
country, he further said:
" It is further to be observed that the states cannot issue bills of credit ;
not that they cannot make them a legal tender, but that they cannot issue
them at all. Is not this a clear indication of the intent of the constitution to
restrain the states, as well from establishing a paper circulation as from inter
fering with the metallic circulation? Banks have been created by states
with no capital whatever, their notes being put into circulation simply on the
credit of the state or the state law. What are the issues of such banks but
bills of credit issued by the state? I confess, Mr. president, that the raore 1
reflect on this subject, the more clearly does my mind approach the conclusion
that the creation of state banks, for the purpose and with the power of circu
lating paper, is not consistent with the grants and prohibitions of the
constitution." I insisted that if there was no raoney in this country but
United States notes, the process of funding would be going on
day by day. Whenever there Avas too great an accumulation
of these notes they would be converted into bonds; the opera
tion would go on quietly and silently. I quoted the authority
of Secretary Chase that it was his deliberate judgment, after
watching this process with all his conceded ability, that but for
the influence of this local bank paper he Avould be able to carry
on the war without the issue of more paper money, that the
currency then outstanding and that which by law he was au
thorized to issue would be suflicient to carry it on. Such a cur
rency would lead to the conversion of the notes into bonds, and
by this process the people would absorb the national loan and
enable him to carry on the government without any sacrifice
to them. It was not strange that Mr. Jefferson, near the close of the
War of 1812, stated more clearly than I could do the conflict
between local bank paper and United States notes. He, who
during his whole life was so mindful of the rights of the states,
and so jealous of paper money, in brief and terse language des
ignated the only way in which our country could carry on war.
In his letter to Mr. Cooper, dated September 10, 1814, just at
the close of the war, he said :
" The banks have discontinued themselves. We are now without any
medium, and necessity, as well as patriotism and confidence, will make us all
eager to receive treasury notes, if founded on specific taxes.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 293
" Congress may now borrow of the public, and without interest, all the
money they may want, to the amount of a competent circulation, by merely
issuing their own promissory notes of proper denominations for the larger
purposes of circulation, but not for the small. Leave that door open for the
entrance of metallic money. . . . Providence seems, indeed, by a
special dispensntion, to have put down for us, without a struggle, that very
paper enemy which the interest of our citizens long since required ourselves
to put down, at whatever risk.
" The work is done. The moment is pregnant with futurity, and if not
seized at once by Congress, 1 know not on what shoal our bark is next to be
stranded. The state legislatures should be immediately urged to relinquish
the right of establishing banks of discount. Most of them will comply, on
patriotic principles, under the convictions of the moment, and the non-com
plying may be crowded into concurrence by legitimate devices."
I also quoted another extract to show that this matter
filled the mind of Mr. Jefferson. He said:
" Put down the banks, and if this country could not be carried through
the longest war, against her most powerful enemy, without ever knowing the
want of a dollar, without dependence on the traitorous classes of her citizens,
without bearing hard on the resources of the people, or loading the public
with an indefinite burthen of debt, I know nothing of my countrymen. Not
by any novel project, not by any charlatanry, but by ordinary and well-ex-
yierienced means ; by the total prohibition of all paper at all times, by reason
able taxes in war, aided by the necessary emissions of public j)aper of circu
lating size, this bottomed on special taxes, redeemable annually as this
special tax comes in, and finally within a moderate period — even with the
flood of private paper by which we were deluged — would the treasury have
ventured its credit in bills of circulating size, as of five or ten dollars, etc.,
they would have been greedily received by the people in preference to
bank paper."
On the 26th of January, 1863, I introduced in the Senate a
bill to "provide a national currency, secured by a pledge of
United States stocks, and for the circulation and redemption
thereof." This bill took the usual course, was referred to the
committee on finance, was reported favorably with a number
of amendments, and was fully debated in the Senate. On the
9th of February, 1863, a cursory debate occurred between Mr.
Collamer, of Vermont, and myself, which indicated a very
strong opposition to the passage of the banking bill. Various
amendments were proposed and some adopted. I became sat
isfied that if a strong effort was not made the bill would either

294 RECOLLECTIONS
be defeated or postponed. I, then, without preparation, made
a long, and, as I think, a comprehensive, speech covering the
general subject and its principal details. It was the only speech
of considerable length that was made in favor of the bill in the
Senate. There seemed to be a hesitancy in passing a measure
so radical in its character and so destructive to the existing
system of state banks.
I said the importance of the subject under consideration
demanded a fuller statement than had as yet been raade of
the principle and object of the bill. It was the misfortune of
war that we were compelled to act upon matters of grave
importance without that mature deliberation that would be
secured in peaceful times. The measure affected the property
of every citizen of the United States, and yet our action for
good or evil must be concluded within a few days or weeks of
that session. We were to choose between a permanent system
designed to establish a uniform national currency based upon
the public credit, liraited in araount, and guarded by all the
restraints which the experience of men had proved necessary,
and a system of paper raoney without limit as to amount,
except for the growing necessities of war.
I narrated the history of the bill, of its introduction in De
cember, 1861, its urgent recommendation by the Secretary of
the Treasury in two annual reports, and the conditions that
then demanded iraraediate action upon it. I stated the then
financial condition of the country. Gold was at a premium of
between fifty and sixty per cent, and was substantially banished
from circulation. We were in the midst of war, when the ne
cessities of the government required us to have large sums of
money. We could not choose as to the mode in which we should
get that money. If we pursued the ordinary course, the course
that had been sufficient in times of peace to raise money, of
putting our bonds into the market and selling them for what
they would bring, it would be at a great sacrifice. We knew
this from the history of other nations and from our own expe
rience. We therefore raust look for some system of finance
that would give us all the aid possible, either in the form of
paper money or by the agencies of associated banks. We knew

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 295
very well that after the war was over the government would
still be largely in need of money.
I then reviewed the various financial measures since the
commencement of the war. We were then in the peculiar
condition of a nation involved in war without any currency
whatever which by law could be used in the ordinary trans
actions of the public business. Gold was withdrawn by the
suspension of specie payments. The money of the banks could
not be used because the laws of the United States forbade it,
and we were without any currency whatever. Under these
circumstances, Congress had authorized the issue- of $400,000,-
000 of United States notes. That this measure was wise
but few would controvert. We were compelled, by a necessity
as urgent as could be imposed upon any legislature, to issue
these notes. To the extent to which they were issued they
were useful; they were a loan by the public and without inter
est; they were eagerly sought by our people; they were taken
by our enemies in the south, by our friends in the north; they
were taken in the east and the west. They furnished the best
substitute for gold and silver that could then be devised, and if
we could limit United States notes to the amount then author
ized by law they would form a suitable and valuable currency.
We had but four expedients frora which to choose. First,
to repeal the sub-treasury act and use the paper of local banks
as a currency; second, to increase largely the issue of United
States notes; third, to organize a system of national banking,
and fourth, to sell the bonds of the United States in the open
market. 1 discussed each of these expedients in considerable
detail. The practical objection to the further issue of United
States notes was that there was no mode of redemption; they
were safe ; they were of uniform value, but there was no mode
pointed out by which they Were to be redeemed. No one was
bound to redeem them. They were receivable but not convert
ible. They were debts of the United States but could not be
presented anywhere for redemption. No man could present
them except for the purpose of funding them into the bonds
of the United States. They were not convertible into coin.
They lacked that essential element in currency.

296 RECOLLECTIONS
Another objection was that they were made the basis of
state bank issues. Under the operation of the act declaring
United States notes to be a legal tender, the state bank circula
tion had increased from $120,000,000 to $167,000,000. The banks
sold their gold at a large premiura, and placed in their vaults
United States notes with which to redeem their own notes.
While the governraent had been issuing its paper money some
of the banks were inflating the currency, by issuing paper
money on the basis of United States money. Illustrations of
this inflation were given of existing banks, showing enormous
issues based upon a comparatively small amount of legal tender
notes. The issue of United States notes by the government,
and the making thera a legal tender, was made the basis of an
inflated bank circulation in the country, and there was no
way to check this except by uniting the interest of the govern
ment, the banks, and the people, together, by one uniform com
mon system.
I said that during war local banks were the natural enemies
of a national currency. They were in the War of 1812. When
ever specie payment was suspended, the power to issue a bank
note was the sarae as the power to coin raoney. The power
granted to the Bank of France and the Bank of England to
issue circulating notes was greatly abused during the period of
war. It was a power that ought never to be exercised except by
the government, and only when the state was in danger. It was
the power to coin money, because when a bank issued its bill
without the restraint of specie payments, it substantially
coined money and false raoney. This was a privilege that no
nation could safely surrender to individuals or banks. Upon
this point I cited a number of authorities, not only in our own
country, but in Europe. While I believed that no system of
paper money should depend upon banks, I was far from object
ing to their agency. They were useful and necessary mediums
of exchange, indispensable in all commercial countries. The
only power they derived from corporation not granted to all
citizens was to issue notes as money, and this power was not
necessary to their business or essential to their profit. Their
business connected them with the currency, and whether it

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 297
should be gold or paper they were deeply interested in its credit
and value. Was it not then possible to preserve to the govern
ment the exclusive right to issue paper money, and yet not
injuriously affect the local banks? This was the obiect of
that bill.
But, it was asked, why look at all to the interest of the
banks, why not directly issue the notes of the government,
and thus save to the people the interest on the debt repre
sented by the notes in circulation? The only answer to
this was that history taught us that the public faith of a
nation alone is not sufficient to maintain a paper currency.
There must be a combination between the interests of private
individuals and the government. Our revolutionary currency,
continental money, depreciated until it became worthless.
The assignats of France, issued during her revolutionary period,
shared the same fate. Other European countries which relied
upon government money alone had a similar experience. An
excessive issue of paper money by the government would pro
duce bankruptcy and repudiation, not only of the notes issued,
but of bonds also. The government of the United States had
in circulation neariy $400,000,000 United States notes. We
had a bank circulation of $160,000,000. If we increased our
circulation, as was then proposed, it would create an infiation
that would evidently lead to the derangement of all business
affairs in the country. Whatever might be the hazards, we
had to check this over expansion and over issue. If a further
issue of United States notes were authorized, it would be at
once followed by the issue of more bank paper, and then we
would have the wildest speculation. Hitherto the inflation
had not extended to many articles. Real estate had not been
much affected by it.
The question then occurred whether the bank bill proposed
by the Secretary of the Treasury, and introduced by me into
the Senate, Avould tend to secure a national currency beyond
the danger of inflation. This, the principal question involved,
was discussed at length. I contended that the notes issued
Avould be convertible into United States notes while the war
lasted, and afterAvards into coin ; that the currency would be

298 RECOLLECTIONS
uniforra, of universal credit in every part of the United States,
while the bank bills, which it would supersede, were current
only in the states in which they were issued. It Avould furnish
a raarket for our bonds by requiring thera to be held as the se
curity for bank notes, and thus advance the value of the bonds.
The state bank bills would be withdrawn, and the state banks
would be converted into national banks with severe restrictions
as to the araount of notes issued, and these only issued to them
by the general government ui>on ample security. The similar
ity of notes all over the United States would give them a wider
circulation. I insisted that the passage of the bill would pro
mote a sentiment of nationality.
The policy of this country ought to be to make everything
national as far as possible. If we were dependent on the United
States for a currency and a medium of exchange, we would have
a broader and more prosperous nationality. The want of such
nationality, I then declared, was one of the great evils of the
times ; and it was that principle of state rights, that bad senti
ment that had elevated state authority above the great na
tional authority, that had been the main instrument by which
our government was sought to be overthrown. Another im
portant advantage the banks would derive from this system, 1
urged, would be that their notes would be guarded against all
frauds and all alterations. There would be but five or six
kinds of notes in the United States, instead of the great diver
sity there was then. In 1862 the nuraber of banks existing
was 1,500, and the nuraber whose notes were not counterfeited
was 253. The nuraber of kinds of "imitations" was 1,861.
The number of kinds of "alterations" was 3,039. The number
of kinds of "spurious" was 1,685. This was the kind of cur
rency that was proposed to be superseded. Under the new
system, the banks would be relieved frora all this difficulty.
Other advantages to the banks would be that they might be
come depositories of the public money, that their notes, being
amply secured, would be received in all payments due to or
from the United States, while the notes of the state banks could
not be so received, as they were dishonored and disgraced from
the beginning, being refused by the national government.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 299
This is an imperfect view of the question as it was then
presented to my mind. 1 knew the vote upon the passage of
the bill would be doubtful. The New England Senators, as a
rule, voted for the bill, but Senators Collamer and Foote had
taken decided grounds against it, and it was believed that Mr.
Antiiony and his colleague Avould do likewise. I informed
Secretary Chase of my doubt as to the passage of the bill, and
especially whether Mr. Anthony would vote for it; without his
vote I did not think it Avould pass. Mr. Chase called at the
Senate and had an interview with Mr. Anthony, in my presence,
in which he urged him strongly, on national grounds, to vote
for the bill, without regard to local interests in his own state.
His remarks made an impression upon Mr. Anthony avIio
finally exclaimed that he believed it to be his duty to vote for
the bill, although it would be the end of his political career.
When the vote was taken his name was the first recorded in
favor of the bill. It passed by a vote of 23 yeas and 21 nays, so
that I was entirely correct that if he had voted against the bill
it would have been defeated by a tie vote.
These two measures, the absorption of the state banks, and
the establishment of the system of national banks, takeu in
connection Avitli the legal tender act, were the most important
financial measures of the war, and, tested by time, have fully
realized the anticipations and confident assurance of their
authors. This system of national banks has furnished to the people
of the United States a currency combining the national faith
with the private stock aud private credit of individuals. They
Tiave a currency tluit is safe, uniform, and convertible. Not
one dollar of the notes issued by national banks has been lost
by any person through the failure of a bank. We have a
currency limited in amount, restrained and governed by law,
checked by the power of visitation and by the limitation of
liabilities, safe, uniform, and convertible in every part of the
country. Every one of these conditions prophesied by me has
been literally realized.
Next in importance to a national currency was the problem
of the public debt. The issue of $50,000,000, demand notes,

300 RECOLLECTIONS
authorized in 1861, was a forced expedient to meet immediate
deraands. A prudent man, engaged in business, would not bor
row money payable on call unless he had securities which he
could imraediately convert into money. Such liabilities are
proper in a stock exchange or in a gambling operation, to be
settled by the receipt or payment of balances on the rise or
fall in the market of stocks or produce. These demand notes
gave Secretary Chase more trouble than any other security,
and they were finally absorbed in the payment of customs
duties. On the 17tli of July, 1861, Congress authorized the Secre
tary of the Treasury to borrow, on the credit of the United
States, within twelve months, $250,000,000, for which he was
authorized to issue bonds, coupon or registered, or treasury
notes, the bonds to bear interest not exceeding seven per cent.,
payable semi-annually, irredeemable for twenty years. The
treasury notes were to be of any denominations fixed by the
Secretary of the Treasury, not less than fifty dollars, and to be
payable three years after date, with interest at the rate of
seven and three-tenths per cent, per annum, payable semi-annu
ally. He was also authorized to issue, in exchange for coin,
as a part of the loan of $250,000,000, treasury notes payable
on demand, already referred to, or treasury notes bearing
interest at the rate of three and sixty-five hundredths per
cent, per annum, aud payable in one year from date and ex
changeable at any time for treasury notes of fifty dollars and
upwards. These forms of security were the most burdensome
that were issued by the government during the war. The
terms of these securities were somewhat altered by the act
approved August 5, 1861.
These laws were superseded by the act of February 28, 1862,
which may be regarded as the most important loan law passed
during the war. It authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to
issue, on the credit of the United States, $150,000,000 of United
States notes, commonly called greenbacks, already described
Of these, $50,000,000 were to be in lieu of the demand treasury
notes authorized to be issued by the act of July, 1861, above re
ferred to. It also authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 301
issue $500,000,000 of coupon, or registered, bonds, redeemable at
the pleasure of the United States after five years, and payable
twenty years from date, bearing interest at the rate of six per
cent, per annum, payable semi-annually. These are what were
known as the 5-20 bonds. In reference to these securities. Sec
retary Chase, in his report of December 4, 1862, said:
"These measures have worked well. Their results more than fulfilled
the anticipations of the secretary. The rapid sale of the bonds, aided by
the issue of United States notes, furnished the means necessary for the con
duct of the war during that year."
On the 3rd of March, 1863, the Secretary of the Treasury was
authorized to borrow, frora time to time, on the credit of the
United States, a sum not exceeding $300,000,000 for the current
fiscal year, and $600,000,000 for the next fiscal year, payable in
coin, at the pleasure of the government, after such periods as
may be fixed by the secretary, not less than ten, or more than
forty, years from date. These bonds, known as the 10-40's,
bearing five per cent, interest, were exempt frora taxation by
or under state or municipal authority. This act also provided
for the issue of a large increase of non-interest bearing treasury
notes, which were made lawful money and a legal tender in
payment of all debts, public or private, within the United
States, except for duties on imported goods and interest on the
public debt. Additional 10-40 bonds were authorized by the
act of June 30, 1864. But it may be said that the 5-20 and 10-
40 bonds became the well-known, recognized securities of the
United States, the sale of which at par, in connection Avith the
treasury notes of different forms, furnished the United States
the money to carry on the war. In the sale of these securities
the secretary was actively assisted by the banks and bankers
of the United States, and especially by Jay Cooke, who was the
most effective agent of the government in the sale of 5-20
bonds. Secretary Chase, in his report of December 10, 1863, dis
cussed at length the objects to be kept studiously in vicAV in
the creation of debt by negotiations of loans or otherwise: First,
moderate interest; second, general distribution; third, future
controllability; and, fourth, incidental utility.

302 RECOLLECTIONS
The first loans were made upon the extravagant rate of in
terest of seven and three-tenths per cent. The reason for this
was the fact that there was no currency the secretary could
receive in exchange for bonds. As already stated, specie pay
ments were suspended by the banks December 31, 1861. He
was forbidden by law to receive bank bills, and he knew that
Congress would not and ought not to repeal this law. After such
suspension coin was scarce and difficult to obtain. Afterwards,
when the legal tender notes were authorized and issued, he
sold his bonds bearing six per cent, interest at par for notes,
but these notes had already largely depreciated compared with
coin. Still, they were money, readily taken for all supplies,
and enabled him to sell securities running a shorter period.
A diversity of securities maturing at diff'erent times were ex
changed for notes, and finally he was able to sell five per cent.
bonds at par, so that, on the 30th of September, 1863, two
months previous to his report, securities and notes then out
standing amounted to $1,222,113,559. The first bonds were ir
redeemable for twenty years. The second bonds were redeem
able in five, but payable in twenty, years. The third bonds,
bearing five per cent, interest, were redeemable after ten years.
It will be perceived that under this arrangement the rate of
interest on securities issued was constantly reduced. The
notes received in payment of bonds depreciated or advanced in
sympathy with the progress of our armies and the prospects of
success. The general purpose was to secure as low a rate of in
terest as possible, to distribute the securities among the largest
number of persons possible, to provide the best mode, time and
terms for redemption, and to put the securities in such form as
to be used as a currency. No one can question the wisdom of
the management of the public debt by Secretary Chase.
The origin and development of the present systera of inter
nal taxes raust be interesting to every student of finance. The
policy of the governraent had been to confine, as far as possible,
national taxes to duties on iraports, and, in ordinary tiraes,
this source of revenue, exclusively vested in the United States,
together with the proceeds of the sale of public lands, was
ample to defray the current expenses of the government.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 303
During and shortly after the War of 1812 resort was had to
direct taxes apportioned among the states respectively, and to
internal taxes authorized by the constitution under the name of
excises, but the necessities of the treasury becoming raore
urgent, and the reliance on the public credit becoming more
hazardous. Congress, at the special session which convened in
May, 1813, determined to lay the foundation of a system of
internal revenue, selecting in particular those subjects of taxa
tion which would be least burdensome. These taxes were at
first limited to one year, but were extended from time to time,
BO that they acquired the name of "war taxes." A direct tax
of $3,500,000 was laid upon the United States, and apportioned
among the states respectively for the year 1814. Taxes were
imposed on sugar refined in the United States, on carriages, on
licenses to distillers of spirituous liquors, and other forms of
internal production. It was estimated that the internal taxes
and the direct tax would yield $3,500,000. For the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1815, internal taxes yielded $5,963,000. In 1816
they yielded $4,396,000. In 1817 they yielded $2,676,000, after
which there was no reveuue from internal taxes except from
the collection of arrears, amounting in 1818 to $947,946, the
law providing for such taxes having expired by limitation. A
comparison between the receipts from this source then and the
receipts subsequently derived frora internal revenue, is a sig
nificant indication of the difference in population and wealth
between 1812 and 1862.
When the Civil War commenced and the necessity of a large
increase of revenue became apparent. Secretary Chase, in his
report to Congress of the date of July 4, 1861, called attention
to the necessity of provision for a gradual increase in the rev
enue to maintain the public credit, and to meet the current
demands. His recommendation as to internal taxes has already
been referred to. The act of August 5, 1861, previously men
tioned, levied a direct tax of $20,000,000 and an income tax.
This act proved to be a crude and iniperfect raeasure, and it
was raodified or superseded by the act of July 1, 1862. This
act, carefully framed, was the basis of the present system of
internal revenue. It created a new office in the treasury
S.-22

304 RECOLLECTIONS
department, to be called the office of commissioner of internal
revenue. No less than thirteen acts of Congress were passed
prior to August 1, 1866, enlarging and defining the duties of
the office, and prescribing the taxes imposed by these several
laws. When this act was first framed we anticipated much
greater difiiculties in the collection of the tax than actually
occurred. We had doubts whether the taxation iraposed by
this law would be patiently subraitted to by our constituents,
but these misgivings soon disappeared and the taxes imposed
by that act were cheerfully and promptly paid. I gave to the
study and consideration of this act, and the various amendatory
acts, a large portion of my time. At the end of the war internal
taxes were cheerfully paid by the people, and yielded far more
revenue to the government than the customs duties and all
other sources of revenue combined.
The receipts frora internal revenue for the first four years
under this law were as follows :
For the year ending June 30, 1863  137,640,787
For the year ending June 30, 1861  117,145,748
For the year ending June 30, 1805  21 1,129,529
For the year ending June 30, 1800  310,906,984
These taxes were mainly upon spirits, tobacco and beer,
but they also included stamp taxes of various kinds, special
taxes on particular industries, and income taxes, so that prac
tically nearly all forms of doraestic manufactures were subject
to a greater or less tax, according to the nature of the article.
So sweeping were the provisions that it was frequently a mat
ter of joke as well as comment.
Some one remarked to Senator Collamer that everything was
taxed except coffins. He rejoined: " Don't say that to Sherman
or he will have them on the tax list before night !"
The general prosperity that existed during the war under
such a burden of taxation was frequently a matter of surprise.
The truth is that all productive industries were active because
of the enormous demand made by the army for supplies of all
kinds, and everyone who was willing to work could find plenty
of employment. The depreciation of the currency caused by
the war did not embarrass anyone, as the interest on securities

OF JOHN SHERMAN.

305

Avas promptly paid in coin, and greenbacks were the favorite
currency of the people. The people did not stop to inquire the
causes of the nominal advance in prices ; they only knew
that the United States note was cheerfully received in every
part of the United States as the current money of the country.
At the beginning the tax on whisky was 20 cents per gallon, but
it was gradually increased until it reached $2 a gallon, Avhen
frauds and illicit distilling became serious evils. The tax was
then reduced to 90 cents a gallon.
When I became Secretary of the Treasury, I was impressed
with the magnitude of illicit distilling, even after the rate was
reduced. At that time several hundred men, mostly in the
mountain regions of North Carolina and Tennessee, were under
arrest for violation of the laws against illicit distilling. A del
egation of them, accompanied by Senator Ransom, appeared
before me, and 1 heard their apologies for distilling, and their
complaints against the oflicers. We entered into a formal en
gagement by which they agreed to stop illicit distilling upon
condition that they should be relieved of punishment for their
past acts, and, so far as I could learn, they substantially observed
their obligation. As a rule, they were rough mountaineers who
regarded whisky as a prime necessity of life, and thought they
ought to be allowed to convert their grain into something
better. As the necessity for excessive taxation diminished after the
war was over, taxes on various articles were gradually repealed,
until, in 1894, they consisted of practically four items, spirits,
tobacco, fermented liquors, and oleomargarine. These are the
figures for two years :

Objects of Taxation.

Spirits 
Tobacco 
Fermented Litpiors
Oleomargarine ....

Receipts during fiscal years
ending .lune 30 —

1893.

$94,720,260.55 31,889,711.74
32,548,983.07 1,670,043.50

1894.

185,259,252.25 28,617,898.02
31,414,788.04 1,723,479.90

306 RECOLLECTIONS
In respect to these taxes, that on oleomargarine was not in
tended as, nor is it, a very material revenue tax. The purpose
was especially to prevent the fraudulent imitation of butter by
using an extract of beef. The tax on spirits, tobacco and beer
ought to be retained as the best objects of taxation either of
domestic or imported goods. Neither of these is an article of
necessity, but all are used purely to gratify an appetite, in
many cases indulged to excess.
All civilized nations have come to regard these articles as
the best subjects of taxation. To the extent that whisky is
used as a beverage it is hurtful in its influence upon the indi
vidual and upon society at large. It is the cause of innumer
able crimes, of poverty and distress in the family and home.
Still, it. is an appetite that will be gratified, however severe
may be the laws against its use, and while this habit exists the
tax upon whisky, by limiting the quantity consumed, is benefi
cial to society at large. It is true that alcohol, the base of
whisky, is useful in the arts and in the preparation of medi
cines and vinegar. If some feasible plan could be prescribed
by which alcohol or spirits thus used could be freed from tax, it
would be right to exempt it, but no such plan has been found
that includes security against frauds being practiced to evade
the tax on whisky. The tax on tobacco and cigars is a moder
ate one, but the consumption of thera is far less dangerous
than of spirits in their influence upon society. The tax on the
cheaper form of tobacco and cigars is comparatively small and
does not add materially to the cost of tobacco in any of its
forms. No complaint is raade of it. Its consuraption is so
general that the tax is fairly distributed and falls mainly upon
the richer classes, as the tax is increased in proportion to the
value of the tobacco. Beer, a beverage of almost universal use,
yields the large sum of $30,000,000 a year, at the rate of one
dollar a barrel. This does not cause a precoptible increase of
the cost to the consumer, but rather tends to maintain the
good quality of beer by the surveillance of the oflicers of in
ternal revenue. No general complaint has been made of
this tax. All internal taxes are collected at less cost than any
other form of taxation devised, and should be maintained

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 307
as long as the expenses growing out of the war shall remain
unpaid. The patience and even cheerfulness with which the people
of the United States submitted to this severe taxation on their
domestic productions, was a matter of surprise, not only among
our own people, but in European countries. In 1867, accom
panied by Mr. Adams, our rainister to England, I had the pleas
ure of breakfasting with Mr. Gladstone at his official residence,
and he referred to the ease with which we collected, without
complaint, taxes so burdensome as ours then were. He asked
me if it was true that we collected $1,600,000 annually from a
tax on matches. I told him that we not only did so but that I
had never heard a word of complaint, and the quality of
matches was vastly improved while their price was actually
reduced. He threw up his hands and said that the people of
England would not submit to such tax and if any ministry
would propose it, it would soon be out of power. Strange to
say an administration of which Mr. Gladstone Avas at the head
did subsequently propose such a tax, but it was so severely
arraigned that it was at once abandoned.
The income tax, varied somewhat in terms from year to
year, continued in force until 1870, when it was proposed to re
peal it as no longer necessary. By the terras of the then exist
ing law it expired in 1872. I urged as strongly as I could its
retention at least until the time expired, but it was repealed.
I then believed, and now believe, that a moderate income tax,
levied on all incomes above the sum of $1,000, or aboA'O a sum
that will supply the ordinary wants of an average family in
the United States with the necessaries of life, should be levied,
to be suspended, increased or diminished, from year to year,
according to the exigencies of the public service. In the pres
ent condition of affairs, 1 doubt the expediency of such a tax,
especially in view of the decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States recently rendered.
The distinction made by that court between incomes from
rent of land and other incomes seeras narrow and technical.
A tax upon the value of land is a direct tax, and must be
apportioned among the states according to population, but it

308 RECOLLECTIONS
does not follow that a tax on income from land is a direct tax.
An income raeans that gain which results frora business, or
property, of any kind, from the proceeds of a farm, the profits
derived frora trade and coraraerce, and from any occupation or
investment. In common language the word income applies to
money received from any source. It may be qualified as gross
income and net income. It may be limited by words defining
the source of the income, as, from land, merchandise or bank
ing, l)ut, in its general sense, it means gross savings from all
sources. When received in money it is an income and not
until then. An income tax was paid, and cheerfully paid, by
American citizens during and since the war, in vast sums, and
it did not occur to citizen, lawyer or judge that the con
stitution of the United States made a distinction between
incomes from rents and income from notes or bonds. The
states tax both land and bonds. Why may not the United
States tax income from each alike? Many of the largest
incomes in the United States are derived from rents. To
except them by technical reasoning from a general tax on
incomes will tend to disparage the Supreme Court among
"plain people." If incomes from rents must be excepted, then
no income tax ought to be assessed. This decision, if adhered
to, may cripple the government in times of emergency. If
made when the income tax was first imposed, it would have
reduced the national revenue $347,000,000, for no income tax
would have been enacted if rents were excluded from taxable
incomes. I do not propose to narrate the numerous internal revenue
laws, which have been enacted and raodified at every session
of Congress since 1861, or the innumerable objects of taxation
embraced in thera, for such a narrative would fill too rauch
space. The discussion of these laws occupied a large portion
of the time of Congress. The articles or productions subject
to taxation included for a time nearly everything for the use
of raan. I trust the time is far distant when such sweeping
internal taxation will be required again, but if it should come,
the Congress of that day can find in our experience resources
more bountiful than Aladdin's lamp.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 309
Direct taxes, to be apportioned among the states, are not
likely to be again assessed after the experience we had as to
the last direct tax. Besides the difficulty of collecting it, there
is the palpable objection that it is an unequal, and therefore
an unjust, tax. New states, and especially agricultural states,
have not the same ability to pay direct taxes as older commer
cial and manufacturing states, having within them great cities
with accumulated wealth, in the form of stocks, bonds and
patents. The office of commissioner of internal revenue has fortu
nately been filled, as a rule, by gentlemen of standing and char
acter of a high order of intelligence, and their work has been
of a great service to the United States. This important bureau
ought to be, and no doubt will be, retained as a part of the or
ganized machinery of the government, and the taxes collected
by it will be necessary as long as our public debt remains, and
until the list of pensioners will be obliterated by the hand of
time.

CHAPTER XIV.
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Slavery in the District of Columbia Abolished — Law Goes Into Effect on April
10, 1862 — Beginning of the End of Slavejy — Military Measures in Congress
to Carry on the War — Response to tho President's Call — Benelicial Effects
of the Confiscation Act — Visits to Soldiers' Camps — Robert S. Granger
as a Cook — How I Came to Purchase a Washington Residence —
Increase of Compensation to Senators and Members and Its
Effect — Excitement in Ohio Over Vallandigham's Ar
rest — News of the Fall of A'icksburg aud Defeat of
Lee at Getty.sburg— John Brough Elected Gov
ernor of Ohio — Its Effect on the State.
ANOTHER question of grave political significance was
presented to the 37th Congress early in this session,
that of the abolition of slavery in the District of Co
lumbia. I had frora the beginning declared my opposi
tion to any interference with slavery in the District, but the
changed condition of the country demanded a change of public
policy in this respect. Slavery was made the pretext for, and,
I believe, was, the real cause of the war. It had a foothold in
the District of Columbia, but it existed there in its mildest
form. By the census of 1860 there were, in the District of Co
lumbia, 11,107 free negroes, 3,181 slaves, and 60,785 white peo
ple. It was considered the paradise of free negroes, where
they Avere almost exclusively employed as laborers in house
hold service.
When the war broke out a considerable number of slaves
ran away from disloyal masters in Virginia and Maryland,
seeking safety within our lines and finding employment in the
District of Columbia. As the war approached, most of the
slaves in the District were carried away by their owners into
Virginia, and other southern states, so that in 1862 it was esti
mated there were not more than 1,500, and probably not
1,000, slaves in the District, while the number of free negroes
(310)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 311
increased to 15,000. As a matter of course, when Virginia se
ceded no attempt was made to recapture runaway slaves from
that state, and they became jiractically free. It was known
that there was at that time a strong disposition in Maryland to
try the experiment of emancipation, and it was believed that
after the war was over Virginia would adopt the same policy.
Little doubt was felt as to the power of Congress to abolish
slavery in the District, should such a course be deemed expe
dient. By the constitution Congress was invested with ex
press "power to exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases
whatsoever, over such district as may, by cession of particular
states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of
government of the United States." This power had been
recognized by the most eminent statesmen of our country,
and also by the Supreme Court of the United States. Until
Mr. Calhoun doubted or denied the power it was not ques
tioned by any considerable number. The real question was
whether that was the time for emancipation. I endeavored to
give to the subject careful consideration, and came to the con
clusion that it was expedient then to emancipate the very few
slaves in the District, fewer than there had been at any time
within forty years, and fewer than would likely be in case the
war should end. I believed also that the social influence of
Washington, and the wealth and property controlled and
owned in a great measure by slaveholding residents there, had
been always against the government of the United States and
in favor of the Rebellion. While slavery existed it was a con
stant source of annoyance and irritation. The great mass of
our constituents were opposed to slavery, morally, socially and
politically. They felt that it was wrong and would not change
their opinion. As long as slavery existed in the District, where
Congress had the power to abolish it, agitation and excitement
would be ceaseless. The great body of the people of the north
ern states were opposed to the institution theoretically, as
were very many of the most intelligent people of the southern
states. I felt that now was the time when this moral conviction
should be heard and heeded by the national legislature. I felt
that we were bound to consult the material interest of the

312 RECOLLECTIONS
people of the District, and that eraancipation would add to the
value of their property and also add to the population of the
city. The abolition of slavery would bring to the city intelli
gent raechanics and laboring men who would never compete
with the labor of slaves, and who, finding none there but
freemen, would develop the great advantages of the city. In
a speech I made upon the subject I enlarged upon this consid
eration and said:
"I see no reason why Washington, with a free pojiulation and as a free
city, situated here at the head of the Potomac, with remarkable facilities of
navigation, with great conveniences of communication, reaching to the west
by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the political capital of the country,
might not be a great free city, illustrating by its progress the operation of
free institutions. But it can only be done by the active, interested labor of
free people. Simply as a municipal regulation it would be wise to abolish
slavery in this District, because slavery is opposed to the raoral convictions
of the great mass of the people of this country, and the existence of slavery
here keeps out of this District an active, loyal, true, manly, generous body
of laborers, who will never compete in their labor with the labor of slaves."
There was another reason why the experiment of emancipa
tion could be best tried in the District of Columbia. Emanci
pation was evidently the ultimate end of this question. We
had the power to try the experiment. It would be an example
likely to be followed at the close of the war by many of the
border states. I therefore made up my mind in favor of the
measure, made a long speech for the bill and voted for it. It
became a law on April 10, 1862.
At that early day, I believed that it was the duty of Con
gress to confiscate the slaves in the seceding states as the nat
ural result of the war. These states had placed theraselves in
a position by rebellion where they had no constitutional rights
which we were bound to observe. The war being open and
flagrant to break up the Union, they were not entitled to the
benefit of any stipulation raade in their favor as states in the
Union. I also favored the granting of aid to any policy of
emancipation that raight be adopted in the border states of
Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri, but Congress was indisposed
to extend the provisions of the then pending measure beyond
the District of Columbia.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 313
The President of the United States, on September 22, 1862,
issued his proclamation containing the following declaration:
"That on the first day of .binuary, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any state or
designated jiart of a state, Ihe ])eople whereof shall be in rebellion against
the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever, free ; and the
executive government of the United States, including the military and naval
authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons,
and will do no act or acts to rejiress such ])ersons, or any of thein, in any
efforts they may make for their actual freedom."
This Avas carried out in a subsequent proclamation of Janu
ary 1, 1863, in which the President declares:
" And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order
and declare that all ])ersons held as slaves, within said designated states and
jiarts of states, are, and henceforward shall be, free ; and that the executive
government of the United States, including the railitary and naval authorities
thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons."
This was the beginning of the end of slavery.
In following the important financial measures of the 37th
Congress, I have purposely passed by, in their order of time,
other measures of vital interest that were acted upon in that
Congress. The military measures adopted were on the same
grand scale as the financial measures I have referred to. In
1861 the United States contained a population of 32,000,000
people, of Avhoin about 10,000,000 were in the seceding states,
some of whom were opposed to secession, but a greater number
living in states that did not secede were in hearty sympathy
Avith the rebellion. No preparation for war had been made in
any of the loyal states, while in the disloyal states preparations
had been made by the distribution of arms through the treach
ery of Secretary Floyd. When the seceding states organized
a confederate government, the executive branch of the gen
eral government was under the management and control of
those who favored the rebellion, or were so feeble or indifferent
that they offered no resistance whatever to such organization.
The President of the United States declared, in an executive
message, that the general government had no poAver to coerce a
state. On the accession of President Lincoln, the confederate
government was better organized for resistance than the Union

314 RECOLLECTIONS
was for coercion. When war actually comraenced, the capital
at Washington was practically blockaded, and in the power of
the Confederates.
The response of the loyal states to the call of Lincoln was
perhaps the most remarkable uprising of a great people in the
history of mankind. Within a few days the road to Washing-
ington was opened, but the men who answered the call were
not soldiers, but citizens, badly armed, and without drill or dis
cipline. The history of their rapid conversion into real sol
diers, and of the measures adopted by Congress to organize, arm
and equip them, does not fall within my province. The battles
fought, the victories won, and the defeats suffered, have been
recorded in the hundred or more volumes of "The Records of
the Rebellion," published by the United States. The principal
events of the war have been told in the history of Abraham
Lincoln by Nicolay and Hay, and perhaps more graphically by
General Grant, General Sherman, General Sheridan, Alexander
H. Stephens, Fit? Hugh' Lee, and many others who actively
participated in the war, and told what they saw and knew of it.
The military committees of the two Houses, under the
advice of accomplished officers, formulated the laws passed by
Congress for the enlistment, equipment and organization of
the Union armies. Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, was chair
man of the committee on military affairs of the Senate, and he
is entitled to much of the praise due for the numerous laws re
quired to fit the Union citizen soldiers for military duty. His
position was a difficult one, but he filled it with hearty sym
pathy for the Union soldiers, and with a just regard for both
officers and men.
Among the numerous bills relating to the war, that which
became the act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and
rebellion, and to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, ex
cited the greatest interest, giving rise to a long debate. It was
founded on the faulty idea that a territorial war, existing be
tween two distinct parts of the country, could be treated as an
insurrection. The law of nations treats such a war as a con
test between two separate powers, to be governed by the laws
of war. Confiscation in such a war is not a measure to be

"^J»e«t.

GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN.

OF .lOHN SHERMAN. 315
apjilied to individuals in a levoH ing section, but if the revolt is
subdued, tho proiierty of revolting citizens is subject to the
will of the conqueror and to the law of conquest. The appar
ent object of the law referred to was to cripple the power of
the Confederate States, by emancipating slaves held in them,
whenever such states fell within the power of the federal army.
This object was accomplished in a better and more comprehen
sive way by the proclamation of the President. The confisca
tion act had but little influence upon the result of the war,
except that it gathered at the wake of our armies in the south
a multitude of negroes called "contrabands," who willingly
performed manual labor, but were often an incumbrance and
had to be fed and protected.
The freedom of these " contrabands " was the result of the
war, and not of the confiscation act. In the later period of the
war, they, in common with free negroes from the north, were
organized into regiments commanded by white men, and ren
dered valuable service to the Union cause.
When the confiscation bill was pending, on the 23rd of
April, 1862, I made a speech in support of an amendment of
fered by me and in substance adopted. A few extracts of my
speech will show my opinions on this subject:
" Confiscation is not only justified by the laws of war, by the practice of
many nations, but it is practiced by our enemies in the most obnoxious way.
They seize all kinds of property of loyal citizens ; they destroy contracts ;
confiscate debts. AH the jiroperty of citizens of loyal states which is within
a disloyal state is seized without exception, and that whether such citizen has
aided the government or not. They also seize the property of all citizens in
disloyal states who will not commit an act of treason by aiding them. Yet
they profess to be governed by a constitution similar to the constitution of the
United States, so far as it relates to the rights of person and property. They
draw the distinction between the laws of war and the laws of peace.
"Sir, it is time there was an end of this. We are at war. We must
destroy our enemies or they will destroy us. We must subdue their armies
and we must confiscate their property. The only question with me is as to
the best measure of confiscation. That some one should be enacted, and that
speedily, is not only ray conviction of duty, but it will be demanded by
those who will have to bear the burdens of this war. Now, it is the interest
of every citizen in a seceding state to be a rebel. If a patriot, his property
is destroyed. If a rebel, his property is protected alike by friend and foe.

316 RECOLLECTIONS
Now, the burdens of the war will fall, by heavy taxation, upon loyal
citizens, but rebels are beyond our reach. How long can we conduct such a
war? Sir, we have been moderate to excess. War is a horrible remedy,
but when we are compelled to resort to it, we should make our enemies feel
its severity as well as ourselves.
" If too much is attempted in the way of confiscation, nothing will be
accomplished. If nothing is confiscated, you array against you all who wish
in a civil war merely to preserve their property and to remain quiet. This is
always a large class in every community. If rebellion will secure their
property frora rebels and not endanger it to the goveriinient, they are rebels.
Those whose position or character havo secured them- offices among the
rebels can only be conquered by force. Is it not, therefore, possible to frame
a bill which will punish the prominent actors in the rebellion, proclaim
amnesty to the great mass of the citizens in the seceding states, and separate
them frora their leader? This, in my judgment, can be done by confining
confiscation to classes of persons. The amendment 1 propose embraces five
classes of persons."
The confiscation act was more useful as a declaration of
policy than as an act to be enforced. It was denounced by
t!onfederates and by timid men in the north, but the beneficial
results it aimed at were accomplished, not by law, but by the
proclamation of the President and by the armed forces of the
United States.
The several acts providing for enrolling and calling out
the national forces gave rise to much debate, partly upon sec
tional lines. The policy of drafting from the militia of the
several states, the employment of substitutes and the payment
of bounties, were contested and defended. 1 insisted that if a
special fund for hiring substitutes was raised, it ought to be by
a tax upon all wealthy citizens, and not confined to the man
who was drafted. These and numerous questions of a similar
character occupied much tirae, and created much feeling. It
is now hardly worth while, in view of the results of the war, to
revive old controversies. It is sufficient to say that all the
laws passed to organize the national forces and call out the
militia of the several states in case of eraergency contributed
to the success of the Union armies. 1 do not recall any ex
ample in history where a peaceful nation, ignorant of military
discipline, becoming divided into hostile sections, developed
such military power, courage and endurance as did the United

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 317
States and Confederate States in our Civil War. Vast armies
were raised by voluntary enlistments, great battles were fought
with fearful losses on both sides, and neither yielded until the
Confederates had exhausted all their resources and surrendered
to the Union armies without conditions, except such as were
dictated by General Grant — to go horae and be at peace.
During the entire war Washington was a railitary carap.
Almost every regiment from the north on the way to the army
in Virginia stopped for a time in Washington. This was espe
cially the case in 1861. It was usual for every new regiment to
march along Pennsylvania avenue to the White House. Among
the early arrivals in the spring of 1861 was a regiment from
New Hampshire, much better equipped than our western regi
ments. My colleague, Ben Wade, and I went to the White
House to see this noted regiment pass in review before Mr.
Lincoln. As the head of the line turned around the north
wing of the treasury department and came in sight, the eyes of
Wade fell upon a tall soldier, wearing a gaudy uniform, a very
high hat, and a still higher cockade. He carried a baton, which
he swung right and left, up and down, with all the authority of
a field marshal. Wade, much excited, asked me, pointing to
the soldier: "Who is that?" I told him I thought that was
the drum major. "Well," he said, "if the people could see
him they would make him a general." So little was then
known of military array by the wisest among our Senators.
It was quite a habit of Senators and Members, during the
war, to call at the camps of soldiers from their respective
states. Secretary Chase often did this and several times I
accompanied him. The " boys," as they preferred to be called,
would gather around their visitors, and very soon some one
would cry out "a speech, a speech," and an address would usu
ally be made. I heard very good speeches made in this way,
and, in some cases, replied to by a private soldier in a manner
fully as effective as that of the visitor.
In the early period of the war the private soldier did not
forget that he was as good as any man. One evening Major,
afterwards Major-General, Robert S. Granger and I were stroll
ing through " Camp Buckingham," near Mansfield, Ohio, and

318 RECOLLECTIONS
came to a young soldier boiling beans. He was about to take
them off the fire when Granger said: "My good fellow, don't
take off those beans; they are not done." The young soldier
squared himself and with some insolence said: "Do you think
I don't know how to boil beans?" Granger, with great kind
ness of manner, said: "If you had eaten boiled beans in the
army as many years as I have you would know it is better to
leave them in the pot all night with a slow fire." The manner
of Granger was so kindly that the soldier thanked him and fol
lowed his advice. General Granger died at Zanesville, Ohio,
April 25, 1894, after having been on the retired list for over
twenty-one years. He was a gallant, as well as a skillful, ofli
cer. Peace to his raeraory.
It was my habit, while Congress was in session during the
war, to ride on horseback over a region within ten miles of
Washington, generally accompanied by sorae array officer. I
becarae farailiar with every lane and road, and especially with
camps and hospitals. At that time it could be truly said that
Washington and its environs was a great camp and hospital.
The roads were generally very muddy or exceedingly dusty.
The great army teams cut up and blocked the roads whicli
were of either clay or sand, but the air was generally refresh
ing and the scenery charming. I do not know of any city that
has more beautiful environs, with the broad Potomac at the
head of tide water, the picturesque hills and valleys, the
woodland interspersed with deciduous and evergreen trees, the
wide landscape, extending to the Blue Ridge on the west, the
low lands and ridges of Maryland and the hills about Mt.
Vernon. The city of Washington, however, was then far from
attractive. It was an overgrown village, with wide unpaved
avenues and streets, with 61,000 inhabitants badly housed,
hotels and boarding houses badly kept, and all depending more
or less upon low salaries, and eraployment by the governraent.
All this has been changed. The streets and avenues have been
paved and extended. The old site is now well filled with com
fortable mansions and business blocks, and a large portion of
the District outside of the city is being occupied with villas
and market gardens. The mode of living has greatly changed.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 319
Before and during the Avar, Senators and Members lived in
boarding houses in messes, formed of families of similar tastes
and opinions. Society, if it may be so called, was chiefly ofii-
cial, of which justices of the Supreme Court and cabinet officers
were the head, and Senators and Members of Congress were
the most numerous guests.
.When I entered Congress my pay as a Member was $8 a
day during the session, and it was said we had " roast beef ; "
but we paid for it if we had it. At the close of the 34th Con
gress the compensation was increased to $3,000 a year. Dur
ing the latter part of the war and afterwards, prices of food,
board and lodging were considerably advanced.
In 1864 I offered the proprietor of Willard's Hotel my
monthly pay of $250 for board and lodgings, in very modest
quarters, for my wife and myself, but he demanded $300 a
month. This led me to purchase a house in which to live, a
change which I have never regretted. It was quite the fashion
then for the old families, who were in full sympathy with the
Confederates, to underrate property (even their own) in Wash
ington, on the ground that when the Confederacy was acknowl
edged the capital would be removed, and real estate could,
therefore, be obtained upon very reasonable terms.
After the war the feverish revival of business growing out
of our expanded currency led to such reckless extravagance in
improvements by public officials in Washington that for a time
it threatened the bankruptcy of the city, but, as this leads me
in advance of events, I will recur hereafter to the Washington
of to-day. During 1870 Congress passed a law increasing the compen
sation of Senators and Members from $3,000 to $5,000 a year,
and justified this increase by the infiated prices of everything
measured by a depreciated currency. There would have been
but little complaint of this by the people had not the law been
made retroactive. It was made to take effect at the beginning
of that Congress, though when the law was passed Congress
was nearly ended. This "back pay," amounting to over
$3,000, was very unpopular, and led to the defeat of many
Members who voted for it. At horae they were called "salary

320 RECOLLECTIONS
grabbers." Several Senators and Members, I among the num
ber, declined to receive the back pay. But it was said that
the Congressmen could apply for it at any time in the future
when the excitement died away. This led me to write Francis
E. Spinner, Treasurer of the United States, to ascertain how I
could cover into the treasury my back pay. His answer was
characteristic, and is here inserted. Spinner, long since dead,
was a peculiar character. He was with me in the House of
Representatives, was appointed Treasurer of the United States
by President Lincoln, and continued as such until 1875. He
was a typical officer, bold, firm and honest. He was also a true
friend, a model of fidelity and courage.
Treasury of the United States, )
Washington, July 3, 1873. \
My Dear Sir : — Your letter of the 28tli ultimo has been received.
I sympathize with you most fully. I too have had my share of lies told
on me, by Dana and his ' Sun', and shall be disappointed if the libels are not
continued, especially if I do right. Really you have a white elephant on
your hands. You can neither take the back pay, nor leave it where it is,
nor draw it and redeposit it, without subjecting yourself to the yelping of
the damned curs, that bark at the heels of every honest man.
If you will turn to the proviso to Section 5, of the General Appropria
tion Bill, approved July 12, 1870, at page 251, volume 16, of the Statutes at
Large, you will, I think, be satisfied that your back pay would never lapse
to the treasury. Should you leave it, as it now is, I think it would at all
times be subject to your order, and to the order of your heirs afterwards.
The de])artment has decided that the appropriations for the pay of Members
of Congress is pe7-ma7ient. The papers say that the Comptroller has de
cided that the back pay would lapse in two years. I called on him to-day,
and he furnished me with a copy of his opinion, which is herewith inclosed
you, and wrote, me a note, a copy of which is also inclosed, in which he
says — ' it could not be carried back until after two years ; whether it can
be carried back is another question, which I do not intend to decide.' There
are two ways that the amount can be carried back into the treasury : First,
by drawing out the amount, and redepositing it ; aud second, by directing
the secretary of the senate, by written order, to turn the amount into the
treasury. I, of course, can't advise you what to do.
Very respectfully yours,
F. E. Spinner, Tr., U. S.
Hon. John Sherman, Mansfield, Ohio.
In the spring of 1863, the financial operations of the govern
ment were eminently successful. In the fall of 1H()2, Secretary

/f<^»^r^mtppz^'

^.

\XWL- CuooAA^ _A\A)3C -^i>vAX-, ^ -Cn«vaJu_'

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 321
Chase endeavored to sell the $500,000,000 5-20 six per cent.
bonds, authorized by the act of February 25, 1862, through
experienced officers in New York, and could not get par for
them. He then employed Jay Cooke, of Philadelphia, to take
charge of this loan, and within a year it was sold by him, to
parties all over the country, at par. The entire cost of placing
the loan was less than three-eighths of one per cent. It fur
nished the greater part of the means necessary to conduct the
Avar during 1863.
The early victories of Grant at Forts Henry and Donelson
had rescued Kentucky, and opened up the Cumberland and Ten
nessee Rivers to the heart of the south. The battle of Shiloh,
though won at a great sacrifice, inspired the western army
with confidence, and gave General Sherman his first opportu
nity to prove his ability as a soldier. The timid handling of
that army by Halleck and its subsequent dispersion by his or
ders, and the general operations of both the armies of the west
and in Virginia, created a feeling of despondency in the loyal
states which was manifested in the elections in the fall of 1862.
The military operations in the early part of 1863 did not tend
to restore confidence.
At this period I received the following letter from Secretary
Stanton, which evidenced his appreciation of General Sherman:
Washington, D. C, December 7, 1862.
Hon. John Sherman.
Dear Sir: — The general's letter is returned herewith, having been
read with much interest and great admiration of his wisdom and patriotism.
\f our armies were commanded by such generals we could not fail to have a
speedy restoration of the authority of the government, and an end of the
war. 1 beg you to give him my warmest regards, and no effort of mine will
be spared to secure to the government the fullest exercise of his abilities.
With thanks for the favor, I am. Yours truly,
Edwin M. Stanton.
The attack by General Sherman upon the defenses of Vicks
burg had been repulsed, but the effect of this had been counter
acted by the capture of Arkansas post with over 5,000 prison
ers. General Grant had failed in his operations in Mississippi.
General Hooker had been defeated at Chancellorsville, and Leo

322 RECOLLECTIONS
was preparing to make an advance into Maryland and Penn
sylvania. On May 1, 1863, Clement L. Vallandigham, for several years
a Member of Congress from Ohio, in a speech made at Mount
Vernon, denounced the government with great violence, and,
especially, an order issued by General Ambrose E. Burnside,
commanding the departraent of the Ohio, announcing that "all
persons, found within our lines, who corarait acts for the benefit
of the eneraies of our country, will be tried as spies or traitoi's,
and if convicted will suffer death." Burnside enumerated
among the things which came within his order, the writing or
carrying of secret letters, passing the lines for treasonable pur
poses, recruiting for the Confederate service. He said: "The
habit of declaring sympathy for the enemy will not be allowed
in this department ; persons committing such offenses will
be at once arrested, with a view to being tried or sent beyond
our lines into the lines of their friends."
Vallandigham denounced this order as a base usurpation of
arbitrary power ; said that he despised it, and spat upon it, aud
trampled it under his foot. He denounced the President, aud
advised the people to come up together at the ballot box and
hurl the tyrant from his throne. Many of his hearers wore the
distinctive badges of "copperheads" and " butternuts," and, amid
cheers which Vallandigham's speech elicited, was heard a shout
that Jeff. Davis was a gentleman, which was more than Lin
coln was.
This speech was reported to General Burnside. Early on
the 4th of May a company of soldiers Avas sent to arrest Val
landigham, and the arrest was made. Arriving at Cincinnati,
he was consigned to the military prison and kept in close con
finement. This event caused great excitement, not only in
Cincinnati, but throughout the State of Ohio. On the evening
of that day a great crowd assembled at Dayton, and several
hundred men moved, hooting and yelling, to the office of the
Republican newspaper, and sacked and then destroyed it by
fire. Vallandigham was tried by a military commission, which
promptly sentenced him to be placed in close confinement in
some fortress of the United States, to be designated by the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 323
commanding oflicer of the department, there to be kept during
the continu:iiK;e of the war. Such an order was made by Gen
eral Burnside, but it was subsequently modified by Mr. Lin
coln, Avho commuted the sentence of Vallandigham, and directed
that he be sent Avithin the Confederate lines. This was done
within a fortnight after the court-martial. Vallandigham was
sent to Tennessee, and, on the 25th of May, was escorted by a
small cavalry force to the Confederate lines near Murfreesboro,
and delivered to an Alabama regiment.
Vallandigham made a formal protest that he was within
the Confederate lines by force, aud against his will, and that he
surrendered as a prisoner of war. His arrest for words spoken,
and not for acts done, created great excitement throughout
Ohio and the country. A public meeting was held in New
York on May 16, which denounced this action as illegal — as a
step toAvards revolution. The Democratic leaders of Ohio as
sumed the same attitude, and made a vigorous protest to the
President. It is not necessary to state this incident more fully.
Nicolay and Hay, in their history of Lincoln, narrate fully the
incidents connected with this arrest, and the disposition of Val
landigham. The letters of the President in reply to Governor
Seymour, and to the meeting in Ohio, are among the most inter
esting productions of Mr. Lincoln. He doubted the legality of
the arrest. He quoted the provision of the constitution that
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus " should not be sus
pended unless, in cases of invasion or rebellion, the public safety
may require it." He had suspended the privileges of that writ
upon the happening of contingencies stated in the constitution
and, therefore, the commanding oflicer was justified in making
the arrest, and he did not deem it proper to interfere with the
order of the commanding officer.
'^lUiis incident was made more important when, on the 11th
of June, the Democratic convention of the State of Ohio met
at Columbus and there formally nominated Vallandigham as
the candidate of that party for Governor of Ohio. This pre
sented directly to the people of that state the question of the
legality and propriety of the arrest of Vallandigham. The Re
publican party subsequently met and nominated for governor

324 RECOLLECTIONS
John Brough, a life-long Deraocrat, but in thorough sympathy
with the Union cause.
It is difficult, now, to describe the intense excitement in
Ohio over the issue thus made^ — at times breaking into violence.
Vallandigham was received with great favor in the different
cities of the south, and finally, embarking on board of a vessel
which ran the blockade at Wilmington, he arrived at Bermuda
on the 22nd of June, from which place he took passage to Can
ada, arriving at Niagara Falls about the middle of July.
The feeling of anger and excitement among the loyal people
of Ohio increased, so that it was raanifest that if Vallandigham
entered the state he would be in great danger, and a quasi civil
war might have arisen. I heard men of character and influ
ence say distinctly that if Vallandighara carae into the state he
would be killed, and they, if necessary, would kill him. It was
then understood that Mr. Lincoln was disposed to allow him to
enter the state. Senator Wade and I met at Washington and
had a conversation with Mr. Lincoln. We told him the condi
tion of feeling in Ohio, and of our confident belief that if his
order of banishment was revoked, it would result in riots and
violence, in which Vallandigham would be the first victim. He
gave us no positive assurance, but turned the conversation by
saying that he thought Vallandigham was safer under British
dominion, where he would have plenty of friends.
In June, 1863, my health was somewhat impaired, and Mrs.
Sherraan and I concluded to visit New England for a change of
scene, and for the benefit of the ocean air. We visited New
port in advance of the season and found it deserted. We went
to Boston, and there heard of the advance of Lee in Pennsyl
vania, and the fierce contest going on in the rear of Vicksburg.
I became uneasy and started for home with the intention of
proceeding to Vicksburg, but at Cleveland we heard the glad
tidings of great joy, the fall of Vicksburg and the defeat of Lee
at Gettysburg. These victories, occurring on the same day, aroused the en
thusiasm and confidence of the loyal people of the United
States, especially the people of Ohio. Instead of a trip to
Vicksburg I was soon enlisted in the political canvass, and

^ mKM ,^^^

^

*7^ ^

liilgl'liMFiWrnil^^

."'iiVllp'l'iii ''\']\\\

'jTTfiVf, ;'^-

WILLIAM DENNISON,
BORN AT CINCINNATI, OHIO, NOV. 33, IBIS.
DIGO AT OOLUMBUS, OHIO, JUNE IS, IQQZ.

DAVID TOD,
BORN AT YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, FEB. 21, 160B.
tDIED THERE NOV. 13, 1868.
THREE OHIO GOVERNORS.

JOHN BROUGH,
BORN AT MARIETTA, OHIO, IN IBII.
DIED AT CLEVELAND, OHIO, AUG. ZB, ISes.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 325
this for nearly three months occupied my attention. Meet
ings Avere held in every county and in almost every township
of the state. All on either side who were accustomed to speak
were actively engaged. My opening speech was made at Dela
ware on the 21)tli of July. I was intensely interested in the
canvass, and therefore insert a few paragraphs from that speech,
as an indication of the state of feeling existing at that time :
" The political campaign in Ohio this season presents some singular
features. We are in the midst of a great civil war, in which it is safe to
say that one million of men are now arrayed in arms against each other.
There are, perhaps, now, from Ohio, one hundred thousand of her best and
bravest citizens in the field, in hospitals or camps, sharing the burdens of
war. The immediate stake involved is nothing less than national existence,
while the ultimate stake involves nothing less than civil liberty for genera
tions yet to come. In the midst of this contest the Democratic party,
through its most eloquent orators, endeavor to make a personal issue. They
propose to withdraw our armies, to abandon the war, and to try the question
whether their candidate for governor has been legally convicted as a traitor
to his country.
" We are assured by Mr. Pugh, the Democratic candidate for lieuten
ant governor, who is one of the most eloquent and able young men in the
state, that here in Ohio we have been subjected to a tyranny as intolerable
as that of King Bomba of Naples. When we ask for evidence of this tyr
anny, we are told that Clement L. Vallandigham has been illegally con
victed and illegally banished ; and that if we are fit to be free we must stop
and examine the record in his case, and not be turned from it by clamors
about prosecuting the war, or of concluding peace. And we are told that
if we don't do all this we are helpless slaves and deserve no better fate.
Now, as I do not dosire to be a slave, and do not wish the people of ray na
tive state to bo slaves, I will so f.ar depart from my usual course in political
discussion as to examine the personal issue thus made.
" I had supposed, fellow-citizens, that nowhere in the wide world did
people live as free from o])y)ression as in the State of Ohio. But the Demo
cratic party has sounded the alarm that our liberties were jeopardized in
that Mr. Vallandigham has been, as they assert, illegally convicted and
banished. Before alluding to matters of more general interest I propose to
consider that question.
"The candidate of the Democratic party was convicted by a military
tribunal for aiding the enemy with whom we are at war. For this he was
expolled beyond our linos, and Wiis within the lines of the enemy when
nominated for governor of Ohio. By the judgment of a military tribunal,
composed mainly of his political friends, approved by General Burnside, the
chief military officer within the state, sanctioned by Judge Leavitt — a judge

326 RECOLLECTIONS
selected by Vallandigham himself — of the United States court, he was con
victed and sentenced to inq)risoninont during the war. By tho mercy of the
President he was released from imjjrisonnuint and sent beyond our lines.
While thus banished as a convicted traitor, by military authority, the Demo
cratic party of the State of Ohio nominated this man as a candidate for
governor, and you are called upon to ratify and confirm that nomination, to
intrust this man, convicted as a traitor, with the chief command of our
militia, the appointment of all its olfioeis, and the management of the execu
tive authority of the state ; and that, too, in tho midst of a war with the rebels
he was convicted of aiding.
"And here is the marked distinction between tho two ])arties. The
Union party strikes only ut tho rebels. Tho Dumucratio ]>arty strikes only
at the administration. The Union party insists upon the use of every means
to put down the rebels. The Democratic party uses every means to
put down the administration. I read what is called the Democratic Plat
form, and I find nothing against the rebels who are in arms against the best
government in the world ; but I find numerous accusations against the
authorities of the government, who are struggling to ])ut down the rebels.
I find no kindly mention of the progress of our arms, no mention of victories
achieved and difficulties overcome ; no mention of financial measures without
a parallel in their success ; no promise of support, no word of encourage
ment to the constituted authorities ; no allowance made for human error ;
not a single patriotic hope. It is a long string of whining, scolding accusa
tions. It is dictated by the spirit of rebellion, and, before God, I believe it
originated in the same malignant hate of the constituted authorities as has
armed the public enemies. I appeal to you if that is the proper way to sup
port your government in time of war. Is this the example set by Webster
and Clay, and the great leaders of the Whig party when General Jackson
throttled nullification ; or is it the example of the tories of the Revolution!"'
Brough visited, I think, every county in the state. Every
where his meetings were large and enthusiastic, but it must be
said also that the Democratic meetings, which were equally
numerous, were very largely attended. The people were evi
dently anxious to hear both sides.
Towards the close of the campaign I accompanied Mr.
Brough through the populous central counties of the state. We
spoke, among other places, in Newark, Zanesville and Lancaster.
The meetings were not merely mass meetings, but they were so
large that no human voice could reach all those present, and
speeches were made from several stands in the open air, each
surrounded by as many as could hoar, "^riiis indication of pub
lic feeling was somewhat weakened by the fact that the Demo-

OF JOIIN SHERMAN. 327
(•vatic meetings were also very large, and the ablest members
of that parly wei'o actively (u)gaged in tho canvass. The "mar
tyr" in Canada was the hero of these meetings, and his compul
sory arrest and absence from the state, but near its border, was
the constant theme of complaint. It was observed that the ri
val meetings were attended by men of both parties in nearly
equal numbers, so that it was difficult to form an opinion of
the result. Mr. Brough kept a memorandum book containing
the names of the counties in the state and the estimated ma
jorities for or against him in each county. At night, when the
croAvds disi)ersod, he would take out his book, and, upon the
information received that day, Avould change the estimate
of bis majorities. In vicAV of the enormous attendance at, and
interest in, the Democratic meetings, he was constantly lower
ing his e.stimated majority on the home vote, until finally it de
clined to 5,000, Avith the army vote known to be very largely in
his favor. At Lancaster, where he had lived and published a
strong Democratic paper for many years, and where I was born,
he carefully analyzed his list, and, throwing his book upon the
tal)le, emphatically said that he would not reduce his majority
of the home vote one vote below 5,000. The Democratic party,
however, seemed confident of Vallandigham's election. The
result was that Brough was elected by the unprecedented ma
jority of 101,000, of Avhich 62,000 was on the home vote and
39,000 on the vote of the soldiers in the field, they having the
privilege of voting.
This settled once for all the position of Ohio, not only on
the question of the Avar, but on the determination of its people
to support Mr. Lincoln in the use of all the poAvers granted by
the constitution as construed by him, and to prosecute the war
to final success. Vallandigham remained in Canada until June,
1864, Avhen be returned quietly to Ohio, where he was permit
ted to remain. His presence injured his party. His appear
ance in the national convention in Chicago in 1864, and active
participation in its proceedings, and his support of General
McClellan, greatly, I think, diminished the chances of the
Democratic ticket, lie died seven years later by an accidental
wound inflicted by himself.

328 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
I have always regarded Brough's election in Ohio u])on the
issue distinctly made, not only as to the prosecution of the Avar,
but in support of the raost vigorous measures to conduct it, as
having an important influence in favor of the Union cause
equal to that of any battle of the war. The results of all the
elections in the several states in 1863 were decidcidly victories
for the Union cause, and especially in New York, Pennsylvania,
Ohio and Maryland.

CHAPTER XV.
A Memorable Session op Congress.
Dark Trriod of lilie AVar — Efloct of tlie President's Proclamation — Rpvpnue Bill
Riiactnl lucreuRuis- lutciniil Taxes and .\ddiiig Many New Ohjects of Taxa
tion—Additional Bonds Issued- Gfinoral Prosperity in the North Following-
tlie I'fisRage of New Financial Measures — Aid for the Union Pacific
Tlailrond I'oinpany — Land Grants to the Northern Pacific — l.^tli
Amondment to the Constitution — Resignation of Secretary
Chase — Anecdote of Governor Tod of Ohio — Nomination of
William P. Fosspndcn to Succeed Chase — The Latter
Made Chief .lustice — Liiicoln'R Second Nomination —
Rfft>ct of Vnllandighaui's Resolution — General
Shciman's March to the Sea — Second
Session of the 38th Congress.
THE 38th Congress met on the 7th of December, 1863.
The Members of the House of Representatives were
elected in the fall of 1862, perhaps the darkest period
of the war for the Union cause. The utter failure of
McClellan's campaign in Virginia, the defeat of Pope at the
second battle of Bull Run, the jealousies then developed among
the chief officers of the Union army, the restoration of McClel
lan to his command, the golden opportunity lost by him at An-
tietam, the second removal of McClellan from command, the
slow movement of Halleck on Corinth, the escape of Beaure
gard, the scattering of Ilalleck's magnificent army, the prac
tical exclusion of Grant and his command, and the chasing of
Bragg and Buell through Kentucky — these, and other dis
couraging events, created a doubt in the public mind whether
the Union could be restored. It became known during the
happening of these events that Mr. Lincoln had determined
upon the emancipation of slaves in states in rebellion by an
executive act. He said to the artist, F. B. Carpenter :
"It had got to be midsummer, 1802; things had gone on from bad to
worse, until I felt that we had reached the end of our rope on the plan of
operations we had been pursuing ; that we had about played our last card,
(329)

330 RECOLLECTIONS
and must change our tactics, or lose the game. 1 now determined upon
the adoi)tion of the emancipation policy ; and without consultation with,
or the knowledge of, the cabinet, 1 prepared tho original diuft of the
proclamation." Of the cabinet, Blair deprecated this policy ou the ground
that it would cost the administration the fall elections. Chase
doubted the success of the measure and suggested another plan
of emancipation, but said that he regarded this as so much bet
ter than inaction on the subject that he would give it his en
tire support. Seward (questioned the expediency of the issue
of the proclamation at that juncture^ The depression of the
public mind consequent upon repeated reverses vvas so great
that he feared the efl:ect of so important a step.
In consequence of this opposition, the proclamation was
postponed. On the 22nd of September, the President, having
fully made up his mind, announced to the cabinet his purpose
to issue the proclamation already quoted. What he did, he
said, was after full deliberation and under a heavy and solemn
sense of responsibility.
The effect of this proclamation upon the pending elections
in Ohio was very injurious. I was then actively engaged in
the canvass and noticed that when I expressed my approbation
of the proclamation, it was met with coldness and silence.
This was especially so at Zanesville. The result was the elec
tion in Ohio of a majority of Democratic Members of Congress.
This, following the overwhelraing Republican victory in 1861,
when Tod was elected governor by a raajority of 55,203, was
a revolution which could only be ascribed to the events of the
war and to the issue of the proclamation. It may be also
partially ascribed to the discontent growing out of the ap
pointments, by Governor Tod, of officers in the volunteers.
The same discontent defeated the renomination of Governor
Dennison in 1861. Such is the usual result of the power of
appointment, however prudently exercised.
The House of Representatives was promptly organized on
the 7th of December, 1863, liy the election of Schuyler Colfax
as speaker. The session of Congress that followed was per
haps the busiest and most important one in the history of our

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 331
government. The number of measures to be considered, the
gravity of the subject-mat^ter, and the condition of the country,
demanded and received the most careful attention. The acts
relating to the organization of the army and the one increasing
the pay of soldiers, made imperative by the depreciation of our
currency, as well as the draft and conscription laws, received
prompt attention. The enrollment act, approved February 24,
1864, proved to be the most effective measure to increase and
strengthen the army. The bounty laws were continued and
the amount to be paid enlarged. The laws relating to loans,
currency, customs duties and internal taxes required more
time and occupied a great portion of the session. The revenue
bill enacted at that session was far more comprehensive and
the rates much higher than in any previous or subsequent
law. It provided for an increase of all internal taxes con
tained in previous laws, and added many new objects of taxa
tion, so as to embrace nearly every source of revenue provided
for by American or English laws, including stamp duties upon
deeds, conveyances, legal documents of all kinds, certificates,
receiptis, medicines and preparations of perfumery, cosmetics,
photographs, matches, cards, and indeed every instrument or
article to which a stami^ could be attached. It also provided
for taxes on the succession to real estate, legacies, distributive
shares of personal property, and a tax of from five to ten per
cent, on all incomes above $600, upon all employments, upon
all carriages, yachts, upon slaughtered cattle, swine and sheep,
upon express companies, insurance companies, telegraph com
panies, theaters, operas, circuses, museums and lotteries, upon
all banks and bankers, brokers, and upon almost every article
of domestic production. It placed a heavy tax upon licenses,
upon dealers in spirits, upon brokers, lottery-ticket dealers and
almost every employment of life.
It largely increased the tax on spirits, ale, beer, porter, and
tobacco in every form. Not content with this, on the last day
of the session, Congress levied a special income tax of five per
cent., to provide for the bounties proraised to Union soldiers.
This drastic bill occupied the attention of both Houses during
a considerable portion of the session, and became a law only

332 RECOLLECTIONS
on the 30th of June, 1864, within four days of the close of the
session. It was greatly feared that the law Avould create dis
content, but it was received with favor by the people, few if
any complaints being made of the heavy burden it imposed.
The customs duties were carefully revised, not in the interest of
protection but solely for revenue. Nearly all the articles
formerly on the free list were made dutiable, and they proved
to be copious sources of revenue, especially the duties on tea,
coffee, spirits of all kinds, wines, cigars, and tobacco in every
form. During that session Congress passed two important loan
bills, which practically confided to the Secretary of the Treas
ury the power to borrow money in almost any form that
could be devised. The first act, approved March 3, 1864, au
thorized him to borrow, on the credit of the United States,
$200,000,000 during the current fiscal year, redeemable after
any period not less than five years, and payable at any period
not more than forty years from date, in coin, and bearing in
terest at six per cent, per annum. It also provided for the issue
of $11,000,000 5-20 bonds which had been sold in excess of the
$500,000,000 authorized by law. By the act approved June 30,
1864, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to borrow,
on the credit of the United States, $400,000,000, on bonds re
deemable at the pleasure of the United States after a period of
not less than five, nor more than forty, years from date, bearing
an annual interest of not exceeding six per cent., payable semi
annually in coin. He was authorized to receive for such bonds
lawful money of the United States, or, at his discretion, treas
ury notes, certificates of indebtedness or certificates of deposit,
issued under any act of Congress. These bonds were similar in
general description to the 5-20 bonds already provided for, but
bore interest at five per cent, instead of six.
By these measures the people of the United States had
placed in the power of the government almost unlimited
sources of revenue, and all necessary expedients for borrowing.
Strange as it may appear, under the operation of these laws
the country was very prosperous. All forms of industry hiili-
erto conducted, and many others, were in healthy operation.

OK JOIIN SHERMAN. 333
Labor was in great demaud and fully occupied. This will
account for the passage of several laws that would not be
justified except in an emergency like the one then existing.
Among these was an act to encourage immigration, ap]jroved
July 4, 1864. This act grew out of the great demand for labor
caused by the absence of so many men in the army. A com
mission of immigration Avas provided. Immigrants were au
thorized to pledge their wages, for a tei'm not exceeding twelve
months, to repay the expense of their immigration. These eon-
tracts were declared to be valid in law and might be enforced
in the courts of the United States or of the several states and
territories. It provided that no immigrant should be compul-
sorily enrolled for military service during the existing insur
rection, unless such immigrant voluntarily renounced, under
oath, his allegiance to the country of his birth, and declared
his intention to become a citizen of the United States. This
law could only be justified by the condition of affairs then
existing. Another laAV, alike indefensible, but considered important
at the time, regulating the sale of gold, was approved June 17,
1864. It declared unlawful a contract for the purchase ov sale
and delivery of any gold coin or bullion, to be delivered on any
day subsequent to the making of the contract. It also forbade
the purchase or sale and delivery of foreign exchange, to be de
livered at any time beyond ten days subsequent to the raaking
of such contract, or the making of any contract for the sale
and delivery of any gold coin or bullion, of which the person
making such contract was not at the time of making it in
actual possession. It also declared it to be unlawful to make
any loans of money or currency to be repaid in coin or bullion
or to make any loan of coin or bullion to be repaid in currency.
All these provisions were made to prevent what were regarded
as bets on the price of gold. This laAV, hoAvever, proved to be
ineffective, as all such laws interfering with trade and specula
tion must be, and was soon repealed.
The national banking act, which passed at the previous ses
sion, was carefully revised and enacted in a uoav form, and it
still remains in force, substantially unchanged by subsequent
S.-24

334 RECOLLECTIONS
laws. By this new act the office of comptroller of the cur
rency was created. Under its provisions, aided by a heavy tax
on the circulating notes of state banks, such banks were con
verted into national banks upon such conditions as secured the
payment of their circulating notes.
The financial measures, to which I have referred, were the
work of the committees of ways and means of the House and
on finance in the Senate. They occupied the chief attention of
both Houses, and may fairly be claimed by the members of
those committees as successful measures of the highest impor
tance. I was deeply interested in all of them, took a very
active part in their preparation in committee, and their conduct
in the Senate, and, with the other members of the committee,
feel that the measures adopted contributed largely to the final
triumph of the Union cause. Certainly, the full power of the
United States, its credit and the property of its people were by
these laws intrusted to the executive authorities to suppress
the rebellion.
In addition to railitary and financial measures, that session
was prolific in many other measures of primary importance.
The Union Pacific Railroad Company, Avhich had been char
tered by the previous Congress, found itself unable to proceed,
and appealed to Congress for additional aid. This was granted
by the act of July 2, 1864. Under this act, the first lien of the
United States for bonds advanced to the company, provided for
by the act of 1862, was made subordinate to the lien of the
bonds of the company sold in the market — a fatal error, which
led to all the serious complications which followed. The pro
ceeds of the sale of the first raortgage bonds of the company, with
a portion of those issued by the United States in aid of the com
pany, built both the Union and Central Pacific, so that the con
structors of these roads, who were mainly directors and managers
of the company, practically received as profit a large portion of
the bonds of the United States issued in aid of the work, and
alraost the entire capital stock of the company. If the act had
been delayed until after the war, when the securities of the
United States rapidly advanced in value, it could not have
passed in the form it did. The construction of the road was

OF JOIIN SHERMAN. 335
practically not commenced until the war was over. The con
structors had the benefit of tho advancing value of the bonds
and of the increasing purchasing power of United States
notes. It was unfortunate that the bill for the construction of the
Northern Pacific Railroad came up at the same time. It was a
faulty measure, making excessive grants of public lands to aid
in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from
Lake Superior to Puget Sound. It was an act of incorpora
tion with broad and general poAvers, carelessly defined, and
with scarcely any safeguards to protect the government
and its lavish grants of land. Some foAV amendments were
made, but mostly in the interest of the corporation, and the
bill finally passed the Senate Avithout any vote by yeas and
nays. These two bills prove that it is not wise during war to pro
vide measures for a time of peace.
During the same session the Territories of Colorado, Ne
braska and Nevada were authorized to form state governments
for admission into the Union, and a government Avas provided
lor each of the Territories of IMontana and Idaho. The great
oliject of organizing all the Indian country of the west into
states and territories was to secure the country from Indian
raids and depredations.
By far the most beneficial action of Congress at this session
Avas the passage of the 13tli article of the constitution of the
United States, viz., "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have
been dulj' convicted, shall exist within the United States, or
any place subject to their jurisdiction."
It Avas thoroughly debated, and pa.'^scd the Senate by the
large vote of 38 yeas and 6 nays. It subsequently received the
sanction of the House and of the requisite number of states to
make it a part of the constitution. This was the natural and
logical result of the Civil War. In case the rebellion should
fail, it put at an end all propositions for compensation for
slaves in loyal states, and all (question of the validity of the
emancipation proclamation of Abraham Lincoln.

336 RECOLLECTIONS
The following letter of Secretary Chase shows the extremity
of the measures deemed to be necessary at this period of the
war : Teuasuky Depabtsient, May 26, 1864.
My Dear Sie : — I inclose two drafts of a national bank taxation
clause — one marked 'A,' providing for the ap])ropriation of the whole tax
to the payment of interest or principal of tho public debt and repealing the
real estate direct tax law, and another marked " B," dividing the proceeds of
the tax between the national and the loyal states. In either form the clause
will be vastly more beneficial to the country than in tho form of tho bill,
whether original or amended.
I also inclose a draft of a section providing for a tax on banks not
national in the internal revenue act. It substantially restates the House
proposition limiting it to banks of the states. Some discrimination in favor
of the national system which affords substantial support to the government
as compared with the local system, which circulates notes in competition
with those issued by the government, seems to me indispensably necessary.
It is impossible to prevent the depreciation of the currency unless Congress
will assume its constitutional function and control it; and it is idle to try to
make loans unless Congress will give tho noc(!Ssary support to tho public
credit. I am now compelled to advertise for a loan of lifty millions, and, to
avoid as far as practicable the evils of sales below par, must offer the long
bonds of '81. Should the provisions I ask for be sanctioned, 1 shall antic
ipate a satisfactory premium. Should they be denied, I may still be able
to negotiate one loan on pretty fair terms ; but I tlread the effects on future
loans. Hitherto I have been able to maintain the public credit at the best
points possible with a surcharged circulation. My ability to do so is due
mainly to the legislation of the session of 1862-63. I must have further leg
islation in the same direction if it is desired to maintain that ability.
Yours truly, S. P. Chase.
Hon. .John Shbksian.
A few days before the close of the session, on the 29th of
June, 1864, Mr. Chase tendered his resignation as Secretary of
the Treasury. This created quite a sensation in political cir
cles. It was thought to be the culmination of the feeling
created by the nomination of Lincoln and the iilleged rivalry of
Chase, but the statements made in the "History of Lincoln," by
Nicolay and Hay, and the "Biography of Chase," by Schuckers,
clearly show that the cause of the resignation arose long an
terior to this event and gradually produced a condition of
affairs when either Mr. Lincoln had to yield his power over

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 337
appointments or Mr. Chase to retire from his office. No good
would result from analyzing the events which led to this resig
nation. The cause was perhaps best stated by Mr. Lincoln in
accepting it, as follows :
"Your resignation of tln^ office of Secrelaiy of the Treasury, sent me
yesterday, is aocu'ptod. Of all 1 havo said iu conunendation of your ability
and fidelity I have nothing to unsay, and yet you and I have reached a point
of mutual embarrassment in our oflicial relation which it seems cannot be
overcome or longer sustained consistently with the public service."
The nomination of David Tod, of Ohio, as Secretary of the
Treasury to succeed Mr. Chase, was not well received in either
House. If the Members had known Tod as well as I did, they
would have knoAvii that he was not only a good story teller,
but a sound, able, conservative business man, fully competent
to deal with the great office for which he was nominated. His
declination, however, prevented a controversy which Avould
have been injurious, whatever might have been the result. An
anecdote frequently told by him may, perhaps, explain his
nomination. When he wa,s elected Governor of Ohio, he went to Washing
ton to see Mr. Lincoln, to Iind out, as he said, what a Republi
can President wanted a Democratic Governor of Ohio to do in
aid of the Union cause. He called at the White House, sent
in his card, and Avas informed that the President was engaged,
but desired very much to see Governor Tod, and invited him to
call that evening at 7 o'clock. Promptly on time Governor
Tod called a,iid Avas ushered into the room where, for the first
time, he sa,w IM r. liincoln. Mutmal salutations had scarcely been
exchanged before the announcement Avas made that David K.
Cartter was a,t the door. Mr. Lincoln asked the governor if he
had any objection to (!aitter hearing thoir talk. The governor
said no, that Cartter Avas an old friend and law partner of his.
Soon after Governor Nye of Nevada was announced. The
same inquiry Avas made and a-nswered, and Nye joined the
party, and in the same Avay Sam. Galloway, of Ohio, and a famous
joker from Noav York, Avhose name I do not recall, came in.
Then grouped around the table, Nye led off with a humorous
description of life in the mines in the early days of California,

338 RECOLLE(rriONS
and the others contributed anecdotes, humor and fun, in Avhich
Lincoln took the lead, "and 1" (as Tod told the story), "not to
be behindhand, told a story;" and so the hours flew on with
out any mention of the grave matters he expected to discuss
with the President. When the clock announced the hour of
eleven, Mr. Lincoln said he made it a habit to retire at eleven
o'clock, and, turning to Tod, said : " Well, Governor, we have
not had any chance to talk about the war, but we have had a
good time anyway ; come and see me again." It then dawned
upon the governor that this little party of kindred spirits, all
friends of his, were invited by the President to relieve him
from an interview about the future that would be fruitless of
results. Neither could know what each ought to do until
events pointed out a duty to be done. Lincoln knew that Tod
was a famous story teller, as were all the others in the party,
and availed himself of the opportunity to relieve his mind
from anxious care.
Governor Tod told me this anecdote and related many of
the stories told at that symposium.
The nomination of William P. Fessenden as Secretary of
the Treasury was a natural one to be made, and received the
cordial support of the Members of the Senate, even of those
who did not like his occasional ill temper and bitterness.
And here I may properly pause to notice the traits of two men
Avith whom I was closely identified in public life, and for whom
I had the highest personal regard, although they widely dif
fered from each other.
Mr. Fessenden was an able lawyer, a keen incisive speaker,
rarely attempting rhetoric, but always a master in clear, dis
tinct statement and logical argument. He had been for a
number of years dyspeptic, and this, no doubt, clouded his
temper and caused many of the bitter things he said. When I
entered the Senate, I was, at his recpiest, placed on the com
mittee on finance, of which he was chairman. He was kind
enough to refer to my position in the House a,s chairman of
the committee of ways and means, and my action there, and to
express the hope that I would be able to aid him in dealing
with financial questions, in which he had had no training and

SCHUYLER COLFAX.
WILLIAM PITT FESSENDEN.

STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.
THOMAS EWING.

OF .lOHN SHERMAN. 339
but little interest. T accepted the position with pleasure, and
in general cooperated with him, though on many important
subjects we widely differed. His appointment as Secretary of
the Treasury left me chairman of the committee on finance,
but my intercourse with him continued while he was secretary.
During the short period in which he held that office, I had
many conferences with him in respect to pending questions.
When he returned to the Senate, on the 4th of March, 1865, he
resumed his old place as chairman of the committee on finance,
and continued in that position nearly two years, when, his
health becoming more feeble, he resigned his membership of
that committee, and I again took his place as chairman and
held it until appointed Secretary of the Treasury in 1877. His
health continued to fail and he died at Portland, Maine, Sep
tember 8, 1869.
With Mr. Chase I had but little acquaintance and no
sympathy during his early political career. His edition of the
"Statutes of Ohio" was his first work of any importance. He
was at times supposed to be a Whig and then again classed as a
Democrat. Later he became a member of the national con
vention of Free Soilers held at Buffalo, August 9, 1848, over
which he presided. This convention was composed of dele
gates from eighteen states, and included in its active mem
bers many of the most eminent Whigs and Democrats of a
former time. It nominated Martin Van Buren for the Presi
dency, and Charles Francis Adams for Vice President. Gen
eral Taylor, the nominee of the Whig party, was elected Presi
dent, but Mr. Van Buren received 291,342 votes, being nearly
one-eighth of the whole number of votes cast.
It so happened that when the Ohio legislature met in De
cember, 1 R48, it was composed of an equal number of Whigs
aud Democrats and of two members, Townsend and Morse,
who classed themselves as Free Soilers. They practically dic
tated the election of Mr. Chase as United States Senator. They
secured his election by an understanding, express or implied,
with the Democratic members, that they would vote for Demo
crats for all the numerous offices, which, under the consti
tution of the state as it then stood, were appointed by the

340 RECOLLECTIONS
legislature. This bargain and sale — so-called— created among
the Whigs a strong prejudice against Chase. But events in
Congress, especially the act repealing the Missouri Compro
mise, practically dissolved existing parties, and left Mr. Chase
in the vantage ground of having resisted this measure with
firmness. He was universally regarded as a man of marked
ability and honest in his convictions. In the election for
Members of Congress in 1854, he supported Avhat were known
as the anti-Nebraska candidates, and, no doubt, contributed to
their election. When he was nominated for governor, I was
naturally brought into friendly relations with him, and these,
as time advanced, were cordial and intimate. Our correspond
ence was frequent, mostly of a personal character, and our
intimacy continued while he lived. When he Avas Secretary of
the Treasury I was frequently consulted by him, and had, as I
believe, his entire confidence. I have a great number of letters
from him written during that period.
In September, 1864, Mr. Chase was my guest at Mansfield
for a day or two. He was evidently restless and uneasy as to
his future. I spoke to him about the position of chief justice,
recently made vacant by the death of Taney. He said it Avas
a position of eminence that ought to satisfy the ambition of
anyone, but for which few men were fitted. Early in October
I received a letter from him which shows he was actively en
gaged in the canvass, and that the common belief that he did
not desire the election of Mr. Lincoln was without foundation.
He wrote as follows : Louisville, October 2, 1864.
My Dear Sik : — Some days since I informed the secretary ot the state
central committee that I would, as far as possible, fill the appointments
which ill-health had obliged Gov. Tod to decline. Seeing afterwards,
however, that he had determined to meet them himself, I acceded to re(piests
from other quarters to give them what help 1 could. The first intimation I
had that he would fail in any of them was your letter, put into my hands just
as I was leaving Cincinnati for New Albany last Friday. It was then too
late to recall my own a])pointmeuts, and, of course, I cannot be at Mansfield.
I should bo glad to be there ; but regret the impossibility of it the less since
1 should not meet you. I am really glad you are going to Ijogansport.
The election of Gov. Morton is of vast importance to our cause. And, then,
Colfax, I feel most anxious for him. 1 hope you can go Lo his district. I

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 341
wanted to go myself ; but was urged to other parts of Indiana, and was left
no chance to roach it till this week; which must be given to Ohio in aid of
Stevonsou and Bundy, except that I speak here to-morrow (Monday), and
Tuesday night in Covington.
There has been a very large accunndation of • troops here, for Sherman.
Col. Hammond teli^graphcd the department at Washington yesterday that,
communications being now re-established from Nashville to Atlanta, he could
commence sending them forward immediately ; and doubtless the movement
will begin tomorrow. I congratulate you most heartily on his splendid suc
cess thus far and on the certainty that no effort will be spared to maintain
his army at the highest possible point of efficiency.
There .appears to be no truth in the report of a cooperative movement
in aid of Sheridan for Tennessee. Burbridge's expedition is for a point
beyond Abingdon where there are important salt works, and he intends
returning thence through Knoxville. So I learn from one who ought to
know ; but don't understand it. TJiat game seems hardly worth the
candle. We had a splendid meeting in Aurora yesterday and our friends are
confident of Gov. Morton's re-election. Thousands of people stood in a
pouring rain to hear me and Gov. Lane talk to them, and profoundor or
more earnest attention I never witnessed. It will gratify you, I am sure, to
know that I receive, wherever I go, unequivocal manifestations of a popular
confidence and appreciation, which I did not suppose I possessed.
There is not now tho slightest uncertainty about the re-election of Mr.
Lincoln. The only (pios) ion is, by what ])ojmlar and what electoral ra.ajority.
God grant that both may bo so decisive as to turn every hope of rebellion to
dosj)air! You ask about Mr. Fessenden's remaining in the cabinet. He will be a
candidate for re-election to the Senate ; and if successful will leave his
present post in March, or sooner if circumstances allow. He has been in
connnunication with me since he took charge, and in every step, with per-
hajis one slight exception, his judgment has corresponded with mine. He
sees several nritters now in quite a different light from that in which they
appeared to him when Senator. He would now, for example, cordially sup
port your proposition for a heavy discriminating tax upon all unnational cir
culation. And he is more than just — he is very generous in his appreciation
of the immense work of organization and effective activity to be found in
the department. How signally are events confirming my views as to the value of gold,
compared with national currency. How clear it is now that if Congress had
come boldly to the act of marked discriminative taxation on all non-national
circulation and final prohibition after a few years, say two — or at most three — •
gold would now have been at not more than fifty per cent, premium and that
resumption of specie payments might have been effected vrithin a year.
I trust the next session will witness bolder and better legislation. It will be

342 RECOLLECTIONS
one of your brightest honors that you so clearly saw and so boldly followed
the i)ath of reform ; for certainly no greater boon — exce|)t liberty itself —
can be conferred upon a nation than a truly national and thoroughly sound
currency. Yours most truly, S. P. CliASE.
Hon. John Shekman.
After the election he wrote me the following letter, in
Avhich he referred to the appointment of a chief justice, with
an evident desire for the office :
Cincinnati, November 12, 1864.
My Dear Sir: — The papers still state you are in Washington. 1 am
glad of it, and hope you may be able to render good scr\ ice to our friend,
Fessenden. The task of preparing a rcj)ort is no light one. At least it
always made me sweat and keep late hours. May he find a safe deliver
ance from the labor.
All sorts of miners aro afloat about everything. Those which concern
me most relate to the vacant seat on the bench ; but 1 give little heed to
any of them. My experience in Washington taught me how unreliable
they are. If what I hear is auy index to the state of opinion, Mr. Lincoln
must be satisfied that in acting on the ])urpose expressed in your letters, he
will have the almost, if not quite, unanimous approval of the Union men
throughout the country. So I "possess my soul in patience," and urge
nothing. If it did not seem to me a sort of indelicacy even to allow to anyone
the slightest occasion to say that I solicit or even ask such an apjiointnient
as a favor or as a reward for political service^ 1 should now be on my way
to Washington ; but I think it due to myself as well as to the President to
await his decision here ; though, if appointed, 1 ho])e the apjtointment will be
considered as made from the country at large rather than from Ohio alone.
My legal residence is here ; but my actual domicile is still in the District.
Please write me, if you can, when the President will act. Let me
know too how the military and political as])ects at Washington appear to
you. We have achieved a glorious political victory, wliich must greatly
help our military prospects and possibilities.
Mr. Miller has just come in and- says he goes to Washington to-night.
Had he come before I began, I should have spared you this letter ; only
asking him to make verbally the incpiiiies 1 have just set down ; but I will
send it with " answer respectfully solicited.
Yours very cordially,
S. P. Chase.
Hon. John Siiniii\iAN.
Early in December 1 received the following letter, which in
dicates very clearly that Mr. Chase was anxious for the position

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 343
of chief justice, and wished his appointment made, if at all,
before his arrival in Washington :
Clbvelanh, December 2, 1864.
My Dioai! Sir: — Yours of the 27th of November reached me here to
day. Yesterday 1 fulfilled my appointment to make an address on the dedi
cation of the eolloge edifice recently erected at Mount Union, under the
y)atronage of the Pittsburg conference of the Methodist church. A number
of leading men of tho donomination were present and assured me of the
profound wishes of themselves and the most influentinl men of the connection
for my appointment. Those indeed seem to be universal except with an
inconsiderable number whom various circumstances have made unfriendly
personally. So that I cannot doubt that the President's adherence to his
declared intention is more important to our cause and to his administration
than it is to me personally. Not to be appointed after such declarations
and such expressions would, no doubt, be a mortification ; but it would not, I
think, be any serious injury to me.
1 expect to be in AA^ashington, Tuesday or Wednesday. I should have
been there long since had this appointment been determined either way ;
but I must come now. My personal duties, unconnected with it, have
re([uired and now require my attention, and though T hated to come before I
knew that there remains nothing to hope or fear concerning it, I must. T
will be at the Continental, Philadelphia, Tuesday morning.
Our n(Mvs fron\ Tennessee is iinjiortant and encouraging. Garfield's
success against Forrest was brilliant. 1 hope Thomas will succeed as well
against Hood.
General Sherman must now be near the coast. His enterprise is full
of hazard, but a hazard wisely incurred as it seems to me. I ardently hope
that 'out of the nettle, danger, he will pluck the flower, safety.'
Our majority on the presidential election in Ohio turns out much less
than I aMli(i|)ate(l. It will hardly, if at all, exceed fifty thousand.
Faithfully yours, S. P. ClIASB.
Hon. John Sukkman.
When I retui-ned to Washington at the beginning of the
next session 1 called upon the President and recommended the
appointment of Mr. Chase. We had a brief conversation upon
the subject in which he asked me pointedly the question
whether if Chase was appointed he would be satisfied, or
Avhether ho would imraediately become a candidate for Presi
ilent. I told him I thought the appointment to that great office
ought to and Avould satisfy his ambition. He then told me
that he had determined to appoint him and intended to send

344 RECOLLECTIONS
the nomination to the Senate that day and he did so, December
6, 1864. After Mr. Chase had become chief justice he still had
a lingering interest in the financial policy of the country. On
March 1, 1865, 1 received from him the following letter. That
portion which refers to the legal tender laws Avill naturally
excite sorae interest in view of his decision against the power
of Congress to make the notes of the United States a legal
tender. He wrote: At Homh, March I, 1865.
My Dear Sir : — More to fulfill a promise than with the hope of
service I write this note.
Your speech on the finances is excellent. There are one or two points
on which I shall express myself otherwise ; but, in the main, it commands
the fullest assent of my judgment.
Your appreciation of the currency question exactly corresponds with
my own ; only I would not give up the national currency even if we must
endure for years depreciation through the issues of state banks before
getting rid of them.
The clause in the bill, as it came from the House, imposing a tax of
ten per cent, on all notes not authorized by Congress which may be paid out
after this year by any bank, whether state or national, will do much towards
making our curreiicy sound.
I will briefly indicate what I should prefer and what I should most
zealously labor to have sanctioned by Congress if I were at the head of the
treasury department.
1. Let the monthly tax on state bank circulation be increased to one-
half of one per cent.
2. Provide that any bank may pay into the national treasury the amount
of its circulation in United States notes or national currency and that on
such payment the bank making it shall be exempt from taxation on
circulation. 3. Provide for the application to the redemption of the circulation
re])resented by such payments, of the United States notes or national
currency so paid in, and strictly prohibit the paying out of such notes for
any other purpose.
This measure contemplates :
1. An exclusive national currency.
2. Relief of the state banks from taxation u]ion circulation which they
cannot get in.
3. The assumption of the duty of redcniiption by the national treasury
with means j)rovided by tho state banks.
4. Reduction in the amount in circulation while the payments into the
treasury are being made and opj)ortunity of some provision for redemption
which will not again increase it.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 345
The effect will bo:
1. Healthful condition of currency and consequent activity in produc
tion and increase of resources.
2. Gradual restoration of national notes to equality with specie and the
facilitating of resuinption of specie payments.
8. Improvement of national credit.
4. Diminution of national expenditures and possible arrest of the in
crease of national debt.
Half measures are better than no measures ; but thorough measures
are best. I will only add, that while I have never favored legal tender laws in
principle, and never consented to them except under imperious necessity, I
yet think it unwise to prohibit the making of any of the treasury notes
authorized by the bill now before Congress legal tenders. The compound
interest legal tender notes have then fulfilled all my expectations for their
issue and use ; and may be made most useful helps in gradual reduction of
the volume of circulation by substituting them for legal tenders bearing no
interest. I cannot elaborate this now. You will see how the thing will work
without any suggestion of mine. Faithfully your friend,
S. P. Chase.
Hon. John Sherman.
From my long and intimate acquaintance with Chief Jus
tice Chase I am quite sure that the duties of the great office he
then held were not agreeable to him. His life had been a politi
cal one, and this gave him opportunity for travel and direct
communion with the people. The seclusion and severe labor
imposed upon the Supreme Court were contrary to his habits
and injurious to his health. It took him some years to become
accustomed to the quiet of judicial life. He presided over the
Senate while acting as a court of impeachment during the trial
of Andrew Johnson in 1868. While strongly opposed to the
impeachment, he manifested no sign of partiality. He died in
New York city on the 7th of May, 1873, at the age of sixty-five.
While Congress was in session, the Republican national con
vention met at Baltimore on the 7th day of June, 1864, to
nominate candidates for President and Vice President of the
United States, and to announce the principles and policy of the
Republican party of the United States. The nomination of Mr.
Lincoln had already been made by state legislatures and by
the loyal people of the United States in every form in which
popular opinion can be expressed. The feeble expressions of

346 RECOLLECTIONS
dissent were but a whisper compared with the loud proclama
tion coming from every loyal state in favor of Lincoln. The
convention, with unanimous assent, ratified and confirmed
the popular choice.
The nomination for Vice President was dictated by the
desire to recognize the loyalty and patriotism of those who,
living in states in rebellion, remained true and loyal to the
Federal Union. Though Mr. Johnson disappointed the expec
tations of those who nominated him, yet at that time his cour
age and fidelity and his services and sacrifices for the cause of
the Union fully justified his nomination.
More important, even, than the choice of candidates, Avas
the declaration by the convention of the policy of the Repub
lican party. The key-note of that policy was the third resolu
tion, as follows :
" Resolved, that as slavery was the cause, and now constitutes the
strength of this rebellion, and as it must be always and everywhere hostile
to the principles of republican government, justice and the national safety
demand its utter and complete extirpation from the soil of the republic ; and
that we uphold and maintain the acts and proclamations by which the gov
ernment, in its own defense, has aimed a deathblow at the gigantic evil.
We are in favor, furthermore, of such an amendment to the constitution, to
be made by the people in conformity with its provisions, as shall terminate
and forever prohibit the existence of slavery within the limits or the juriwlic-
tion of the United States."
This was the logical result of the war. If it was carried
into full execution, it would settle on a just and sure founda
tion the only danger that ever threatened the prosperity of the
Union. This was happily carried into full effect by the consti
tutional amendment to which I have already referred.
The Democratic convention met at Chicago on the 29th of
August, 1864, and norainated George B. McClellan as the candi
date for President and George H. Pendleton as Vice President ;
but far raore iraportant and dangerous was the second, and the
only material resolution of the jilatforra which Avas drawn by
Vallandighara and was as follows :
" Resolved, that this convention does explicitly (hujlare, as tho sense of
the American peo])le, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by
the experiment of war, during which, under the pretense of a military

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 34?
necessity of a war j)ower higher than the constitution, the constitution itself
has boon disregarded in every part, and public liberty and piivate right alike
trt)dden down, and tho material prosperity of the country essentially im
paired, justice, humanity, liberty and the public welfare demand that im
mediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities with a view to an ulti
mate convention of all the states, or other peaceable means, to the end that,
at tho earliest practicable moment, peace may be restored on the basis of the
federal union of all the states."

This was a false declaration, and was also a cowardly sur
render to enemies in open war. These two resolutions made
the momentous issue submitted to the American people. From
the moment it was made the popular mind grew stronger and
firmer in favor of the prosecution of the war and the abolition
of slavery, and more resolute to resist the surrender proposed
to rebels in arms. Prior to the adoption of this resolution,
there was apparent languor and indifference among the people
as to who should be President, but after its adoption there
could be no doubt as to the trend of popular opinion. Every
sentiment of patriotism, the love of fiag and country, the pride
of our people in the success of our soldiers, and the resentment
of the soldiers themselves at this slur on their achievements —
all contributed to the rejection of the candidates and the plat
form of the Democratic party, and the overwhelming victory
of the Republican party.
I had already entered into the canvass when this resolution
of Vallandigham was adopted. It was only necessary to read
it to the people of Ohio to arouse resentment and opposition.
The scattered opposition to Mr. Lincoln, much of it growing
out of his conservatism, at once disappeared. The discontented
Republicans who met in convention at Cleveland again became
active in the Republican ranks. The two parties that grew out
of factional politics in New York, the Blair party and its
opponents in Missouri, and the army of disaffected office-
seekers, waived their dissensions and griefs. Horace Greeley
and the extreme opponents of slavery, represented by Wen
dell Phillips, not satisfied Avith the slow, but constitutional,
process of emancipation proposed by Lincoln, when compelled
to choose between that plan of abolition and unconditional

^48 RECOLLECTIONS
surrender to slavery, naturally voted for Lincoln. The great
body of patriotic Democrats in all the states, who sup
ported the war, but were still attached to their party, quietly
voted for Lincoln. In Ohio, especially, where a year be
fore they voted against Vallandigham for his disloyalty, tiiey
naturally voted against his resolution for surrender to the
rebels. During the campaign I accompanied Johnson to Indiana
where he made patriotic speeches to great audiences. His
arraignment of the autocracy of slav(.4io]ders in the south Avas
very effective. The current of opinion was all in favor of
Lincoln. The result of the election for Members of Congress
in the states voting in October was a decisive indication of the
result in November. All the central states elected a large
majority of Republican Members of Congress. In Ohio the
Union party had a majority of over 50,000 and elected 17 Re
publican and 2 Democratic Members of the House of Repre
sentatives. In 1862 Ohio elected 14 Democratic and 5 Repub
lican Members. The presidential election that followed on the
8th of November, 1864, resulted in an overwhelming victory
for Lincoln. He received 212 and McClellan 21 electoral votes,
the latter from the States of New Jersey, Delaware and Ken
tucky. This political victory had a more decisive effect in
defeating the rebellion than many battles. I returned to Wash
ington soon after the election.
I was naturally deeply interested in the movements of Gen
eral Sherman's march to the sea. Towards the close of Novem
ber we had all sorts of rumors from the south, that General
Sherraan was surrounded by Confederate troops, that his sup
plies were cut off, that successful attacks had been made upon
his scattered forces. I naturally became uneasy, and Avent to
President Lincoln for consolation and such news as he could
properly give me. He said : " Oh no, we have no news from
General Sherman. We knoAV what hole he went in at, but we
do not know what hole he will come out of," but he expressed
his opinion that General Sherman was all right. Soon after,
authentic information came that General Sherman had ar
rived at Savannah, that Port McAllister was taken, and the

OF JOHiN SHERMAN. 349
army was in communication with the naval forces. The cap
ture of Savannah and the northward march of General Sher
man's army is part of the familiar military history of the
country. The second session of the 38th Congress convened on the
5tli of December, 1864. It was a busy and active session
confined mainly to appropriation, loan and currency bills.
The necessary expenditures had been so greatly increased by
the war that the aggregate amounts appropriated naturally
created some opposition and alarm, but there was no help for
it. As chairman of the committee on finance I did all I could
to reduce the appropriations for civil expenses, but in respect
to military expenditures there could be scarcely any limit, the
amount necessary being dependent upon military success.
The hopeful progress of the war gave encouragement that in a
brief period the power of the Confederate States would be ex
hausted and peace Avould folloAv. We had, hoAvever, to legis
late upon the basis of the continued prosecution of the war,
and it therefore became necessary to increase the revenues in
every possible Avay, and to provide for new loans. The act ap
proved March 3, 1865, authorized the Secretary of the Treasury
to borrow not exceeding $600,000,000, and to issue therefore
bonds or treasury notes of the United States in such form as
he might provide. This was the last great loan authorized
during the war. An act to provide internal revenue to support
the government was approved on the same day, which modi
fied many of the provisions of the previous act, but added sub
jects of taxation not embraced iu previous laws. It especially
increased the taxes on tobacco in its various forms. The 6tli
section xnoA'ided :
'• That every national banking association, state bank, or state banking
association, shall pay a tax of ten per centum on the amount of notes of any
state bank or state banking association, paid out by them after the first day
of July, eighteen hundrod and sixty-six."
This tax on state bank circulation was a practica] pj-ohibi-
tion of all state bank paper, and before the time fixed for the
commencement of the tax, this circulation entirely disappeared.

350 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOIIN SHERMAN.
Additional duties were placed upon certain foreign importa
tions. Provisions were also made for the collection in the in
surrectionary district within the United States of the direct
taxes levied under the act of 1862. During the entire session
my labor was excessive, and when it closed my health and
strength were greatly impaired.

CHAPTER XVI.
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Johnson's Maudlin Stump Speech in the Senate — Inauguration of Lincoln for the
Second Term-My Trip to the South-Paying Off a Church Debt- Meet
ings to Celebrnte the Success of the Union Army— News of the Death of
Lincoln — I Attend the Funeral Services— Geiiernl Johnson's Surrender
to General Slierman — Controversy with Secretary Stanton Over the
Event— lieview of C5,000 Troops in Washington— Care of the
Old Soldiers— Annual Pension List of .f 150,000,000 — I am
Re-elected to the Seuate— The Wade-Davis Bill — John
son's Treatment of Public Men — His Veto of the Civil
llights Bill — Reorganization of the Rebel States
and Tlieir Final Restoration to the Union.
ON the 4th of March, 1865, at the inauguration of the
President and Vice President elect, a scene occurred
in the Senate chamber, Avliich made a serious im
pression, and was indicative of what was to occur in
the future. About eleven o'clock of that day Andrew Johnson,
Vice President, was shown into the room in the capitol as
signed to the Vice President. He complained of feeling unwell
and sent for either Avhisky or brandy, and must have drank ex
cessively of it. A few minutes before twelve o'clock he was
ushered into the Senate to take the oath of office and to make
the usual brief address. He was plainly intoxicated and de
livered a stump speech unworthy of the occasion. Before him
were assembled all the principal officers of the government
and the diplomatic corps. He went on in a maudlin and
rambling way for twenty minutes or more, until finally he was
suppressed by the suggestion of the secretary that the time for
the inauguration had arrived, and he must close.
The procession was formed for the inauguration at the east
front of the capitol, where a great multitude was gathered.
There Mr. Lincoln delivered his memorable inaugural address.
C351>

352 RECOLLECTIONS
Referring to the condition of the controversy at the time of his
former inaugural, he said :
" Both parties deprecated war ; but one of them would make war rather
than let the Union survive ; and the other would accept war rather than let
it perish. And the war came."
He hopefully predicted the result of the war, but he said :
" Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the
bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and
until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another
drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must
be said, ' The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.' "
His peroration will always be remembered for its impres
sive eloquence :
" With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the
right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work
we are in ; to bind up the nation's wounds ; to care for him who shall have
borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan ; to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all
nations." Soon after the adjournment I was invited by Secretary
Stanton, with many other Senators and our families, to take a
trip to the south in the stearaer " Baltic." Among those on
board were Senators Simon Cameron, Wade, Zach. Chandler,
and Foster, of Connecticut, then president pro tempore of the
Senate. The sea was exceedingly boisterous. Nearly all on
board were sea sick, but none so badly as Wade and Chandler,
both of whora, I fear, violated the third commandment, and
nearly all the party were in hearty sympathy with them. I
was a good sailor and about the only one who escaped the
common fate. We visited the leading places of interest along
the coast, but especially Charleston, Beaufort and Savannah.
Charleston had but recently been evacuated. General Sher
man was then on his march through North Carolina. In
Charleston everything looked gloomy and sad. I rode on
horseback alone through dilferent parts of the city, and was
warned by officers not to repeat the ride, as, if my name was
known, I would be in danger of being shot.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 353
We arrived in Beaufort on Sunday morning. The town
was then full of contrabands. We remained there that day
and received an invitation from a negro preacher to attend re
ligious services at his new meeting-house. About fifteen or
twenty of the party went to the " meeting-house," a new un
finished skeleton-frame house of considerable size without any
plastering— a mere shell. We were shown to seats that had
been reserved for us. The rest of the congregation were ne
groes in every kind of dress and of every shade of color. The
scene was very interesting, but the sermon of the preacher
was little better than gibberish. He was a quaint old man,
wearing goggles and speaking a dialect we could hardly under
stand. At the close of his sermon he narrated how the meet
ing-house had been built ; that John had hauled the logs, Tom,
Dick and Harry, naming them, had contributed their labor,
but they were in debt soraething over $200, and, with a sig
nificant glance at our little party, he thought this was a good
time to take up a collection. No sooner was this said than
Cameron, whispering to us, said : " Lets pay it ; I'll give twenty
dollars," and when the hat came around, instead of the usual
dimes and quarters in ragged currency, it received greenbacks
of good denominations. In the meantime the old preacher,
highly elated, called upon the audience to sing "John Brown's
Body." A feeble, piping voice from an old negro woman
started the singing and the rest of the negroes, with loud
melodious voices, joined in, and, before it was through, the
rest of us joined in. The hat, when returned to the preacher,
was found to contain more than fifty dollars in excess of the
amount necessary to paj'^ off the debt. Then, with many
thanks to us by the preacher, the audience was requested to
remain standing until their visitors left.
Our visit at Savannah was very interesting. We there
found many leading citizens of the town who were social and
kind, treating us in a friendly way by rides around the city.
In the latter part of March, I was invited by General Sher
man, then on a visit to Grant near Petersburg, Virginia, to go
with him to Goldsboro, North Carolina, where his army Avas
then encamped. Secretary Stanton was my next door neighbor,

354 RECOLLECTIONS
and our families were intimately associated. I invited his
eldest son, Edwin, then a young man studying law, to accom
pany me, an invitation which he gladly accepted. We joined
General Sherraan at Fortress Monroe and accompanied him on
the steamer "Bat" to Newborn and thence by rail to Goldsboro.
There was a sense of danger in traveling by rail through a
country raostly unoccupied, but we reached the army at Golds
boro safely. There I had my first view of a great army in
marching garb. Most of the troops had received their new
uniforms and equipments, but outlying regiments were con
stantly coming in, ragged, with tattered hats, shoes and boots
of every description, almost black from exposure and the
smoke of the pine woods, and as hardy a looking set of men as
one could conceive of. They had picked up all kinds of para
phernalia, "stove pipe" hats being the favorite, and had all
sorts of wagons gathered in their march. Their ajipearance
was rapidly changed by new uniforms. After a brief visit I
returned to Washington, and thence to my home at Mansfield.
I was invited soon after, on the 14th of April, to attend a
mass meeting at Columbus to celebrate the success of the
Union army. I accepted the invitation and attended an ini-
rnense meeting in the open air on the capitol grounds, and
there Samuel Galloway and myself raade addresses. Meetings
were held, congratulations uttered in the OA'ening of that day.
The whole city was in holiday attire, ornamented Avith fiags,
and everywhere and with everybody, there was an expression
of joy. I retired late at night to ray room in the hotel, and
after my fatigue slept soundly.
Early the next morning Rush Sloane, a personal friend,
rapped at my door and announced to me the news of the assas
sination of Lincoln, and, as then reported, that of Seward.
The change frora joy to mourning that day in Columbus was
marked and irapressive. No event of my life created a more
painful impression than this news following the rejoicings of
the day before. I returned to Washington and attended the
funeral services over the body of Mr. Lincoln, then about to be
carried on the long journey to his old home in Springfield,
Illinois,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 355
On the 6th of May, in response to the invitation of my
neighbors in Mansfield, I made an address upon the life and
character of the dead President. It expressed the opinion and
respect I then entertained for him, and now I could add
nothing to it. As time moves on his name and fame become
brighter, while most of his contemporaries are one by one for
gotten. Soon after the death of Mr. Lincoln, the terras of the sur
render of General Johnston to General Sherman became the
subject of a violent controversy. On the 21st of April, Secre
tary Stanton issued an order to General Grant to proceed im
mediately to the headquarters of General Sherman and direct
operations against the enemy. He issued a bulletin in which
he intimated that Davis and his partisans were on their way
to escape to Mexico or Europe with a large amount of gold
plundered from the Richmond banks and from other sources,
and that they hoped to make terms with General Sherman by
which they would be permitted with their effects, including
their gold plunder, to go to Mexico or Europe. The most vio
lent and insulting paragraphs were published in the newspa
pers, substantially arraigning General Sherman as a traitor
and imputing to him corrupt motives. I felt rayself bound at
once, not to defend the terms of surrender, but to repel the
innuendoes aimed at General Sherman. This led me into a
controversy Avith Mr. Stanton, not worth while to recall.
I believed then and still believe that he was under the influ
ence of perhaps a well-grounded fear that his life was in dan
ger. The atmosphere of Washington seemed to be charged
with terror, caused by the assassination of Lincoln, the wound
ing of Seward and the threats against all who were conspicu
ous in political or military life in the Union cause. Now, since
we are fully informed of all the surrounding circurastances
connected with the surrender, and the belief of General Sher
raan that he was strictly carrying out the policy of President
Lincoln, it is plain that he acted in what he supposed Avas the
line of duty. He did not comprehend that the fatal crirae in
Washington changed the whole aspect of affairs. His agree
ment with Johnston was on its face declared to be inoperative

356 RECOLLECTIONS
until approved by the authorities at Washington, and, while
the political features of the surrender could not be approved, a
simple notification of disapproval would have been cheerfully
acted upon and the orders of the President would have been
faithfully carried out.
General Sherman, when he received notice of the disap
proval of his action, at once notified Johnston, and new terras
were arranged in exact accordance with those conceded by
General Grant to General Lee.
I remained in Washington until the arrival, on the 19tli of
May, of General Sherman's army, which encamped by the
roadside about half way between Alexandria and the Long
Bridge. I visited the general there and found that he was still
smarting under what he called the disgrace put upon him by
Stanton. I advised him to keep entirely quiet, said the feeling
ha,d passed away and that his position was perfectly well un
derstood. I persuaded hira to call on the President and such
merabers of the cabinet as he knew, and accompanied him.
He was dressed in full uniform, well worn, was bronzed and
looked the picture of health and strength. As a matter of
course he refused to call on Stanton and denounced him in
unmeasured terms, declaring that he would insult him when
ever the opportunity occurred. When he came in contact with
his fellow officers and found that they sympathized with him
his anger abated, and by the time the great review took place,
he seemed to have recovered his usual manner.
The review of General Meade's army was to occur on Tues
day, May 23, and that of General Sherman's, as it was called,
on the 24th. General Sherman, with his wife and her father,
Hon. Thoraas Ewing, and myself, were present on the reviewing
stand on the first day of the review. He received on the stand
the congratulations of hundreds of people and seemed to enjoy
every moment of time. He was constantly pointing out to
Mr. Ewing and myself the difference between the eastern and
western armies, in which he evidently preferred the Army of
the West. On the next day, prompt to the time stated, attended
by a brilliant staff, he rode slowly up Pennsylvania avenue at
the head of his column, and was followed by a magnificent

EDWIN M. STANTON,
SECRETARY OF WAR.
eORN AT STEUBENVILLE, OHIO, DEC. 19, 1014,
OIED AT WASH INQTON, D. C, DEC. 24, IQ69.

OP JOHN SHERMAN. 357
army of 65,000 men, organized into four army corps, and
marching willi tliat precision only possible with experienced
troops, liis description of the scene in his " Memoirs" proves
his deep interest in the appearance of his army and his evident
pride in it. When he arrived at the grand stand, where the
President reviewed the troops, he dismounted, left the line,
came upon the stand and took his place by the side of the
President. Everyone knew his relations to Stanton, and was
curious to see the result of their meeting. I stood very near
the general, and as he approached he shook hands with the
President and the members of the cabinet, but when Stanton
partially reached out his hand. General Sherman passed him
without remark, but everyone within sight could perceive the
intended insult, which satisfied his honor at the expense of his
prudence. However, it is proper to say that these two men,
both eminent in their way, became entirely reconciled before
the death of Mr. Stanton. General Sherman always stopped
with me when he Avas temporarily in Washington, and I know
that in a very brief period they met and conversed in a friendly
way. When Mr. Stanton lay upon his death bed. General Sher
man not only called upon him, but tendered his Services, and
exhibited every mark of respect for him.
The great body of the volunteer forces was disbanded, the
oflicers and soldiers were returning to their homes. To most
of them the Avar was a valuable lesson. It gave them a start
in life and a knowledge and experience that opened the door
to all employment, especially to official positions in state and
nation. In all popular elections the soldier was generally pre
ferred. This was a just recognition for his sacrifices and
services. I hope and trust that while a single survivor of the
War of the Rebellion is left among us, he will everywhere be
received with honor and share all the respect which the boys of
my generation were so eager to grant and extend to the heroes
of the Revolutionary War. The service of one was as valuable
as the other, rendered on a broader field, in greater numbers,
with greater sacrifices, and with the same glorious results of
securing the continuance of an experiment of free government,
the most successful in the history of mankind and which

358 RECOLLECTIONS
is now, I profoundly trust, so well secured by the heroism and
valor of our soldiers, that for generations and centuries yet to
corae no eneray will dare to aira a blow at the life of the re
public. For the wounded and disabled soldiers and the widows
and orphans of those who fell, a larger provision of pensions
was freely granted than ever before by any nation in ancient
or modern times. Provision was made by the general govern
ment, and by most of the loyal states, for hospitals and homes
for the wounded. The bodies of those who died in the service
have been carefully collected into cemeteries in all parts of the
United States. If there has been any neglect or delay in grant
ing pensions, it has been caused by the vast number of applica
tions — more than a million — and the difficulty as time passes
in securing the necessary proof. The pension list noWj thirty
years after the war, requires annually the sum of more than
$150,000,000, or three times the araount of all the expenses of
the national government before the war. No complaint is
made of this, but Congress readily grants any increase de
manded by the feebleness of age or the decay of strength. I
trust, and believe, that this policy will be continued until the
last surviving soldier of the war meets the common fate
of all. I participated in the canvass of 1865, when General Jacob
D. Cox, the Republican candidate for governor in Ohio, and a
Republican legislature were elected with but little opposition.
The first duty of this legislature was to elect a Senator. There
was a friendly contest between General Robert C. Schenck,
Hon. John A. Bingham and myself, but I was nominated on
the first ballot and duly elected.
I received many letters from Horace Greeley, in the follow
ing one of which he showed a great interest in my re-election
to the Senate: Nbav Yoek, February 7, 1865.
Hon. .Ioiin Sherman:
My Dhar Siu:— Yours of the 5th inst. at hand. I can assure you that
the combination to supplant you in tho Senate is quite strong and confident
of success. I did not mean to alludo to tho controversy, but was conipellod
to by the dispatch which got into our columns. I observe J. W. wrote

®ff^'^ of me mme^

OP JOHN SHERMAN. 359
' locality ' as he says, but the change to ' loyalty ' was a very awkward one in
these days; so I felt compelled to correct it.
I fear more the raids of Thad. Stevens on the treasury than those of
Mosby on our linos. Yours,
Horace Geeblby.
When Congress met on the 4th of December, 1865, it had
before it two important problems which demanded iraraediate
attention. One was a measure for the reconstruction of the
states lately in rebellion and the other was a plan for refund'
ing and paying the public debt. It was unfortunate that no
measure had been provided before the close of the war defining
the condition of the states lately in rebellion, securing the freed-
raen in their new-born rights, and restoring these states to their
place in the Union. Therefore, during the long vacation, from
April to December, the whole matter was left to executive au
thority. If Lincoln had lived, his action would have been ac
quiesced in. It would have been liberal, based upon universal
emancipation of negroes, and pardon to rebels. It was sup
posed that President Johnson would err, if at all, in imposing
too harsh terms upon these states. His violent speeches in the
canvass of 1864, and his fierce denunciation of the leaders in
the Rebellion, led us all to suppose that he would insist upon a
reconstruction by the loyal people of the south and that rea
sonable protection would be extended to the emancipated ne
groes. The necessity of legislation for the reconstruction of
the Confederate states was foreseen and provision had been
made by Congress, during the war, by what was knoAvn as
the Wade-Davis bill, to provide for the reorganization of
these states. During tiie 37th Congress, Henry Winter Davis,
though not then a Member of the House of Representa
tives, prepared a bill to meet this exigency. It was a bill to
guarantee to each state a republican form of government.
It embodied a plan by Avhich these states, then declared
))y Congress to be in a state of insurrection, might, when that
insurrection was subdued or abandoned, come back freely and
voluntarily into the Union. It provided for representation, for
the election of a convention and a legislature, and of Senators
and Members of Congress. It was a complete guarantee to

360 RECOLLECTIONS
the people of the insurrectionary states that upon certain con
ditions these states might resume their place in the Union
when the insurrection had ceased. This bill he handed to me.
I introduced it at his request. It was referred to the judiciary
committee, but was not acted upon by it.
Afterwards Mr. Davis came into the 38th Congress as a
Member of the House of Representatives. Among the first
acts performed by hira after taking his seat was the introduc
tion of this same bill. On the 15th of December, 1863, it was
debated in the House of Representatives and passed by a very
decided vote, and was sent to the Senate. It was reported
to the Senate favorably, but in place of it was substituted a
proposition offered by B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri. This
substitute provided a mode by which the eleven Confederate
states might, when the Rebellion was suppressed within their
limits, be restored to their old place in the Union. The bill
was sent back to the House with the proposed substitute. A
committee of conference was appointed, and the House pre
ferring the original bill, the Senate receded from its amend
ment, and what was known as the Wade-Davis bill passed. It
went to President Lincoln, who did not approve it, and it did
not become a law, but on the 8th of July, 1864, after the close
of the session, he issued the following proclamation :
" Whereas, at the late session Congress passed a bill to guaranty to
certain states, whose governments have been usurped or overthrown, a
republican form of government, a copy of which is hereunto annexed ; and
whereas the said bill was presented to the President of the United States for
his approval less than one hour before the sine die adjournment of said ses
sion, and was not signed by him ; and whereas the said bill contains, among
other things, a plan for restoring the states in rebellion to their proper
practical relation in the Union, which plan expresses tho sense of Congress
upon that subject, and which plan it is now thought fit to lay before the
people for their consideration :
" Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,
do proclaim, declare, and make known, that while I am (as I was in Decem
ber last, when by proclamation I propounded a plan for restoration) unpre
pared, by a formal approval of this bill, to be inflexibly committed to any
single plan of restoration ; and while I am also unyirepared to declare that
the free state constitutions and governments already adopted and installed
in Arkansas and Louisiana shall be set aside and held for naught, thereby

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 361
repelling and discouraging the loyal citizens who have set up the same as to
further effort, or to declare a constitutional competency in Congress to
abolish slavery in states, I am at the same time sincerely hoping and
expecting that a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery throughout
the nation may be adopted."
He added his reasons for not approving the Wade-Davis
bill. He did not entirely disapprove of it, but said it was one
of numerous plans which might be adopted. Mr. Sumner
stated, on the floor of the Senate, that he had had an interview
with President Lincoln immediately after the publication of
that proclamation, and it was the subject of very minute and
protracted conversation, in the course of which, after discussing
the details, Mr. Lincoln expressed his regret that he had not
approved the bill. I have always thought that Mr. Lincoln
made a serious mistake in defeating a measure, which, if
adopted, would have averted many if not all the difficulties
that subsequently arose in the reconstruction of the rebel
states. The next and closing session of that Congress neglected
to provide for the reorganization of these states, and, thus,
when Mr. Johnson became President, there was no provi
sion of law to guide him in the necessary process of recon
struction. Thus, by the disagreement between Congress and
President Lincoln, which commenced two years before the
close of the war, there was no law upon the statute book to
guide either the President or the people of the southern states
in their effort to get back into the Union. It became im
perative during the long period before the meeting of Congress
that President Johnson should, in the absence of legislation,
formulate some plan for the reconstruction of these states. He
did adopt substantially the plan proposed and acted upon by Mr.
Lincoln. After this long lapse of time I am convinced that Mr.
Johnson's scheme of reorganization was wise and judicious.
It was unfortunate that it had not the sanction of Congress
and that events soon brought the President and Congress into
hostility. Who doubts that if there had been a law upon the
statute book by Avhich the people of the southern states could
have been guided in their effort to come back into the Union,

862 RECOLLECTIONS
they would have cheerfully followed it, although the condi
tions had been hard? In the absence of law both Lincoln and
Johnson did substantially right when they adopted a plan of
their own and endeavored to carry it into execution. Johnson,
before he Avas elected and while acting as military governor of
Tennessee, executed the plan of Lincoln in that state and
subsequently adopted the same plan for the reorganization of
the rebel states. In all these plans the central idea was that
the states in insurrection were still states, entitled to be
treated as such. They were described as "Tlie eleven states
which have been declared to be in insurrection." There Avas
an express provision that :
" No Senator or Representative shall be admitted into either branch of
Congress from any of said states until Congress shall have declared such
state entitled to such representation."
In all the plans proposed in Congress, as well as in the plan
of Johnson, it was declared that states had no right while in
insurrection to elect electors to the electoral college ; they had
no right to elect Senators and Representatives. In other
words they could not resume the powers, rights and privileges
conferred upon states by the Constitution of the United States,
except by the consent of Congress. Having taken up arms
against the United States, they by that act lost their consti
tutional powers within the United States to govern and con
trol our councils. They could not engage in the election of a
President, or of Senators or Members of Congress ; but they
were still states. The supreme power of Congress to change,
alter or modify the acts of the President and to admit or re
ject these states and their Senators and Representatives at its
will and pleasure, and the constitutional right of the respective
Houses to judge of the election, returns and qualifications of
its own Merabers were recognized. When Mr. Johnson came
into power he found the Rebellion substantially subdued. His
first act was to retain in his confidence, and in his councils,
every member of the cabinet of Abraham Lincoln, and, so far
as we know, every measure adopted by hira had the approval
and sanction of that cabinet. Every act passed by Congress,
with or without his assent, upon every subject whatever.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 363
connected with reconstruction, was fairly and fully executed.
He adopted all the main features of the Wade-Davis bill — the
only one passed by Congress. In his proclamation of May 9,
1865, he provided :
" First, That all acts and proceedings of the political, military, and civil
organizations which have been in a state of insurrection and rebellion within
the State of Virginia against the authority and laws of the United States,
and of which Jefferson Davis, John Letcher, and William Smith were late
the respective chiefs, are declared null and void."
Thus, with a single stroke, he swept away the whole super
structure of the Rebellion. He extended the tax laws of the
United States over the rebel territory. In his proclamation of
May 29, he says;
" To the end, therefore, that the authority of the government of the
United States may be restored, and that peace, order, and freedom may be
established, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do proclaim
and declare that I hereby grant to all persons who have directly or indirectly
participated in the existing Rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted,
amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to
slaves, and except in cases where legal proceedings, under the laws of the
United States providing for the confiscation of property of persons engaged
in rebellion, have been instituted, &c."
He enforced in every case full and ample protection to the
freedmen of the southern states. No complaint frora thera
was ever brought to his knowledge in which he did not do full
and substantial justice. The principal objection to his policy
was that he did not extend his proclamation to all the loyal
men of the southern states, including the colored as well as
the white people. It must be remembered in his justification
that in every one of the eleven states before the Rebellion the
negro was, by its laws, excluded from the right to vote. In
Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York that right was limited. In
a large majority of the states, including the most populous,
negro suffrage was then prohibited. It would seem to be a
great stretch of power on his part, by a simple mandatory proc
lamation or military order, to confer the franchise on a class of
people, who were then prohibited from voting not only in the
eleven southern states, but in a majority of the northern
S -26

864 RECOLLECTIONS
states. Such a provision, if it had been inserted, could not
have been enforced, and, in the condition in which slavery left
the negro race, it could hardly be defended. I cannot see any
reason why, because a raan is black, he should not vote, and
yet, in making laws, as the President was then doing, for the
government of the community, he had to regard the preju
dices, not only of the people among whora the laws were to be
executed, but also of the army and the people who were to
execute those laws, and no man can doubt but what at that
time there was a strong and poAverful prejudice in the army
and among all classes of citizens against extending the right
of suffrage to negroes, especially down in the far south, where
the great body of the slaves were in abject ignorance.
It raust be also noted that in the Wade-Davis bill Congress
did not and would not raake negro suffrage a part of its plan.
Even so radical an anti-slavery man as my colleague. Senator
Wade, did not propose such a measure. The effort was made
to give emancipated negroes the right to vote, and it was aban
doned. By that bill the suffrage was conferred only upon ivhite
male loyal citizens. And in the plan of the President, he
adopted in this respect the very same conditions for suffrage
as those proposed by Congress. I believe that all the acts and
proclamations of President Johnson before the meeting of
Congress were wise and expedient, and that there would have
been no difficulty between Congress and the President but for
his personal conduct, and, especially, his treatment of Con
gress and leading Congressmen. The unfortunate occurrence,
already narrated, at his inauguration, was followed by violent
and disrespectful language, unbecoming the President, espe
cially, his foolish speech raade on the 22nd of February, 1866,
in which he selected particular persons as the objects of de
nunciation. He said:
" I fought traitors and treason in the south. I opposed the Davises, the
Toombses, the Slidells, and a long list of others, whioh you can readily fill
without my repeating the names. Now, when I turn round, and at the other
end of the line find men, I care not by what name you call thorn, who still
stand opposed to the restoration of the Union of these states, 1 am free to
say to you that I am still in the field."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 365
And again he said:
" I am called uj)on to name three at the other end of the line ; I am
talking to my friends and fellow-citizens, who are interested with me in this
government, and I presume I am free to mention to you the names of those
whom I look upon as being opposed to the fundamental principles of this
government, and who are laboring to pervert and destroy it."
Voices : " Name them I " " Who are they ? "
He replied :
" You ask mo who they are. I say Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania,
is one ; I say Mr. Sumner, of the Senate, is another ; and Wendell Phillips
is another." The violence of language, so unlike that of Abraham Lin
coln, added to the hostility to Mr. Johnson in Congress, and, I
think, more than any other cause, led to his impeachment by
the House of Representatives.
In the beginning of the controversy between Congress and
the President, I tried to act as a peacemaker. I knew Mr.
Johnson personally, his good and his bad qualities. I sat by
his side in the Senate chamber during the first two years of
the war. I was with him in his canvass in 1864. I sympa
thized with him in his struggles with the leaders of the Rebel
lion and admired his courage during the war, when, as Gover
nor of Tennessee, he reorganized that state upon a loyal basis.
The defect of his character was his unreasoning pugnacity.
He early became involved in wordy warfare with Sumner,
Wade, Stevens and others. In his high position he could have
disregarded criticism, but this was not the habit of Johnson.
When assailed he fought, and could be as violent and insulting
in language or acts as anyone.
Under these circumstances I made a long and carefully
considered speech in the Senate on the 26th of February, 1866,
in which I stated the position of Congress on the reconstruc
tion measures, and the policy adopted by Johnson from Lin
coln. Either of the plans would have accomplished the provi
sional restoration of these states to the Union, while all agreed
that, when admitted, they would be armed with all the pow
ers of states, subject only to the constitution of the United
States. I believed then, and believe now, that the quarrel

366 RECOLLECTIONS
with Johnson did much to weaken the Republican party.
In consequence of it several Republican Senators and Mera
bers severed their connection with that party and joined the
Democratic party. Johnson, irritated by this antagonism,
drifted away from the measures he had himself advocated
and soon after was in open opposition to the party that elected
him. I here insert passages from my speech, which expressed
my views at the time, and which I now feel were justified by
the then existing opinions and conditions of political life :
" Sir, I can imagine no calamity more disgraceful than for us by our
divisions to surrender, to men who to their country were enemies in war,
any or all of the powers of this government. He, who contributes in any
way to this result, deserves the execrations of his countrymen. This may be
done by thrusting upon the President new issues on which the well-known
principles of his life do not agree with the judgment of his political associates.
It may be done by irritating controversies of a personal character. It may
be done by the President turning his back upon those who trusted him with
high power, and thus linking his name with one of the most disgraceful in
American history, that of John Tyler. I feel an abiding confidence that
Andrew Johnson will not and cannot do this ; and, sir, who will deny that
the overbearing and intolerant will of Henry Clay contributed very much to
the defection of John Tyler? But the division of the Whig party was an
event utterly insignificant in comparison with the evil results of a division in
the Union party.
" Where will be the four million slaves whom by your policy you have
emancipated? What would be their miserable fate if now surrendered to
,' the custody of the rebels of the south? Will you, by your demand of uni
versal suffrage, destroy the power of the Union party to protect them in
their dearly purchased liberty? Will you, by new issues upon which you
know you have not the voice of the people, jeopard these rights which you
can by the aid of the Union party secure to these freedmen? We know
that the President can not and will not unite with us upon the issues of uni
versal sufErage and dead states, and he never agreed to. No such dogmas
were contemplated, when, for his heroic services in the cause of the Union,
we placed him, side by side, with Mr. Lincoln as our standard-bearer. Why,
then, present these issues? Why decide upon them? Why not com
plete the work so gloriously done by our soldiers by securing union and
liberty to all men without distinction of color, leaving to the states, as before,
the question of suffrage.
" Sir, the curse of God, the maledictions of millions of our people, and the
tears and blood of new-made freemen will, in my judgment, rest upou those
who now for any cause destroy the unity of the great party that has led us
through the wilderness of war. We want now peace and repose. We must

OE JOHN SHERMAN. 367
now look to onr public credit. We have duties to perform to the business
interests of tho country, in which wo need the assistance of the President.
We havo every motive for harmony with him and with each other, and for a
generous and manly trust in his patriotism. If ever the time shall come
when I can no longer confide in his devotion to the principles upon which
he was elected, I will bid farewell to Andrew Johnson with unaffected
sorrow. I will remember when he stood in this very spot, five years ago,
repelling with unexampled courage the assaults of traitors. He left in their
hands wife, children, property, and home, and staked them all on the result.
I will remember that when a retreating general would have left Nashville
to its fate, that again, with heroic courage, he maintained his post. I will
remember the fierce conflicts and trials through which he and his fellow-
compatriots in east Tennessee maintained our cause in the heart of the Con
federacy. I will remember the struggles he had with the aristocratic ele
ment of Tennessee, never ashamed of his origin and never far from the hearts
of the people.
" Sir, you must not sever the great Union party from this loyal element
of the southern states. No new theories of possible Utopian good can com
pensate for the loss of such patriotism and devotion. Time, as he tells you
in his message, is a great element of reform, and time is on your side. I
remember the homely and encouraging words of a pioneer in the anti-slavery
cause, an expelled Methodist preacher from the south, who told those who
were behind him in his strong anti-slavery opinions: ' Well friends, I'll block
up awhile ; we must all travel together.' So I say to all who doubt An
drew .lohnson, or who wish to move more raj)idly than he can, to block up
awhile, to consolidate their great victory with the certainty that reason and
the Almighty will continue their work. All wisdom will not die with us.
The highest human wisdom is to do all the good you can, but not to sacrifice
a possible good to attempt the impracticable. God knows that I do not
urge harmony and conciliation from any personal motive. The people of
my native state have intrusted me with a position here extending four years
beyond the termination of the President's term of office. He can grant me
no favor. " If I believed for a moment that he would seek an alliance with those
who, by either arms or counsel or even apathy, were against their country in
the recent war, and will turn over to them the high powers intrusted to him
by the Union party, then, sir, he is dishonored, and will receive no assistance
from me ; but I will not force him into that attitude. If he shall prove false
to the declaration made by him in his veto message, that his strongest desire
was to secure to the freedmen the full enjoyment of their freedom and prop
erty, then I will not quarrel with him as to the means used. And while, as
he tells us in this same message, he only asks for states to be represented
whioh are presented in an attitude of loyalty and harmony and in the persons
of representatives whose loyalty cannot be questioned under any constitu
tional or legal test, surely we ought not to separate from him until, at least.

368 RECOLLECTIONS
we prescribe a test of their loyalty, upon whioh we are willing to stand. We
have not done it yet. I will not try him by new creeds. I will not de
nounce him for hasty words uttered in repelling personal affronts.
" I see him yet surrounded by the cabinet of Abraham Lincoln, pursu
ing Lincoln's policy. No word from me shall drive him into political fel
lowship with those who, when he was one of the moral heroes of this war,
denounced him, spit upon him, and despitefully used him. The association
must be self-sought, and even then I will part with him in sorrow, but with
the abiding hope that the same Almighty power that has guided us through
the recent war will be with us still in our new difiiculties until every state is
restored to its full communion and fellowship, and until our nation, purified
by war, will assume among the nations of the earth the grand position hoped
for by Washington, Clay, Webster, I..incoln, and hundreds of thousands of
unnamed heroes who gave up thoir lives for its glory."
I received many letters in commendation of this speech,
among others the following from Thurlow Weed, who was in
full sympathy with Secretary Seward :
Albany, N. Y., February 28, 186G.
Dear Suebjian: — You have spoken words of wisdom and patriotism
- — spoken them boldly at the right time. Thoy will help save the Union
- — and they will save the Union particularly if fanatics and despots will
allow it to be saved. Just such a speech at the moment it was made is
worth more than all that has been said in Congress since the session com
menced. I thank you gratefully for it. Yours truly,
Thurlow Weed.
I still hoped that the pending civil rights bill would be ap
proved by the President, and that then the controversy would
end. On the 17th of March, 1866, I made a speech at Bridge
port, Conn., in which I said :
"Now, I say, that upon all these various propositions, upon the necessity
of a change in the basis of representation, upon the necessity for protecting
the negroes, upon this question of suffrage — upon all these questions that
have arisen in our politics of late, the differences between Andrew Johnson
and Congress are not such as need excite the alarm of any patriotic citizen.
No, my friends, we havo a great duty to perform to our country. Every
man in public life now has a heavy responsibility resting upon him, in the
discharge of which he is bound to follow the dictates of his own conscience,
given to him by Almighty God. There aro, there must be, differences of
opinion ; God has so made us that wo must differ ; it is tho established nature
of the human mind to disagree. It is only by discussion and comparison of
views that the highest human wisdom is elicited. Therefore, I say again,
that no Union man need feel anxious or uneasy because of tne differences

't^YV---^. "^i-^^ '^2-*^ X-J-y^^^^ >=T&*«<!!i_-. z'^''^;^^
^7<yi^  ^i>rJ^ v^Jfx- ^«->^ y:a>v^j2~. ^^"^^^
'i^A^ d^n-^ /-^a-^d^ '1^— f^a^4<-,0,Ax<-i- *s<«**-Tti:: ,/^-ct-^ ^
^-L,t/P) d,^^>d^ ^2-<^--:Z^ ^ d^ ^ ^^5.a»^:-^,
9wv-. ^;t.^ ^-'«^- ^^ X,*.*^ /^_*^t— ^i,^^

^/<^4'><-<;S?'^>C;^-x--t/^a^ — dTlt'-tx^,,.^ ^

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 369
between the President and Congress. Let me tell you, as the solemn con
viction with which I address you to-night, that Andrew Johnson never will
throw the power we have given him into the hands of the Copperhead party
of the United States.
" I have many reasons for this faith. One is that no nomination has ever
been sent by Andrew Johnson to the Senate of the United States of any
man of that stripe of politics. No flattery, no cajolery can draw him from
that line. He is a man who fights his own battles, and whether they are old
friends or foes that assail him he fights them with equal freedom and bold
ness, and sometimes, perhaps indiscreetly; but that is a fault of his character,
which need excite no uneasiness in the minds of the people.
" On Thursday, the day that I left Washington, we sent to him a bill
which secures to all the colored population of the southern states equal rights
before the law, the civil rights bill. It declares that no state shall exclude
any man on account of his color from any of the natural rights which, by the
Declaration of Independence, are declared to be inalienable ; it provides
that every man may sue and be sued, may plead and be impleaded, may
acquire and hold property, may purchase, contract, sell and convey ; all
those rights are secured to the negro population. That bill is now in the
hands of the President. If he sign it, it will be a solemn pledge of the
law-making power of the nation that the negroes shall have secured to
them all these natural and inalienable rights. I believe the President will
sign it."
Unfortunately at the end of ten days the President sent to
the Senate the civil rights bill, referred to, with his message
vetoing it. It passed both Houses with the requisite two-
thirds majority, and thus became a law. This veto was fol
lowed by other vetoes, and, practically, the President aban
doned his party. From this time forth, I heartily joined with
my political associates in the measures adopted to secure a
loyal reorganization of the southern states. I was largely in
fluenced by the harsh treatment of the freedmen in the south
under acts adopted by the reconstructed legislatures. The
outrages of the Ku-Klux Klaus seemed to me to be so atrocious
and wicked that the men who committed them were not only
unworthy to govern, but unfit to live. The weakness of the
position of Congress in the controversy with Mr. Johnson, was,
that it had furnished no plan of reconstruction and he was
compelled to act upon the urgency of events. Many efforts
were made to provide legislation to take the place of the proc
lamations and acts of the President, but a wide divergence

370 RECOLLECTIONS
of opinion in the Republican party manifested itself, and no
substantial progress was made until near the close of the sec
ond session of the 39th Congress. Several bills were then pend
ing in each House to provide governments for the insurrection
ary states. On the 18th of February, 1867, during the short
session, a bill with that title carae frora the House of Represent
atives. It was manifest unless this bill could be acted upon,
that, in the then condition of Congress, all legislation would fail.
It was kept before the Senate and thoroughly debated. On the
16th of February, after consultation with my political col
leagues, I moved a substitute for the House bill. The fifth
section of this substitute embodied a comprehensive plan for
the organization of the rebel states with provision for elections
in said states, and the conditions required for their admis
sion and restoration to the Union and the exercise by them of
all the powers of states, and provided for the election of Sena
tors and Merabers of Congress. In presenting this substitute, I
briefly stated my reasons for it, as follows:
" The principle of this bill is contained in the first two lines of the pre
amble. It is founded upon the proclamation of the President and Secretary
of State made just after the assassination of President Lincoln, in which
they declared specifically that the Rebellion had overthrown all civil gov
ernments in the insurrectionary states, and they proceeded by an executive
mandate to create governments. They were provisional in their character,
and dependent for their validity solely upon the action of Congress. These
are propositions which it is not now necessary for me to demonstrate. Those
governments have never been sanctioned by Congress, nor by the people of
the states where they exist. Taking that proclamation and the acknowl
edged fact that the people of the southern states, the loyal people, whites
and blacks, are not protected in their rights, but that an unusual and extraor
dinary number of cases occur of violence, and murder, and wrong, I do
think it is the duty of the United States to protect those people in the
enjoyment of substantial rights.
" Now, the first four sections of this substitute contain nothing but
what is in the present law. There is not a single thing iu the first four
sections that does not now exist by law.
" The first section authorizes the division of the rebel states into military
districts. That is being done daily.
" The second section acknowledges that the President is the commanding
oflScer of the army, and it is made his duty to assign certain oflicers to those
districts. That is clearly admitted to be right.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 371
"The third section does no more than what the Supreme Court in their
recent decision havo decided could bo done in a state in insurrection. The
Supreme Court in their recent decision, while denying that a military tri
bunal could be organized in Indiana because it never had been in a state of
insurrection, expressly declared that these tribunals might have been, and
might now be, organized in insurrectionary states. There is nothing in this
third section, in my judgment, that is not now and has not been done every
month within the last twelve months by the President of the United States.
The orders of General Sickles, and many other orders that I might quote,
have gone further in punishment of crime than this section proposes.
" Now, in regard to the fourth section, that is a limitation upon the
present law. Under the present law many executions of military tribunals
are summarily carried out. This section requires all sentences of military
tribunals which affect the liberty of the citizen to be sent to the commanding
officer of the district. They must be approved by the commanding oflicer
of the district ; and so far as life is concerned the President may issue his
order at any moment now, or after this bill passes, directing that the military
commander of tho district shall not enforce a sentence of death until it is
submitted to him, because the military officer is a mere subordinate of the
President, remaining there at the pleasure of the President.
" There is nothing, therefore, in these sections, that ought to alarm the
nerves of my friend from Pennsylvania, or anybody else. I cannot think
that these gentlemen are alarmed about the state of despotism that President
Johnson is to establish in tho southern states. I do not feel alarmed ; nor
do I see anything in these sections as they now stand that need endanger
the rights of the most timid citizen of the United States. They are intended
to protect a race of peoj)le who are now without protection.
" Now, in regard to the fifth section, which is the main and material
feature of this bill, I think it is right that the Congress of the United States,
before its adjournmont, should designate some way by which the southern
states may reorganize loyal state governments in harmony with the constitu
tion and laws of the United States, and the sentiment of the people, and
find thoir way back to these halls. My own judgment is that the fifth sec
tion will point out a clear, easy, and right way for these states to be re
stored to their full power in the government. All that it demands of the
people of the southern states is to extend to all their male citizens, without
distinction of race or color, the elective franchise. It is now too late in the
day to be frightened by this simple proposition. Senators can make the
most of it as a political proposition. Upon that we are prepared to meet
them. But it does point out a way by which the twenty absent Senators,
and the fifty absent Representatives can get back to these halls, and there
is no other way by which they can justly do it. ^ ^
" It seems to me that this is the whole substance of the bill. All there is
material in the bill is in the first two lines of the preamble and the fifth sec
tion, in my judgment. The first two lines may lay the foundation by

372 RECOLLECTIONS
adopting the proclamation issued first to North Carolina, that the Rebellion
had swept away all the civil governments in the southern states ; and the
fifth section points out the mode by whioh the people of those states in their
own manner, without any limitations or restrictions by Congress, may get
back full representation in Congress. That is the view I take of this
amended bill ; and taking that view of it I see no reason in the world why
we should not all vote for it."
The substitute was adopted on the same day and the bill,
thus araended, was passed by a vote of yeas 29, nays 10. In
the House it was agreed to with slight araendinents, which were
finally concurred in by the Senate, on February 20, 1867. It
was sent to the President and was not approved by hira, but
was, on the 2nd of March, passed over his veto by a vote of
two-thirds of both Houses.
Upon this law, long deferred, the several states mentioned
in it were organized and restored to their place in the Union.
The preamble and fifth and sixth sections of this law are as
follows :
"An Act to Providk for the More Efficient Govhrnment of
THE Rebel States.
" Whereas, no legal state governments or adequate protection for life or
property now exists in the rebel states of Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and
Arkansas ; and whereas it is necessary that peace and good order should be
enforced in said states until loyal and republican state governments can be
legally established : Therefore,
" lie it enacted by the Se7iate and House of Representatives of the
Tj7nted States of America in Cong7'ess assembled : . . .
" Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That when the people of any one
of said rebel states shall have formed a constitution of government in con
formity with the constitution of the United States in all respects, framed by
a convention of delegates elected by the male citizens of said state, twenty-
one years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or previous condition,
who have been resident in said state for one year previous to the day of such
election, except such as may be disfranchised for participation in the Rebel
lion, or for felony at common law, and when such constitution shall provide
that the elective franchise shall be enjoyed by all such persons as have the
qualifications herein stated for electors of delegates, and when such consti
tution shall be ratified by a majority of the persons voting on the question
of ratification who are qualified as electors for delegates, and when such con
stitution shall have been submitted to Congress for examination and ap
proval, and Congress shall have approved the same, and when said state, by

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 373
a vote of its legislature, elected under such constitution, shall have adopted
the amendment to the constitution of the United States, proposed by the
39th Congress, and known as article fourteen, and when said article shall
have become a part of the constitution of the United States, said state shall
be declared entitled to representation in Congress, and Senators and Repre
sentatives shall be admitted therefrom on their taking the oath prescribed by
law, and then and thereafter the preceding sections of this act shall be inop
erative in said state : Provided, That no jierson excluded from the privilege
of holding office by said proposed amendment to the constitution of the
United States shall be eligible to election as a member of the convention to
frame a constitution for any of said rebel states, nor shall any such person
vote for members of such convention.
" Sec. 6. A7id be itf7irth,er e7iacted, That, until the people of said rebel
states shall be by law admitted to representation in the Congress of the United
States, any civil governments which may exist therein shall be deemed pro
visional only, and in all resjiects subject to the paramount authority of the
United States at any time to abolish, modify, control, or supersede the same ;
and in all elections to any office under such provisional governments all per
sons shall be entitled to vote, and none others, who are entitled to vote,
under the provisions of the fifth section of this act ; and no person shall be
elegible to any office under any such provisional governments who would be
disqualified from holding office under the provisions of the third article of
said constitutional amendment."
At the same time, the financial question, embracing the cur
rency, the public debt and the national revenue were of the
highest importance and demanded immediate consideration.
Hugh McCulloch, the Secretary of the Treasury, had been dur
ing most of his life a banker in the State of -Indiana, of ac-
knoAvledged ability as such, but with little or no experience as a
financier dealing with public questions. He was the first
comptroller of the currency under the banking act, and ren
dered valuable service in organizing the system of national
banks, though he had not originally favored the system, but
was, at the time of its adoption, a strong supporter of sound
state banks. In his first report to Congress on the 4th of De
ceraber, 1865, he, as Secretary of the Treasury, took strong
ground against United States notes as a circulating raedium
and their being made a legal tender as money. He regarded the
legal tender acts as war measures, and, while he did not recom
mend their repeal, he expressed his opinion that they ought
not to remain in force one day longer than would be necessary

374 RECOLLECTIONS
to enable the people to prepare for a return to the consti
tutional currency. He denied the authority of Congress to
issue these notes except in the nature of a loan, and aflirmed
that the statute raaking thera a legal tender for all debts,
public and private, was not within the scope of the duties or
the constitutional power of Congress; that their issue as lawful
money was a measure necessary in a great emergency, but, as
this eraergency did not then exist, the government should, as
speedily as possible, withdraw thera, and he recoraraended that
the work of retiring the notes should be commenced Avithout
delay and carefully and jiersistently continued until all were
retired. He proposed to do this by the sale of bonds for United
States notes outstanding and their withdrawal and cancella
tion. He recommended as a substitute the notes of national
banks, but even these notes he thought redundant, and said:
" There is no fact more manifest than that the plethora of paper money is
not only undermining the morals of the people by encouraging waste and
extravagance, but is striking at tho root of our material prosperity by dimin
ishing labor .,. . . . and if not speedily checked, will, at no distant day,
culminate in widespread disaster. The remedy, and the only remedy within
the control of Congress, is, in the opinion of the secretary, to be found in the
reduction of the currency."
The chief part of his report was devoted to the danger of
inflation and the necessity of contraction. He said the longer
contraction was delayed the greater must the fall eventually
be, and the more serious its consequences.
In accordance with the recoramendations of Secretary Mc
Culloch, a bill was introduced in the House by Justin S. Mor
rill, which authorized the Secretary of the Treasury, at his
discretion, to sell any of the description of bonds authorized
by the act of March 3, 1865, the proceeds to be used only to
retire treasury notes or other obligations issued under any act
of Congress. This bill as reported would have placed in the
power of the secretary the retirement of all United States notes
at his discretion. An amendment was made in the House
which provided:
"That of United States notes not more than ten millions of dollars may
be retired and canceled within six months from the passage of this act, and
thereafter not more than four millions of dollars in any one month."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 375
The bill as it came to the Senate was as follows:
"An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to provide ways and means to
support the government,' approved March third, eighteen hundred and
sixty-five. "Re it enacted by the Senate a7id House qf Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled. That the act entitled ' An
act to provide ways and means to support the government,' approved March
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, shall be extended and construed to
authorize the Secretary of the Treasury, at his discretion, to receive any
treasury notes or other obligations issued under any act of Congress, whether
bearing interest or not, in exchange for any description of bonds authorized
by the act to which this is an amendment; and also to dispose of any description
of bonds authorized by said act, either in the United States or elsewhere, to
such an amount, in such manner, and at such rates, as he may think advis
able, for lawful money of the United States, or for any treasury notes, cer
tificates of indebtedness, or certificates of deposit, or other representatives of
value, which have been or which may be issued under any act of Congress, the
proceeds thereof to be used only for retiring treasury notes or other obligations
issued under any act of Congress ; but nothing herein contained shall be con
strued to authorize any increase of the public debt : Provided, That of United
States notes not more than ten millions of dollars may be retired and canceled
within six months from the passage of this act, and thereafter not more than
four millions of dollars in any one month : A7id pro7nded further, That the
act to which this is an amendment shall continue in full force in all its provi
sions, except as modified by this act.
" Sec. 2. A7id he itfu7-ther e7iacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury
shall report to Congress at the commencement of the next session the amount
of exchanges made or money borrowed under this act, and of whom and on
wh.at terms ; and also the amount and character of indebtedness retired under
this act, and the act to which this is an amendment, with a detailed statement
of the expense of making such loans and exchanges."
This bill, without change, became a law April 12, 1866. I
believed then, and now know, that the passage of this law was
a great misfortune. It enabled the Secretary of the Treasury
to retire at a rapid rate United States notes and to largely
increase the bonded indebtedness of the United States. It
would no doubt have brought us abruptly to the specie stand
ard and made us dependent for circulating notes upon the
issues of national banks.
At this time there was a wide difference of opinion between
Secretary McCulloch and myself as to the financial policy of

376 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOIIN SHERMAN.
the government in respect to the public debt and the currency.
He was in favor of a rapid contraction of the currency by fund
ing it into interest bearing bonds. I was in favor of maintain
ing in circulation the then existing volume of currency as an
aid to the funding of all forms of interest-bearing securities
into bonds redeemable within a brief period at the pleasure of
the United States, and bearing as low a rate of interest as pos
sible. Both of us were in favor of specie payments, he by con
traction and I by the gradual advancement of the credit and
value of our currency to the specie standard. With him specie
payments was the primary object, with me it was a secondary
object, to follow the advancing credit of the government.
Each of us was in favor of the payment of the interest of bonds
in coin, and the principal, Avhen due, in coin. A large propor
tion of national securities were payable in lawful money, or
United States notes. He, by contraction, would have made
this payment more difficult, while I, by retaining the notes in
existence, would induce the holders of currency certificates to
convert them into coin obligations bearing a lower rate of
interest.

CHAPTER XVn.
Indebtedness ob^ the United States in 1865.
Organization of the Crcoiibaok Party- Total Debt on October 31, amounts to
.|2,808,549,437..55 — Secreliiry McCuUoch'sDe.'iire to Convert AH United States
Notes Into Interest Bearing Bonds— My Discussion with Senator Fessenden
Over the Finance CommittRe's Bill — Too Great Powers Conferred on
the Secretary of the Treasury— His Desire to Retire 110,000,000 of
United States Notes Each Month — Growth of tlie Greenback
Party — The Secretary's Powers to Reduce the Currency by
Retiring or Canceling United States Notes Is Suspended —
Bill to Reduce Taxes and Provide Internal Reve
nue—My Trip to Laramie and Other AVestern
Forts with General Sherman — Beginning
of tho Department of Agi-ioulture.
DURING this period a party sprang up composed of
men of all parties called the Greenback party, who
favored an increase of United States notes, and the
payment of all United States bonds and securities in
such notes. This difference of opinion continued until the
resumption of specie payments, in January, 1879.
I propose to state here the measures adopted in respect to
the national currency and debt during the rest of the adminis
tration of President Johnson.
The total debt of the United States on the 31st of October,
1865, was $2,808,549,437.55 in twenty-five different forms of in
debtedness of which, $1,200,000,000 was payable at the option
of the Secretary of the Treasury, or within a brief period.
The amount of United States notes outstanding was then
$428,160,569, and of fractional currency $26,057,469, in all
$454,218,038. All of this money was in active circulation, in
great favor among the people, worth in use as much as na
tional bank notes, and rapidly rising in value compared with
coin. It was the least burdensome form of indebtedness then
existing. The treasury notes and compound interest notes
were in express terms payable in this lawful money, and,
S.-27 (377;

378 RECOLLECTIONS
therefore, bore a higher rate of interest than the bonds, which,
by their express terms or necessary implication, were payable
in coin only.
tt was insisted that the amount of United States notes was
in excess of what was needed for currency in time of peace
and might safely be gradually reduced. This effort to con
tract the currency was firmly resisted by several Senators,
myself among them. The Supreme Court decided that Con
gress had full power to raake these notes a legal tender.
They were far better than any forra of currency previously
existing in the United States. During the war, when the
expenditures of the government reached nearly $1,000,000,-
000 a year they were indispensable. Those most opposed
to irredeemable paper money acknowledged this necessity.
The only objection to thera was that they were not equiv
alent to coin in purchasing power. After the war was
over, the general desire of all was to advance these notes
nearer to par with coin, but not to withdraw thera. The ris
ing credit and financial strength of the United States would, it
was believed, bring thera to par without injustice to the debtor,
but the rapid withdrawal of the notes would add to the burden
of debts and cripple all forms of industry. It would convert
the compound interest notes and treasury notes bearing seven
and three tenths per cent, interest, amounting to over $1,000,-
000,000 expressly payable in United States notes, into coin lia
bilities. The bill prepared at the treasury department con
templated the conversion of all United States notes into bonds.
In that form the bill was defeated in the House of Representa
tives, but it was reconsidered and an araendment was then made
limiting the retirement of notes to $4,000,000 a raonth. This
gained for the bill enough votes to secure its passage. Even
the withdrawal of $48,000,000 a year was soon found to be op
pressive and was subsequently repealed.
When this bill came before the committee on finance, I
found myself alone in opposition to it. I could not impress my
colleagues of the committee with the grave importance of the
measure, and its wide-reaching infiuence upon our currency,
debt and credit. They regarded it simply as a bill to change

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 379
the form of our securities. I felt confident that without the
use of United States notes we could not make this exchange.
When the bill Avas brought before the Senate by Mr. Fessen
den, chairman of the committee, he made no statement of its
terms, but only said :
" I have merely to s.ay that this bill is rojiorted by the committee on
finance without amendment as it cam o from the House of Representatives.
The committee on finance, on careful examination of it, came to the conclu
sion that the bill was well enough as it stood, and did not deem it advisable
to make any amendment. It has been before the Senate a considerable
time, and I presume every Senator understands it. I ask, therefore, for the
question." I replied :
" I regret very much that I differ from the committee on finance in re
gard to this bill. This is the only bill on the subject of the public debt on
which I have not been able to concur with that committee.
"If Senators ^^ill read this bill they will find that it confers on the Sec
retary of the Treasury greater powers than have ever been conferred, since
the foundation of this government, upon any Secretiiry of the Treasury. Our
loan laws, heretofore, have generally been confined to the negotiation of a
single loan, limited in amount. As the war progressed, the difficulties of the
country became greater, and we were more in tho habit of removing the
limitations on the power of tho Secretary of the Treasury ; but generally the
power conferred was confined to a particular loan then in the market. This
bill, however, is more general in its terms. This bill authorizes the Secre
tary of the Treasury to sell any character of bonds without limit, except as
to the rate of interest. The authority conferred does not limit him to any
form of security. It may run for any period of time within forty years. He
may sell the securities at loss than par, without limitation as to rate. He
may sell them in any form he chooses. He may put them in the form of
treasury notes or bonds, the interest payable in gold or in paper money. He
may undertake, under the provisions of this bill, to fund the whole debt of
the United States. Tho onh' limit as to amount is the public debt, now
12,700,000,000. The power conferred on the Secretary of the Treasury is
absolute. It is not only for this year, or during the current fiscal year, or
¦for the next year, but it is for all time, until the act shall be repealed. It
gives him absolute power to negotiate bonds of the United States to the
amount of |2,700,000,000, without limiting the rate at which they shall be
sold, and only limiting the rate of interest inferentially. The description of
the bonds in the act of March 3, 1865, referred to here, would probably limit
the rate of interest to six per cent, in coin, and seven and three-tenths per
cent, in currency; but with this exception there is no limitation.

380 RECOLLECTIONS
" It seems to me that in the present condition of our finances there is no
necessity for conferring these large powers on the Secretary of the Treasury.
The people are not generally aware of the favorable condition of our finances.
The statement of the public debt laid on our tables the other day does not
show fully the condition of the finances. It is accurate in amounts, but does
not give dates of the maturity of our debts. But a small portion of the debt
of the United States will be due prior to August, 1807, that will give the
secretary any trouble. But little of the debt which he will be required to
fund under the provisions of this bill matures before August, 1807. The
temporary or call loan, now over one hundred millions, may readily be kept
at this sum even at a reduced rate of interest. The certificates of indebted
ness, amounting to sixty-two millions, may easily be jiaid from accruing
receipts, or, if necessary, may be renewed or funded at thu pleasure of tho
secretary. None of the compound interest notes or the seven-thirty notes
mature until August, 1807.
" There is, therefore, no immediate necessity for these vast powers. The
question then naturally occurs, why grant thein ? I have carefully consid
ered this question, and I do not think there is now any immediate necessity
for granting these powers. No debt is maturing that is likely to give the
government any trouble ; and yet wo are now about to confer, upon the Sec
retary of the Treasury, powers that we cannot, in tho nature of things, recall.
It is true we may repeal this law next year, but we know very well that
when these large powers are granted they are very seldom recalled; they
are made the precedents of further grants of power and aro very rarely
recalled. It seems to me that the whole object of the passage of this bill
is to place it within the power of the Secretary of the Treasury to contract
the currency of the country, and thus, as I think, to produce an unnecessary
strain upon the people. This power I do not think ought to be given to
him. The House of Representatives did not intend to give him this power.
They debated the bill a long time, and it was defeated on the ground that
they would not confer on the secretary this power to reduce the currency,
and finally it was only passed with a proviso contained in the bill which I
will now read :
" ' Provided, That of United States notes not more than |10,000,000 may
be retired and canceled within six months from the passage of this act, and
thereafter not more than $4,000,000 in any one montli.'
"The purpose of the House of Representatives was, while giving the
secretary power to fund the debt as it matured or even before maturity,
giving him the most ample power over the debt of the United States, to
limit his power over the currency, lest he might carry to an extreme the
view presented by him in his annual report. If this proviso would accom
plish the purpose designed by tho House of RepresentaLives, I would cease
all opposition to this bill ; but I know it will not, and for this very obvious
reason, that there is no restraint upon the power of tho Secretary of the
Treasury to accumulate legal tender notes in the treasury. He may retire

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 381
1200,000,000 of legal tender notes by retaining them in his possession
without cancellation, and thus accomplish tho v(^ry purpose the House of
Representatives did not intcMid to allow him to accomplish. He may sell
the bonds of tho United States, at any rate ho chooses, for legal tenders, and
he may hold Ihoso legal tendiTs in his vaults, thus retiring them from the
business of the country, and thus produco tho very contraction which the
House of Rpj)resentativps meant to deny him jiower to do. Therefore, this
yu'oviso, which only limits tho power of canceling securities or notes, does
not limit his power over the currency, and ho may, without violating this
bill, in pursuance of the very terms of the bill, contract the currency
according to his own good will and pleasure.
" My own imjiression is, that the Secretary of tho Treasury, in carrying
out his own policy, will do so. He s.ays he will not contract it unroasonablv
or too rapidly, but I believe he will contract the currency in this way. Ho
has now in the vaults of the treasury $00,000,000 in currency and $02,000,-
000 in gold — a larger balance, I believe, than was ever before kej>t in tho
treasury until within the last two or three months ; a larger balance than
was ever found iu the treasury during the war. What is the object of accu
mulating these vast balances in the treasury ? Simply to carry out his policy
of contraction. With this power of retaining in the treasury tho money
that comes in, what does he care for the limitation put upon this bill by the
House of Representatives ? That says that he shall not retire and cancel
more than .$10,000,000 of United States notes within six months, and not
more than .$ (,000,000 in any one month thereafter ; but why need ho retire
and cancel them when he can retain thein in the vaults of tho treasury, and
thus contract the currency V . . .
" I do not doubt in the least either the integrity or the cajjacity of the
present incumbent of the treasury department. I have as much confidence
in hira as anyone ; but this (picstion of the currency is one that affects so
intimately all the business relations of life, tho property of every man in
this country, his aliility to pay taxes, his ability to earn food and acquire a
living, that no man ought to lia\ e the ])ower to vary the volume of currency.
It ought to be regulated })y law, and the law ought to be so fixed and so defined
that every business man may transact his business with full knowledge of
the amount of the currency, with all its limits and qualifications. I ask you,
sir, how any jtrudont or judicious man can now engage in any important
business, in which he is coinyielled to go in debt, with this large power hang
ing over hira. It would be unsafe for him to do so. The amount of the
currency ought to be fixed by law, whether much or little. There ought to
be a limit, and no man ought to have the power at pleasure to enlarge or
contract that limit.
"Then there is the further jiower to reduce the currency, a power that
has not heretofore been granted to any Secretary of the Treasury. The
amount heretofore h.as been fixed and limited by law. By the first clause of
this bill the secretary is authorized to receive treasury notes, or United States

382 RECOl.MDCTIONS
notes of any form or descrqition, and there is no limitation to this power,
except the clause which I have read to you. That limits his power to retire
and cancel the United States notes, but not to accumulate the enormous bal
ances on hand. INIy own im])ressit>n has boon, and when this bill was before
the committee on financo I believed, it would be better for that committee to
report to the Senate a financial project to fund the debt of the United States.
1 believe that now is the favorable time to do it. If a five [ler cent, bond, a
long bond of proper description and proper guarantee, was now placed upon
the market, with such ample powers to negotiate it as ought to be given to
the Secretary of the Treasury, suc)i a loan as was authorized two years ago,
at a reduced rate of interest, to be exempt from taxation, I have no doubt
whatever, the Secretary of the Treasury could fund every portion of the debt
of the United States as it matured.
" I do not like to embarrass a bill of this kind with amendments, because
I know it is difficult to consider amendments of this sort, requiring an exara
ination of figures and tables. I have prepared a bill very carefully, with a
view to meet my idea, but I will not present it now in antagonism to this
bill passed by the House of Representatives and the view taken by the finance
committee, because I know, in the present condition of the Senate, it would
not probably be fully considered. My only purpose now is to point out the
fact that is perfectly clear to the mind of every sensible man who has exam
ined this bill, that the bill as it stands does not carry out the manifest inten
tion of the House of Representatives when they passed it, and that the
proviso, limiting the jiower of tho secretary over the legal tender currency,
does not accomplish the purjiose which they designed, and without which I
know the bill never could have jiassed the House of Representatives."
Mr. Fessenden : ¦• If the House of Representatives did not understand
what they were doing when they passed this bill, it arises from the fact that
they did not give the rein to their imagination, as the honorable Senator from
Ohio seems to have done to his, and take it for granted that the Secretary of
the Treasury had a purpose to accomplish, and that he would not hesitate to
take any means in his power to accomplish it, improjierly against the mani
fest will of Congress, against the interests of the country, and against his
own interests as Secretary of the Treasury."
I replied :
" I appeal to the Senator whether that is a fair statement of my
argument ? "
Mr. Fessenden: "That is the way precisely that I understand it."
I said :
" That is precisely as no gentleman could have understood me. 1
never said that the secretary imy)roperly would do so and so by any means.
It is one of the honorable Senator's modes of stating propositions."
Mu. Fessenden : "1 certainly did not nu'au to say that the honorable
Senator supposed he designed to do so, but such seems to bo the result of

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 383
his argument  that the Secretary of the I'reasury having the power, as he
says, there is danger that he might abuse it in that precise way } else his
argument amounts to nothing at all as against the bill. I certainly acquit
my friend of any sort of desire or intention to throw any imputation on the
Secretary of the Treasury. That he did not mean to do." . . .
I said:
"I do not think it wise to confer on the Secretary of the Treasury the
power to meet the indebtedness not accruing for a year, or two, or three
years. I do not think it is necessary, in our present financial condition, to
authorize him to go into market now and sell bonds at current market rates
with a view to pay debts that do not mature for a year or two. I have no
doubt before the five-twenty loans are due we shall retire every dolhar of
them at four or five per cent, interest. No one who heeds the rapid develop
ments of new sources of wealth in this country, the enormous yield of gold
now, the renewal of industry in the south, the enormous yield of cotton, the
growing wealth of this country, and all the favorable prospects that are be
fore us, doubts the ability of this government before this debt matures to
reduce it to four or five per cent, interest.
" The Secretary of the Treasury may sell bonds at any rate to meet debts
as they accrue, but that is not the purpose of this bill."
Mr. Fessenden : " That is all the purpose there is in it."
I said :
" Then there is no necessity for it."
Mr. Fessenden: " Yes, there is. I differ from you."
I continued :
" We have here the tables before us. The honorable Senator and I
know when this debt matures.
" That is the power now given, and he will use the power. He may
think it to his interest to retire the whole of the seven-thirties or the ten-
forties ; but is it wise for us to give him that power now, at the heel of the
war and before things have settled down? I do not think it is.
" I repeat, I do not wish to call in question the integrity of the Secre
tary of the Treasury. The Senator interjects by saying we must look
ahead. I have done so. The difference between us is that I anticipate that
the future of this country will be hopeful, buoyant, joyous. We shall not
have to beg money of foreign nations, or even of our own people, within two
or three years. Our national debt will be eagerly sought for, I have no
doubt. I take a hopeful view of the future. I do not wish now to cripple
the industry of the country by adopting the policy of the Secretary of the
Treasury, as he calls it, by reducing the currency, by crippling the opera
tions of the government, when I think that under any probability of affairs
in the future, all this debt will take care of itself. I believe that if the Sec
retary of the Treasury would do nothing in the world except simply sit in

384 RECOLLECTIONS
his chair, meet the accruing indebtedness, and issue his treasury warrants,
this debt will take care of itself, aud will fund itself at four or five per cent.
before very long. All that I object to in this bill is the power it gives the
Secretary of the Treasury over the currency, to affect the currency of the
country now and to anticipate debts that are not yet due.
" That is what I am afraid of, his interference to contract the currency.
The honorable Senator from Maine, however, would seem to think that I im
pute to him a wrong motive, and therefore 1 corrected him when he made the
remark that I seemed to suppose the secretary was doing this improperly.
I think not. The Secretary of the Treasury informed us that he desired to
reduce the currency, and he has been doing it as far as he could. He has
been accumulating large balances. He was opposed to the proviso which
has been inserted in this bill, and yielded to it only with reluctance. That
is admitted on all hands, and he is not precluded either in honor or propriety
from carrying out his policy if you gave him the power to do it."
This bill became a law on the 12th of April, 1866. Presi
dent Johnson relied entirely upon McCulloch, and had no
opinions upon financial topics.
Now, nearly thirty years after the passage of this act, it is
manifest that it was by far the most injurious and expensive
financial measure ever enacted by Congress. It not only com
pelled the United States to pay the large war rates of interest
for many years, but postponed specie payments until 1879.
It added fully $300,000,000 of interest that might have been
saved by the earlier refunding of outstanding bonds into bonds
bearing four to five per cent, interest. Mr. Fessenden, then
chairman of the comraittee on finance, committed a grave
error in hastily supporting the bill, an error which I believe
he deeply regretted and which, in connection with his failing
health, no doubt led him to resign his position as chairman of
that comraittee. Although our debate was rather sharp, it
did not disturb our friendly relations. With McCulloch in the
treasury departraent, nothing could be done.
If the funding clauses of this act had been limited to the
conversion of compound interest notes, treasury notes bearing
interest, certificates of indebtedness, and temporary loans into
bonds redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after a
brief time, bearing not exceeding five per cent, interest, retain
ing in circulation during this process of refunding all the then
outstanding United States notes, the result would have been

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 385
greatly beneficial to the United States, but this was not the
chief object of the Secretary of the Treasury. His primary
object was to convert United States notes into interest-bearing
bonds, and thus force the immediate resumption of specie pay
ments or the substitution of national bank notes for United
States notes. The result of his refunding was largely to in
crease the amount of six per cent, bonds, the most burdensome
form of security then outstanding. In October, 1865, the
amount of six per cent, bonds was $920,000,000 ; on the 1st of
July, 1868, the six percent, bonds outstanding were $1,657,844,-
600. The increase of these bonds under the operation of this
law was thus over $637,000,000.
The result of this jiolicy of contraction was not only to in
crease the burden of the public debt, but it created serious
derangement of the business of the country. It excited a
strong popular opposition to the measures adopted.
The Greenback party, as it was called, grew out of this
policy of contraction, and for a time threatened to carry the
election of a majority of the Members of Congress. It con
tended practically for an unlimited issue of legal tender United
States notes, aud the payment of all bonds and securities in
United States notes. This, however, did not disturb Secretary
McCulloch. In his annual report of December 3, 1866, he
again urged the policy of a further reduction of United States
notes. He was not satisfied with the reduction already pro
vided for, and recommended that the reduction should be
increased from $4,000,000 a month, as contemplated by the act
of April 12, 1866, to $6,000,000 a month for the fiscal year, and
to $10,000,000 per month thereafter. He said:
" The policy of contracting the circulation of the government notes
should be definitely and unchangeably established, and the jjrocess should
go on just as rapidly as possible without producing a financial crisis or seri
ously embarrassing those branches of industry and trade upon which our
revenues are dependent. That the ])olicy indicated is the true and safe one,
the secretary is thoroughly convinced. If it shall not be speedily adopted and
rio-ldly, but judiciously, enforced, severe financial troubles are in store for u6."
He insisted that the circulation of the country should be
further reduced, not by compelling the national banks to retire

386 RECOLLECTIONS
their notes, but by the withdrawal of United States notes.
When reminded of the great saving of interest in the issue of
$400,000,000 United States notes, he answered:
" Considerations of this nature are more than counterbalanced by the
discredit which attaches to the government by failing to pay its notes accord
ing to their tenor, by the bad influence of this involuntary discredit upon the
public morals, and the wide dejiarture, which a continued issue of legal ten
der notes involves, from past usages, if not from the teachings of the con
stitution itself."
He said :
" The government cannot exercise powers not conferred by its organic
law or necessary for its own preservation, nor dishonor its own engagements
when able to meet thein, without either shocking or demoralizing the senti
ment of the people ; and the fact that tho indefinite continuance of the cir
culation of an inconvertible but still legal tender currency is so generally
advocated indicates how far we have wandered from old landmarks both in
finance and ethics."
The growing ofiposition of the people at large to the con
traction of the currency seemed to have no effect upon his
mind. He again recurs to the same subject in his annual report to
Congress, in December, 1867. After stating that the United
States notes, including fractional currency, had been reduced
from $459,000,000 to $387,000,000, and the funded debt had
been increased $684,548,800, he urged as a measure regarded by
him as iraportant, if not indispensable for national prosperity,
the funding or payraent of the balance of interest-bearing
notes, and a continued contraction of the paper currency. He
urged that the acts authorizing legal tender notes be repealed,
and that the work of retiring the notes which had been issued
under them should be commenced without delay, and carefully
and persistently continued until all were retired.
This policy of contraction, honestly entertained and per
sistently urged by Secretary McCulloch in spite of growing
stringency, led Congress, by the act of February 4, 1868, to sus
pend indefinitely the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury
to make any reduction of the cutrency by retiring or canceling
United States notes.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 387
Who can doubt that if he had availed himself of the power
given bim to refund the interosi-benriug notes aud certificates
of the United States into bonds bearing a low ritte of interest,
leaving the United States notes bearing no interest to circulate
as money, he \vould have saved the government hundreds of
millions of dollars ? If irredeemable notes were a national dis
honor, Avhy did he not urge their redemption in coin at some
fixed period and then reissue them, and maintain their redemp
tion by a reserve in coin ?
The act of February 25, 1862, under which the original
United States notes were issued, provided that :
"Such United States notes shall be received the same as coin, at their
jiar value, in payment for any loans that may be hereafter sold or negotiated
by the Secretary of the Treasury, and may be reissued from time to time as
the exigencies of the j)ublic interest shall require."
This provision would have maintained the parity of United
States notes at par Avith bonds, but under the pressure of war
it was deemed best by Congress, upon the recommendation of
Secretary Chase, to take from the holder of United States
notes the right to present them in payment for bonds after the
first day of July, 1863. If this privilege, conferred originally
upon United States notes, had been renewed in 1866, with the
right of reissue, bonds and notes Avould together have advanced
to par in coin. But this is Avhat the contractionists especially
opposed. They demanded the cancellation of the notes when
presented, a contraction of the currency when offering our
bonds. It is ensy now to perceive that a conservative use of
United States notes, convertible into four per cent, bonds,
would have steadily advanced both notes and bonds to par in
coin. But the equally erroneous opposing opinions of contrac
tionists and expansionists delayed for many years the coming
of coin resumption upon a fixed quantity of United States
notes. Among the acts of this Congress of chief importance is the
act approved July 13, 1866, to reduce taxes and provide inter
nal revenue. The passage of such an act required much labor
in both Houses, but especially so iu the House of Representa
tives, Avhere tax bills must originate. It was a compromise

388 RECOLLECTIONS
measure, and, unlike previous acts, did not reach out for new
objects of taxation, but selected such articles as could bear it
best, and on some of these the tax was increased. A great
nuraber of articles that enter into the coraraon consuraption of
the people and are classed as necessaries of life were relieved
from taxation. The general purpose of the bill was in time to
concentrate internal taxes on such articles as spirits, tobacco
and beer. The tax on incomes was continued but limited to
the 30tli of June, 1870. 1 have already stated the marked de
velopment of internal taxation, and tliis measure was one of
the most important in the series to produce great revenue at
the least cost, and of the lightest burden to the taxpayer.
Soon after the passage of the act, apjiroved April 12, 1866,
to contract the currency, I introduced a bill, "To reduce the
rate of interest on the national debt and for funding the same."
In view of the passage of that act I did not expect that a fund
ing bill would meet with success, but considered it ray duty
to present one, and on the 22iid of May, 1866, made a speech
in support of it. The bill provided for the A^oluntary ex
change of any of the outstanding obligations of the United
States for a bond running thirty years, but redeemable at the
pleasure of the United States after ten years from date, bear
ing interest at the rate of five per cent., payable annually. On
reading that speech uoav 1 find that, though I was much more
confident than others of converting our maturing securities
into five per cent, bonds, the general opinion then prevailing,
and acted upon by the Secretary of the Treasury, was to issue
six per cent, bonds as already stated. 1 soon found that it was
idle to press the funding bill upon Congress, when it was so
much occupied with reconstruction and with Andrew Johnson.
The refunding and many other measures had to be postponed
until a new administration carae into power. Congress had
unfortunately authorized the issue of six per cent, bonds for
accruing liabilities, and thus postponed refunding at a lower
rate of interest.
The long and exciting session of Congress that ended on the
28th day of July, 1866, left me- in feeble strength and much
discouraged with the state of affairs. I had arranged with

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 389
General Sherman to accompany him in an official inspection of
army posts on tiie western plains, but did not feel at liberty
to leave Washington until Congress adjourned. The letter I
wrote him on the 8tli of ,1uly expresses my feelings as to the
political situation at that time :
Uniihd S'lATBR Senate Chamber, )
Washington, July 8, 1800. \
Dear Brother : — It is now wise for you to avoid all expressions of
political opinion. Congress and the President are now drifting from each
other into open warfare. Congress is not weak in what it has done, but in
7rhat it has failed to do. It has adopted no unwise or extreme measures.
The civil rights bill and constitutional amendments can be defended as
reasonable, moderate, and in harmony with Johnson's old position and yours.
As Congress has thus far failed to provide measures to allow legal Senators
and Representatives to take their seats, it has failed in a plain duty. This
is its weakness, but even in this it will have the sympathy of the most of the
soldiers, and the people who are not too eager to secure rebel political
])ower. As to the President, he is becoming Tylerized. He was elected by
the Union party for his openly expressed radical sentiments, and now he
seeks to rend to pieces this party. There is a sentiment among the people
that this is dishonor. It looks so to me. What Johnson is, is from and by
tho Union [)arty. He now deserts it and betrays it. He may varnish it up,
but, after all, he must admit that ho disa]>points the reasonable expectations
of those who intrusted him with [)owcr. Ho may, by a coalition with co|)-
perheads and rebels, succeed, but the simple fact that nine-tenths of them
who voted for him do not agree with him, and that he only controls the
other tenth by power intrusted to him by the Union party, will damn him
forever. Besides, he is insincere ; he has deceived and misled his best
friends. I know ho led many to believe he would agree to the civil rights
bill, and nearly all who conversed with him until within a few days be
lieved he would acquiesce in the amendments, and even aid in securing
their adoption. I almost fear he contemplates civil war. Under these
circumstances you, Grant, and Thomas ought to be clear of political com
plications. As for myself, I intend to stick to finance, but wherever I can
I will moderate the actions of the Union party, and favor conciliation and
restoration. Affectionately yours,
John Sherman.
After the adjournment I proceeded to St. Louis, and with Gen
eral Sherman and Iavo staff officers, went by rail to Omaha.
This handsome city had made ^reat progress since my former
visit. We then went by the Central Pacific railroad to Fort
Kearney, as far as the rails were then laid. There our little

390 ItECOI.LIiCTIONK
party started through the Indian Territory, riding in light
wagons with canvas covers, each drawn by two good army
mules, escorted by a squad of mounted soldiers. We traveled
about thirty miles a day, camping at night, sleeping in our
wagons, turned into ambulances, the soldiers under shelter
tents on blankets and the horses parked near by. The camp
was guarded by sentinels at night, and the troopers lay with
their guns close at hand. Almost every day we met Indians,
but none that appeared to be hostile. In this way we traveled
to Fort Laramie. The country traversed was an unbroken
wilderness, in a state of nature, but singularly beautiful as a
landscape. It was an open prairie, traversed by what was
called the North Platte River, with scarcely water enough in it
to be called a creek, with rolling hills on either side, and above,
a clear sky, and air pure and bracing, ft was the first time I
had been so far out on the plains, and I enjoyed it beyond ex
pression. I was soon able to eat my full share of the plain
fare of bread and meat, and wanted more.
After many days we reached Fort Laramie, then an impor
tant post far out beyond the frontier. We remained but a few
days, and then, following south along the foot hills, we crossed
into the Laramie plains to Fort Sanders. This was the last
post to the west in General Sherman's command. From
thence we followed the course of the Cache la Poudre. On the
way we camped near a station of the Overland Stage Company,
for change of horses and for meals, in a charming and pictur
esque region. The keeper of the station soon called and in
quired for me, and I found that he was a former resident of
Mansfield, who married the daughter of an old friend. He in
vited our party to his house, and there I met his Avife, who, in
this region without any neighbors or habitations near, seemed
to be perfectly happy and fearless, though often disturbed by
threatened Indian outbreaks. We were handsomely enter
tained. It was a great relief to sleep one night in a comfortable
bed, after sleeping for many nights with t^vo in a narrow wagon.
We then proceeded to Greeley, Avhere we found a small settle
ment of farmers. From thence to Denver, we found a few cab
ins scattered over a vast open plain stretching as far as the eye

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 39I
could reach to the east, with the mountains on the Avest rising
in grandeur and apparently jirosouting an insurmountable bar
rier. I have Sfien many landscapes since that were more bold
and striking, but this combination of great mountains and
vast plains, side by side, made an impression on my mind as
lasting as any natural landscape I have seen.
At Denver, General Sherman and I were handsomely enter
tained by the citizens, many of whom General Sherman knew
as soldiers under his command during the war, and some of
whom I knoAV as former residents of Ohio. They were enthu
siastic in tlieir praise of Colorado. It seemed to me the air was
charged Avitli a superabundance of ozone, for everyone was so
hopeful of the future of Denver, that even the want of rain did
not discourage them and some of them tried to convince ine
that irrigation from the mountains was better than showers
from the sky. Denver was then a town of less than 5,000 in
habitants and now contains more than 110,000. Colorado had
less than .50,000 inhabitants in 1870, and in 1890 it had 412,198,
an increase of nearly ten fold in twenty years. But this marvel
ous growth does not spring from the invigorating air and flow
ing springs of (Colorado, but from the precious metals stored in
untold quantities in her mountains. From Denver General Sher
man had to continue his inspection to the southern posts, and 1
was called home to take part in the pending canvass. I started
in a coach peculiar to the country, with three or four passen
gers, over a distance of about four hundred miles to Fort Riley,
in Kansas. We had heard of many Indian forays on the line
we were to travel over and there Avas some danger, but it was
the only way to get home. Each of the passengers, I among the
number, had a good Winchester rifle, with plenty of araraunition.
The coach Avas a crude rattle-trap, noisy and rough, but strong
and well adapted to the journey. It was drawn by four horses
of the country, small but wiry. We had long reaches between
changes. The stations for meals had means of defense, and
the food set before us was substantial, mainly buffalo beef,
chickens and bread. A good appetite (ahvays a sure thing on
the plains) was the best sauce for a substantial meal, and all
the meals were dinners with no change of courses. We saw

392 RECOLLECTIONS
on the way many evidences of Indian depredations, one of
which was quite recent, and two or three settlers had been
killed. We met no Indians on the way, but we did meet
myriads of buffaloes, scattered in vast herds to the north and
south of us as far as the eye could reach. It is sad to reflect
that all these animals have been exterminated, mainly in
wanton sport by hunters who did not need their flesh for
food or their hides for leather or robes. This destruction of
buffaloes opened the way for herds of domestic cattle, which
perhaps in equal numbers now feed upon the native grass of
the prairies.
In a recent visit to western Nebraska and South Dakota, 1
saw these cattle in great numbers in good condition, cheaply
cared for and sold for four cents a pound on the hoof. The
owners of these cattle purchased land from settlers who had
acquired title under the homestead or pre-emption laws, as
suitable sites for ranches, including a permanent lake or
pond for each, an indispensable requisite for a ranch. This
being secured, they built houses to live in and sheds for the
protection of their cattle in winter, and thus obtained practi
cal po.ssession, without cost or taxes, of all the government
land needed for their ranges. Sad experience has convinced
settlers in all the vast rainless region of the west, that they
cannot produce grain with any certainty of harvesting a crop,
and thousands who have made the experiment iu western
Kansas and Nebraska and iu eastern Colorado and Wyoming
have recently abandoned their improvements and their claims.
It seems now that this part of our country must be given up
to the herders of cattle. The Indians and buffaloes have dis
appeared and the "cowboys" and domestic cattle and horses
have taken their place, to give way, no doubt, in time, to the
farmer, when the water will be drawn frora the earth by arte
sian wells, and life and vitality will thus be given to a soil as
rich as the Kansas valley.
We reached the end of our stage ride at Fort Riley, and
were glad to enter into the ca,rs of the Kansas Pacili(; railroad,
though they were as dirty and filthy as cars could well be. All
this has been changed. Now the ride over the plains from

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 393
Kansas City to Denver can be made, in a comparatively few
hours, in comfort a,nd safety.
1 returned to Ohio to take my usual part in the canvass in
the fall of 1866, and returned to Washington in time for the
meeting of Congress on the first Monday in December.
Prior to 1862 but little attention was given by Congress to
the greatest and most important industry of mankind, that of
agriculture. This is especially true of the United States,
where the majority of its inhabitants are engaged in farming.
Agriculture has furnished the great body of our exports, yet
this employment had no representative in any of the depart
ments except a clerk in the Patent Office. The privileges
granted by that bureau to inventors had no relation to work on
the farm, though farming was greatly aided by invention of
farm implements during the period of the war, when a million
of men were drawn from their occupations into the army.
This anomaly led to the passage, ou the 15th of May, 1862,
of the act to establish the department of agriculture. Though
called a department its chief officer was a commissioner of
agriculture, who was not for many years a member of the
<;abinet. The first commissioner, Isaac Newton, appointed by
Lincoln, was a peculiar character, a Quaker of Philadelphia,
a gardener rather than a farmer, but he was an earnest and
active officer. The appropriations for his department were
very small, but enabled him to distribute valuable seeds and
cuttings, which were in great demand and of real service
to farmers. I early took an active part in promoting his
efforts and especially in procuring him appropriations and
land where he could test his experiments. He applied for au
thority to use that portion of Reservation No. 2 between 12th
and 14th streets of the mall in Washington, then an unsightly
waste without tree or shrub, but he was notified that the use
of it was essentially necessary to the war department as a cat
tle yard. When the war was OA^er Congress appropriated it for
the use of his department. He took possession of it about the
middle of April, 1865, and, tiiough the ground was an unbroken
soil of tenacious clay, he fertilized aud pulverized a part of
it and planted a great variety of seeds for propagation, and
S.— 28

394 RECOLLECTIONS OP JOHN SHERMAN.
covered the remaining portions of it with grass and cereals. His
reports increased in interest and were in great demand. His
office work was done in inconvenient parts of the Patent Office,
and the necessity of better accommodations was constantly
pressed upon Members of Congress. I took an active interest
in the subject, and offered an amendraent to the civil appropri
ation bill to appropriate $100,000 for a suitable building for the
departraent of agriculture on the reservation raentioned. There
was a disposition in the Senate to ridicule Newton and his seeds,
and Mr. Fessenden opposed the appropriation as one for an ob
ject not within the constitutional power of Congress. The
araendment, however, was adopted on the 28th day of February,
1867. Newton died on the 19tli of June of that year, but on
the 22nd of August, John W. Stokes, as acting commissioner,
entered into a contract for the erection of the building, and
Horace Capron, as commissioner, completed the work within
the limits of the appropriation, a rare result in the construction
of a public building. The building is admirably adapted for the
purposes designed. The unsightly reservation has been con
verted by Mr. Capron and his successors in office into one of the
raost beautiful parks in Washington. The departraent of agri
culture is now represented in the cabinet, and in practical use
fulness to the country is equal to any of the departments.

CHAPTER XVIII.
Three Months in Europe.
Short Session of Coiisress Coiiveiiid March 4, IBGT — I Become Chairman of tho
Coiniiiittee on Finance, Siicceediiijj,- Senator FesHenden- Departure for Euro))e —
Winning a AVager tioiii !i Sea Captain — Congressman Kasson's Pistol —
Under Surveillance h.v English 0tric(TB — Iinpreasions ot John Bright, Dis
raeli and other I'roniinent English men— Visit to France, Belgium,
Holland and Germany — An Audience with Bismarck — His Sympor
thy with the Ihiion rauso- Wonders ofthe Paris Exposition —
Life in Paris — Presented to the Emperor Napoleon III and
the Einpiess Eugenie — A Dinner at the Tnihjries —
My Return Home — International Money Commis
sion in Session at Paris — Correspondence with
CominiRsioner Ruggles — His Report — Fail-
ur(! to Unify the Coinage of Nntions —
Kelative Value of Gold and Silver.
DURING the last session of the 39th Congress the
relations between President Johnson and Congress
became such that it was deemed advisable to pro
vide by laAV for a session of the new Congress on the
4tli of March, 1S67, that being the comraenceraent of the terra
for Avliich the Members were elected.
The laAV, in my opinion, ought to be a permanent one, so
that the will of the people, as evidenced by the elections, may
be promptly responded to. But such was not the purpose of
this act. The reason was that, under the claim of authority
made by the President, there was a fear that he might recog
nize the states in insurrection before they had complied with
the conditions prescribed by law for reconstruction.
In pursuance of this law the 40th Congress met on the day
named. I took the oath as Senator, my colleague, Benjamin F.
Wade, president pro tem. of the Senate, administering it. I be
came chairman of the committee on finance by the voluntary
retirement of Mr. Fessenden. I knoAv this had been his purpose
during the session just closed. He complained of his health,
and that the confinement and labor of the position he held
(395)

396 RECOLLECTIONS
added to his infirmity. At the same time it was agreed that
the duties of the committee should be divided by referring all
appropriations to a coramittee on appropriations, and I was to
choose between the two committees. The House of Represent
atives had already divided the labors of the committee of ways
and means, a corresponding committee to that on finance,
among several committees, and the experiment had proved a
success. I preferred the committee on finance, and remained
its chairman until I became Secretary of the Treasury. Mr.
Fessenden took the easy and pleasant position of chairman of
the committee on public buildings and grounds, and held that
position until he died in September, 1869. I have already ex
pressed my opinion of his remarkable ability as a debater and
as a statesman of broad and conservative views. His only
fault was a hasty temper too often displayed, but as often
regretted by hira.
Congress adjourned on tho 30th of March, to raeet again on
the 3rd of July. The Senate was called to a special session
by proclaraation of the President on the 1st day of April,
1867. It remained in session until the 20th of April and then
adjourned sine die.
I did not remain until the close of the session, but about
the 10th of April sailed from New York for Europe in the
stearaer " City of Antwerp." I went for needed rest, a change
of air and scene, and had in view, as one of the attractions of
the voyage, a visit to the exposition at Paris in that year. My
associates on the ocean were Colonel Morrow, United States
Army, and John A. Kasson, Member of Congress from Iowa,
and we remained together until I left London.
1 had no plan, route or business, except to go where I drifted
with such companions as 1 raet. The only limitation as to time
was the duty of returning to meet the adjourned session of the
Senate in July. I have no memoranda in respect to the voyage
and preserved no letters about it. Still, the principal scenes
and events are impressed on my mind and I will narrate them
as I now recall them.
The passage on the ocean was a favorable one. We had
sorae rain but no winds that disturbed ray digestion. But few

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 397
on the vessel were seasick, and these mainly so from iraagina-
tion. Tho cnptain, whose name I do not recall, was a jolly
ICnglishman, but a careful, prudent and intelligent oflicer. I
sat by his side at his table. After leaving port we soon took
our places at table for our first meal on board. He inquired of
me if I was a good sailor. I told him I would be as regular in
my attendance at meals as he. He laughed and said he would
like to wager some wine on that. I cheerfully accepted his
bet, and, true to my promise, I did not miss a meal during the
voyage, while he three or four times remained at his post on
deck when the air was filled with fog or the waves were high.
He paid the bet near the end of the voyage, and a number of
his passengers, including Morrow and Kasson, shared in the
treat. I can imagine no life more pleasing than a tranquil, but not
too tranquil, sea, with a good ship well manned, with com
panions you like, but not too many. The quiet and rest, the
view of the ocean, the sense of solitude, the possibility of dan
ger, all these broken a little by a quiet game of whist or an in
teresting book — this I call happiness. All these I reraeraber
to have enjoyed on this, my fifth trip on the ocean.
In due time we aiTived at Queenstown in Ireland. It was
about the time a party of Irishmen, in some town in England,
rescued some of their countrymen frora a van in charge of
English constables, one or more of whom were killed or
wounded. MorroAv, Kasson and I concluded we would spend a
few days in "Ould Ireland." Morrow and Kasson believed
they were of Irish descent, though remotely so as their ances
tors "fought in the Revolution." We remained in and about
Cork for two or three days. We visited and kissed the Blar
ney Stone, saw tiie Lakes of Killarney, and drove or walked
about tho interesting environs of Cork and Queenstown. We
sought no acquaintance with anyone.
We were all about the age of forty, physically sound, and
both Morrow and Kasson had the military air and step of sol
diers. We soon became conscious that we were under surveil
lance. One day an oflicer called at our lodgings and frankly
told us that there was so much excitement about Fenian

398 RECOLLECTIONS
disturbances in England, and such political ferment in Ireland,
that an examination of the baggage of passengers was required
and he wished to exaraine ours. I told hira who we were, and
introduced hira to Morrow and Kasson, and offered ray trunk for
inspection. They did the same, Kasson producing also a small
pistol from his valise. The officer had heard of that pistol,
Kasson had fired it at birds hovering about the vessel. This
had been reported to the police. The officer took the pistol
and it was returned to Kasson some days after at Dublin.
Morrow ridiculed the pistol and told the officer that Kasson
could not hit or hurt hira at ten paces away, but the officer
was only half satisfied. We soon after went to Dublin, but we
felt that we were under suspicion. All Araericans were then
suspected of sympathizing with the Irish. We told our consul
at Dublin of our adventures at Cork, and he said we were
lucky in not being arrested. We went to a steeple chase a
few miles frora Dublin, where gentlemen rode their own horses
over a long and difficult route, leaping barriers and crossing
streams. We enjoyed the scene very much and mingled freely
in the great crowd, but always feeling that we were watched.
The next day we started to cross the channel to Holyhead.
We took the steamer at Dublin Bay and found aboard a
large company of well-dressed passengers, such as we would
find on a summer excursion from New York. Morrow, who
was a handsome man of pleasing manners and address, said he
could pick out Americans from the croAvd. I doubted it. He
said : " There is an American," pointing out a large, well-built
man, who seeraed to be known by the passengers around him.
I said he was an Englishman. Morrow stepped up to him and
politely said that he had a wager with a friend that he was an
Araerican. "Not by a d — d sight," replied the Englishman.
Morrow apologized for the intrusion, but the gentleman
changed his tone and said that his abrupt answer was caused
by a letter he had lately received frora a nephew of his whom
he had sent to America to make his fortune. His nephew had
written him that now that the rebels were put down, the next
thing to do would be to put down " old England." Morrow
said there was too much of that kind of gasconade in America,

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 399
and that after our desperate struggle at home we would not
be likely to engage in one with England.
We arrived safely in London. In my first visit in 1859, with
my wife, we were sight-seers. Now I sought to forra acquaint
ance with men whose names were household words in all parts
of the United States. By the courtesy of our consul general
at Liverpool, Thomas H. Dudley, I met John Bright, Disraeli,
and many others less conspicuous in public life. I have already
raentioned my breakfast with Gladstone during this visit. Mr.
Dudley, then in London, invited Mr. Bright to a dinner as his
principal guest. Of all the men I met in London, Mr. Bright
impressed me most favorably. Finely formed physically, he
was also mentally strong. He was frank and free in his talk and
had none of the hesitation or reserve common with Englishmen.
He was familiar with our war and had no timidity in the ex
pression of his sympathy for the Union cause. If we ever erect
a monument to an Englishman, it should be to John Bright. I
heard Disraeli speak in the House of Commons and was intro
duced to him at a reception at Lord Stanley's. In the ten days
spent in London I saw as much of social life as could be
crowded into that time. Charles Francis Adams was then
United States minister at London, and I am indebted to him
for many acts of kindness. When we were Members of the
House of Representatives together he had the reputation of be
ing cold and reserved and he was not popular with his fellow
Members, but in London he was distinguished for his hospi
tality to Americans. He certainly was very kind to me, enter
taining me at dinner and taking pains to introduce me to many
peers and members whose naraes were familiar to me. While
receptions are very common in London during the session, the
Englishman prefers dinners as a mode of entertainment. It is
then he really enjoys himself and gives pleasure to his guests.
The sessions of parliament, however, interfere greatly with
dinners. The great debates occur during dining hours, so that,
as Mr. Adams informed me, it was difficult to arrange a dinner
that would not be broken up somewhat by an unexpected de
bate, or a division in the House of Commons. The precedence
of rank had to be carefully observed. The unsocial habit of

400 RECOLLECTIONS
not introducing guests to each other tended to restrain conver
sation and to raake the dinner dull and heavy. Still the forras
and usages in social life in London are much like those in
Washington. But here the ordinary sessions of each House of
Congress terminate before six o'clock, leaving the evening
hours for recreation.
The presidential mansion is the natural resort of all who
visit Washington. The doors are always open to visitors at
stated hours, and the President is easy of access to all who call
at such hours. Formerly presidential receptions were open to
all comers, and the result was a motley crowd, who formed in
line and shook hands with the President, bowed to the attend
ing ladies, passed into the great east room and gradually dis
persed. In late years these receptions have becorae less fre
quent, and in their place we have had diploraatic, military and
navy, and congressional receptions, for which invitations are
issued. During the usual period before Lent card receptions
are given by the cabinet, by many Senators and Members, and
by citizens, for which invitations are issued. I know of no
place where the entrance into society is so open and free as in
Washington. From London I went, by way of Dieppe and Rouen, to Paris,
where ray first call was on General Dix and his family. Next
I visited the exposition, and wandered through and about and
around it. I have attended many exhibitions, but never one
before or since that combined such magnitude and complete
ness in size, form and location, and such simplicity in arrange
ment and details, as the Paris Exposition of 1867. I spent ten
days in this inspection, and in walking and driving around Paris
and its environs. Through the kindness of General Dix, then
envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, I received
invitations to the many meetings and receptions given by
Mayor Haussraan and other officers of the French government
to visitors frora abroad connected with the exposition. I ac
cepted sorae of them, but purposely postponed this social part
of my visit until I returned from Berlin.
Frora Paris I went to Antwerp via Brussels. At this latter
place I met Doctor John Wilson, then United States consul at

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 401
Antwerp. He was an old friend at Washington, where he
served during the greater part of the war as an army surgeon.
He was a man of remarkable intelligence, farailiar with nearly
every part of Europe, and especially with France, Belgium and
Prussia. He readily acquiesced in my invitation to accompany
me to Berlin. On the invitation of Henry S. Sanford, our min
ister to Brussels, 1 returned to that city, and met at dinner the
principal oflicers of Belgium, such as we designate cabinet min
isters. I drove with Mr. Sanford to Waterloo and other famous
historic places in and about that beautiful city.
From Brussels we went to the Hague, where General Hugh
Ewing, a brother-in-law of General Sherman, was United States
minister. After a brief stay in Holland, General Ewing, Doc
tor Wilson and myself went to Berlin. Prussia was then a
kingdom of rising power, and Berlin was a growing city, but
not at all the Berlin of to-day. Bismarck was recognized as a
great statesman and, although far less prominent than he
afterwards became, he was the one man in Germany whom I
desired to see or know. Mr. Joseph A. Wright, late United
States minister at Berlin, had recently died, and his son, John
C. Wright, Avho was in charge of the legation, had no difliculty
in securing me an audience with Bismarck, accompanying me
to the oflicial residence, where I was introduced to him. Bis
marck spoke English with a German accent, but was easily
understood. When I spoke of recent events in Europe he
would turn the conversation to the United States, asking me
many questions about the Avar and the principal generals in
the opposing armies. He was in thorough sympathy with the
Union cause, and emphatically said that every man in Prussia,
from the king to his humblest subject, was on the side of the
Union, and opposed to the Rebellion. What a pity, he said, it
would have been if so great a country as the United States had
been disrupted on account of slavery. I mentioned my Adsit
to the international fair at Paris and my intention to return,
and he said he would be there.
This interview, Avhich lasted, perhaps, forty minutes, was as
informal and frank as the usual conversation of friends. Bis
marck was then in full health and strength, about fifty years

402 RECOLLECTIONS
old, more than six feet high, and a fine specimen of vigorous
raanhood in its prirae.
I found the sarae feeling for the United States expressed by
a popular meeting in the great exposition hall in Berlin. Our
little party was escorted to this place on Sunday afternoon by
Mr. Kreismann, our consul at Berlin. As we entered the hall,
Mr. Kreismann advanced to the orchestra, composed of several
military bands, and said soraething to the leader. When we took
our seats at one of the nuraerous tables he told me to pay atten
tion after the first item of the second part of the programme
before me, and I would hear something that would please me.
At the time stated, a young raan advanced to the front of the
stage, with a violin in his hand, and played exquisitely the air
" YankeeDoodle Is the Tune," and soon after the entire band joined
in, filling the great hall with Araerican rausic. The intelligent
German audience, many of whom knew the national airs of all
countries, realized at once that this addition to the programme
was a compliment to Araericans. They soon located our little
party and then rose, and fully two thousand persons, raen, wom
en and children, waved their handkerchiefs and shouted for
Araerica. The feeling in favor of the United States was then strong in
all parts of Europe, except in France and England. In these
countries it was somewhat divided — in France by the failure of
Maximilian, and in England by the rivalry of trade, and sym
pathy with the south. Generally, in referring in Europe to the
people of the United States, the people speak of us as Ameri
cans, while those of other parts of America are Canadians,
Mexicans, etc.
After a pleasant week in Berlin I went by way of Frankfort,
Wiesbaden and Cologne to Paris. The exposition was then iu
full operation. It raay be that greater numbers attended the
recent exposition at Chicago, but, great as was its success, I
think, for symmetry, for plans of buildings, and arrangement of
exhibits, the fair at Paris was better than that at Chicago. The
French people are well adapted for such exhibits. The city of
Paris is itself a good show. Its people almost live out of doors
six months of the year. They are quick, raercurial, tasteful

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 403
and economical. A Frenchman will live well on one-half of
what is consumed or wasted by an American. I do not propose
to describe the wonderful collection of the productions of na
ture or the works of men, but 1 wish to convey some idea of
life in Paris during the thirty days I spent in it.
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was then Emperor of the French,
andllaussman was mayor of the city of Paris. General Dix,
as before stated, was United States minister plenipotentiary and
envoy extraordinary at the court of France. Upon my ar
rival, I hired what in Paris is called an apartment, but which
includes several rooms, comprising together a comfortable resi
dence. Many similar apartments may be in the same building,
but with them you need have no communication, and you are
detached from them as fully as if each apartment was a sepa
rate house. The concierge, generally a woman, takes charge of
your room, orders your breakfast if you require one, and keeps
the key of your apartment when you are absent. It is a charm
ing mode of living. You can dine or lunch when you will, and
are master of your time and your apartment. I employed a
neat, light carriage and one horse, with a driver who knew a
smattering of several languages,' aud found him trusty and
faithful — all this at a cost that would disgust the ordinary
hotel proprietor in the United States, and especially the hack
driver of any of our cities. This, in Paris, was the usual outfit
of a gentleman.
General Dix advised me on whom and when and how I
should make my calls. My card in the usual form announced
that I was " Senateur des Etats Unis d'Amerique." A Parisian
could not pronounce my name. The best he could do was to
call me " Monsieur le Senateur." With a few words of French
I acquired, and the imperfect knowledge of English possessed
by most French people, I had no difficulty in making my way
in any company. I received many invitations I could not ac
cept. I attended a reception at the Palais Royal, the residence
of the mayor, dressed in the ordinary garb for evening parties,
a dress coat and trousers extending to the knees, and below
black silk stockings and pumps. I felt very uncomfortable in
this dress when I entered the reception room, but, as I found

404 RECOLLECTIONS
every gentleman in the same dress, soon became reconciled to
it. Subsequently I attended a reception at the Tuileries, at
which I was presented by General Dix to the emperor and
empress. One feature of this presentation I shall always remember.
The general company had been gathered in the great hall.
The diplomatic representatives of raany countries were formed
in line according to their rank, attended by the persons to be
presented. Soon a door was opened from an adjoining room
and the Emperor of the French, escorting, I think, the Empress
of Russia, passed along the line and saluted the ambassadors
and ministers in their order, and the ladies and gentlemen
to be presented were introduced by name to the emperor.
General Dix presented Fernando Wood, of New York, and
myself. Following the French emperor carae the Emperor of
Russia escorting the Empress Eugenie of France, and the same
mention of our naraes was raade to her. Following them
came kings, the Prince of Wales and others of like rank,
each accompanied by distinguished peers of his country. Third
or fourth in this order came the King of Prussia, Prince Bis
marck, and General Von Moltke. When Bismarck passed he
shook hands with Dix and recognized me with a bow and a
few words. If the leaders in this pageant could have foreseen
what happened three years later — that King William would
be an emperor, that Bonaparte would be his prisoner and
Eugenie a refugee frora republican France — the order of this
march would have been reversed.
Soon after this reception, I was invited by the eraperor to
attend, with General Dix and his daughter, a dinner at the
Tuileries. Such an invitation is held to be in the nature of a
coraraand. I accompanied them, and was agreeably surprised
to find that the dinner was quite informal, though more than
forty sat at the table. When I entered the room one of the
ladies in waiting came to rae and introduced me to a lady
whom 1 was to escort to the table. Presently sIk; icttirned and
said: "Oh, I understand monsieur does not sjieak French, and
marquise does not speak English. Will nionsiour allow me to
be a substitute ? " I agreed with great pleasure. Both the

OF JOHN SHERMAN.

405

guests and the hosts were promptly on time. I was introduced
to the emperor and empress. She was very gracious to her
guests, passing from one to another with a kindly word to all.
1 noticed her greeting to Miss Dix was very cordial. The
emperor engaged in a conversation Avith me that continued
until the dinner was announced,— fully ten minutes. He
a,sked many questions about the war, and especially about
General Sherman. 1 answered his questions as I would to any
gentleman, but felt uneasy lest I Avas occupying time that he

-ddnf^ ' Orr/rc ae ^t- W-TT/fi

^^yat/?'.

~^i^dJ )' "^ ' ^' ©^^'^'^'S^ a^y, y/it?ftfirif.r
/ ' ¦ /M '
ii(//irerrj/{j',yfC:'^j<ytx^,ji.^Y:::i 

Jca^L-/..

-1^    ,  d^.^f^^^di-^y(y:?^:t-oc
f?ud.£d/?. .<ir/- tnvtdc ({. .yf(,rur- aa}:i./ad/.u) c/eLd
C-/^'.i<^<f^ dc^^a^f^.ff-yyit^ /tyZ.../tc//ro/y^

/^^ ¦:^fc^<^<^y

INVITATION FROM NAPOLEON III.

should bestow on others. General Dix was by my side, and
encouraged the conversation. When the dinner was an
nounced each guest knew his place from the card furnished
him, and the party was seated without confusion.
I need not say that the young lady I escorted was a charm
ing woman. I did not learn whether she was married or not,
but have always regarded her action in relieving me from a
silent dinner as the highest mark of politeness. She was
bright and attractive, and I certainly did and said all I could

406 RECOLLECTIONS
to amuse her, so what I expected to be a dull dinner turned
out to be a very joyful one.
It is impossible for an American to visit Paris without
enjoyraent and instruction. The people of Paris are always
polite, especially to Americans. The debt of gratitude for the
assistance of France in our War of the Revolution is never
forgotten by a true American, and Frenchmen are always
proud of their share in establishing the independence of Amer
ica. The two Bonapartes alone did not share in this feeling.
The Americans are liberal visitors in Paris. They spend their
money freely, join heartily in festivities, and sympathize in the
success and prosperity of the French republic. If I was not
an Araerican I certainly would be a Frenchman. I have vis
ited Paris three times, remaining in it more than a month
at each visit, and always have been received with civility
and kindness. Though it is a great manufacturing city, chiefly
in articles of luxury requiring the highest skill, yet it is also
a most beautiful city in its location, its buildings, public and
private, its museums and opera houses, its parks and squares,
its wide streets and avenues, and especially the intelligence of
its people. Science and art have here reached their highest
development. We may copy all these, but it will require a
century to develop like progress in America.
I returned to England for a few days and then took the
steamer "City of Paris" for New York, where I arrived on the
13th of July. I took the cars for Washington and arrived ten
days after the session had comraenced.
While I was in Paris a special international commission,
composed of delegates frora seventeen nations, was sitting to
consider, and, if possible, agree on a coraraon unit of money for
the use of the civilized world. Mr. Samuel B. Ruggles, a
gentleraan of the highest standing and character, was the
representative of the United States on this commission. It
should be reraerabered that at this tirae the only currency in
circulation in the United States was the legal tender notes of
the United States and the notes of national banks. Neither
gold nor silver coin was in circulation, both being at a premium
in currency. At this time silver bullion was at a premium

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 40?
over gold bullion, the legal ratio being sixteen to one. In other
words, sixteen ounces of silver were worth, in the open market,
three to five cents more than one ounce of gold. All parties in
the United States were then looking forward to the time when
United States notes would advance in value to par with gold,
the cheaper metal.
The question before the commission was how to secure a
common coin that would be the measure of value between all
nations, and thus avoid the loss by exchange of the coins of
one nation for those of another. Mr. Ruggles knew that I had
studied this question, and therefore wrote this letter:
Paris, May 17, 1867.
My Dear Sir : — You are, of course, aware that there is a special commit
tee now in session, organized by the Imperial Commission of France, in con
nection with the ' Paris Exposition,' composed of delegates from raany of the
nations therein represented. Its object, among others, is to agree, if possi
ble, on a common unit of money, for the use of the civilized world.
I perceive that the opinions of the committee are running strongly in
favor of adopting, as the unit, the existing French five-franc piece of gold.
May I ask what, in your opinion, is the probability that the Congress
of the United States, at an early period, would agree to reduce the weight
and value of our gold dollar, to correspond with the present weight and
value of the gold five-franc jiiece of France ; and how far back such a change
would commend itself to your own judgment ?
I would also ask the privilege of submitting your answer to the consid
eration of the committee. With high respect, faithfully your friend,
Samubij B. Ruggles,
U. S. Commissioner to the Paris Exposition and
Member of the Committee.
IIoM. John Sherman,
Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate of the United
States, etc., etc., etc., now in Paris.
To this letter I made the following reply :
Hotel Jaroin bbs Tuileries, May 18, 18G7.
My Dear Sir : — Your note of yesterday, inquiring whether Congress
would probably, in future coinage, make our gold dollar conform in value to
the gold five-franc piece, has been received.
There has been so little discussion in Congress upon the subject that I
cannot base my opinion upon anything said or done there.
The subject has, however, excited the attention of several important
commercial bodies in the United States, and the time is now so favorable

408 RECOLLECTIONS
that I feel quite sure that Congress will adopt any practical measure that will
secure to the commercial world a uniform standard of value and exchange.
The only question will be, how can this bo accomplished ?
The treaty of December 23, 1805, between France, Italy, Hclgium, and
Switzerland, and the probable acquiescence in that treaty by IVussia, has laid
the foundation for such a standard. If Great Britain will reduce the value
of her sovereign two pence, and the United States will reduce the value of
her dollar something over three cents, we then have a coinage in the franc,
dollar and sovereign easily computed, and which will readily pass in all
countries ; the dollar as five francs and the sovereign as 25 fiaiics.
This will put an end to the loss and intricacies of exchange and discount.
Our gold dollar is certainly as good a unit of value as the franc ; and
so the English think of their pound sterling. These coins arc now exchange
able only at a considerable loss, and this exchange is a ])iofit only to brokers
and bankers. Surely each commercial nation should be willing to yield a
little to secure a gold coin of ecjual value, weight, and diameter, frora what
ever raint it may have been issued.
As the gold five-franc piece is now in use by over 60,000,000 of people
of several different nationalities, and is of convenient form and size, it may
well be adopted by other nations as the common standard of value, leaving
to each nation to regulate the divisions of this unit in silver coin or tokens.
If this is done France will surely abandon the impossible effort of
making two standards of value. Gold coins will answer all the purpose of
European commerce. A common gold standard will regulate silver coinage,
of which the United States will furnish the greater part, especially for the
Chinese trade.
I have thought a good deal of how the object you propose may be
most readily accomplished. It is clear that the United States cannot become
a party to the treaty referred to. They could not agree upon the silver
standard ; nor could we limit tho amount of our coinage, as in-oposed by the
treaty. The United States is so large in extent, is so sparsely populated,
and the price of labor is so much higher than in Europe, that 'we require
more currency per capita. We now produce the larger part of the gold and
silver of the world, and cannot limit our coinage except by the wants of our
people and the demands of commerce.
Congress alone can change the value of our coin. I see no object in
negotiating with other powers on the subject. As coin is not now in general
circulation with us, we can readily fix by law the size, weight, and measure
of future issues. It is not worth while to negotiate about that whicli we can
do without negotiation, and we do not wish to limit ourselves by treaty
restrictions. In England many persons of influence and difBerent chambers of com
merce are earnestly in favor of the proposed change in their coinage. The
change is so slight with them that an enlightened self-interest will soon
induce them to make it, especially if we make the greater change in our

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 409
coinage. We have some difficulty in adjusting existing contracts with the
new dollar ; but as contracts are now based upon the fluctuating value of
paper money, even tho reduced dollar in coin will be of more purchasable
value than our currency.
We can easily adjust the reduction with the public creditors in the
payment or conversion of their securities, while private creditors might be
authorized to recover upon the old standard. All these are matters of detail
to which I hope the commission will direct their attention.
And now, my dear sir, allow me to say in conclusion that I heartily
sympathize with you and others in your efforts to secure the adoption of the
metrical system of weights and measures.
The tendency of the age is to break down all needless restrictions upon
social and commercial intercourse. Nations are now as much akin to each
other as provinces were of old. Prejudices disappear by contact. People
of different nations learn to respect each other as they find that their differ
ences are the effect of social and local custom, not founded upon good rea
sons. I trust that the industrial commission will enable the world to compute
the value of all productions by the same standard, to measure by the same
yard or meter, and weigh by the same scales.
Such a result would be of greater value than the usual employments
of diplomatists and statesmen. I ara very truly yours,
John Sherman.
As the result of its investigation the commission agreed,
with entire unanimity, that the gold five-franc piece should be
adopted as the unit of value, and that the coins of all nations
represented should be based upon that unit or multiples
thereof. This would require a slight change in the quantity
of gold in the dollar of the United States, amounting to a re
duction of about three cents, a reduction in the pound ster
ling of England of about one penny, and a slight reduction
or increase in the gold coins of other countries.
Mr. Ruggles reported the proceedings and recommendation
of the commission to the President, and his report was referred
to Congress. A private letter to me from Mr. Ruggles, dated December
30, 1867, shows the nature of the opposition to the measure
proposed, being entirely from British opposition to a change in
the pound sterling. He wrote: New York, December 30, 1867.
My Dear Mr. Sherman :— You may have perceived, within the last
week, articles in the 'New York Evening Post,' the 'New York Times
S.-29

410 RECOLLECTIONS
and the 'World,' on the subject of the proposed monetary unification; the
first denying its propriety, the second its practicability , and the third un
derrating its impoi'tance.
The articles are hastily and ignorantly and, in some respects, bitterly
written. My first impulse was to briefly answer each of them in its respec
tive newspaper. On further reflection, it seemed more decorous that, as a
member of the ' conference,' I should first appear before the Senate commit
tee now in possession of all the papers, and there render any proper expla
nations, and not obtrude myself as a combatant in the newspapers, prema
turely and only partially defending my ofiioial action. If, however, you
should think that the articles should be answered without delay, I could
readily cause it to be done, by other persons.
I cannot but think that the dignity of the subject, formally presented
as it now is, to our national authorities, by a diplomatic assemblage repre
senting nearly all the civilized nations of the Christian world, entitles it to
a full discussion before the Senate committee, to be followed by a maturely
considered report, fairly weighing and presenting to the country all the
merits and demerits, facilities and difiiculties of the measure.
I am just at the moment confined to my house by an 'influenza,' but
if I can be of any service, either before the committee or elsewhere, I shall
hold myself subject to your official call, for any duty, after the 7th or 8th
of January, which you may indicate.
You must have perceived that my report to the department of state,
having in view the possibility of European readers, abstained from some
considerations which might properly be brought to the notice of the com
mittee of the American Senate.
It is strange, indeed, to see American newspapers eagerly maintaining
the inviolability of the ' pound sterling,' when it has become entirely evi
dent that the great monetary struggle of the future must lie between the
British pound and the American dollar. In truth, this was virtually admitted
in the ' conference ' by Mr. Graham, one of the British delegates, and mas
ter of the royal mint. With high regard, faithfully yours,
Samuel B. Ruggles.
Hon. John Sherman,
Chairman Senate Finance Committee, etc., etc., etc.

We were called upon to legislate upon the subject. The
French governraent proraptly acquiesced iu the coin proposed.
Mr. Ruggles' report said that several governraents had already
assented to it. The report was referred to the committee on
finance of the Senate, who submitted a favorable report with a
bill to carry out the recommendations, and that report was
published. There was no dissent from the plan except that

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 411
Senator Morgan, of New York, thought it wouid interfere
with the profit of Now York brokers in changing dollars into
liounds. As a matt er of course, it would have interfered with
the exchanges of Noav York and London, the great money cen
ters of the world. It would have interfered with bullion deal
ers who make profit in exchanging coins ; but the whole of it
was for the benefit of each country.
No man can estimate the benefit it would have conferred
upon our own people. It was only defeated by the refusal of
Great Britain to assent to the change of her pound sterling by
the reduction of its value about one penny. But pride in
its existing coins, so strong in that country, defeated the meas
ure, although it had been assented to by her representatives in
that monetary congress ; and so the thing ended.
It is easy now to perceive that if this international coin
had been agreed to it would have passed current everywhere,
as it could rapidly be exchanged at sight without going through
the hands of brokers. I do not believe that Mr. Morgan would
have insisted on his opposition, as the only ground of his ob
jection was, it would have destroyed the business of the money
changers of New York. Even his resistance would have been
ineffectual, as the committee and the Senate were decidedly in
favor of the bill and the opposition of New York brokers
would have added strength to the measure.
The greatest statesmen of Europe and America have sought
for many years to unify the coinage of nations, and to adopt
common standards of weights and measures, so that commerce
may be freed from the restrictions now imposed upon it, but
Great Britain has steadily opposed all these enlightened meas
ures, and thus far has been able to defeat them.
My report from the comraittee on finance, made to the Sen
ate June 7, 1868, contains a full statement of the acts of the
monetary conference at Paris, and of the approval of its action
by many of the countries there represented, and of the support
given to the plan in Great Britain by many of her ablest states
men and the great body of her commercial classes, but the
party then in power in parliament refused its sanction, and
thus, as already stated, the measure failed.

412 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
It has been quite comraon, during recent discussions about
silver, to attribute the alleged deraonetization of that raetal to
the action of the Paris monetary conference. In 1867, when
this conference was in session, as already stated, sixteen ounces
of silver were worth more than one ounce of gold. Fifteen and
one-half ounces of silver were the legal equivalent of one ounce
of gold in all European countries. No suggestion was made or
entertained to disturb the circulation of silver. The only ob
ject sought was to secure sorae comraon coin by which other
coins could be easily measured. As gold was the most valuable
metal in smallest space, and the five-franc gold piece of France
was the best miit by which other coins could be measured,
other gold coins were to be of multiples of the unit, so that five
francs would be a dollar and five dollars would be a pound.
The coins of other nations would be made to conform to mul
tiples of this unit.
It was perfectly understood that, while silver was the chief
coin in domestic exchanges in every country, it was not con
venient for foreign commerce, owing to its bulk. The ratio
between gold and silver was purely a domestic matter, to be
determined by each country for itself. It is apparent that the
chief cause of the fall of the market value of silver is its in
creased production. This afl'ects the price of every commodity,
cotton, corn, or wheat as well as silver. The law of supply and
demand regulates value. It is the " higher law " more potent
than acts of Congress. If the supply is in excess of demand
the price will fall, in spite of legislation. The most striking
evidence of this was furnished by our recent legislation hy
which we purchased over 400,000,000 ounces of silver at its
market value and hoarded it, and yet the price of it steadily
declined. We can coin it into silver dollars, but we can keep
these dollars at par with gold only by receiving them as the
equal of gold when offered.

CHAPTER XIX.
Impeachment op Andrew Johnson.
Judiciary Committee's Resolution Fails of Adoption by a Vote of 57 Yeas to 108
Nays — Johnson's Attempt to Remove Secretary Stanton and Create a New
Office for General Sherman— Correspondence on the Subject — Report of
the Committee on Impeachment, and Other Matters Pertaining to
the Appointment of Lorenzo Thomas — Impeachment Resolu
tion Passed by the House by a Vote of 126 Yeas to 47
Nays — Johnson's Trial hy the Senate — Acquittal of
tho President by a Vote of 3.5 Guilty to 19 Not
Guilty — Why I Favored Conviction —
General Schofield Becomes Secretary of
AVar — "Tenure of Office Act."
DURING the spring and summer of 1867 the question
of impeaching Andrew Johnson, President of the
United States, was frequently discussed in the House
of Representatives. The resolutions relating to his
impeachment were introduced by James M. Ashley, of Ohio, on
the 7th of March, 1867, and they were adopted on the same day.
These resolutions instructed the judiciary committee, when
appointed, to continue the inquiry, previously ordered, into
certain charges preferred against the President of the United
States, with authority to sit during the sessions of the House,
and during any recess the Congress might take.
On the 25tli of November, 1867, a majority of the comraittee
on the judiciary reported a resolution of impeachment, as
follows :
" Resolved, That Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be
impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors."
This resolution was accompanied by a long report and the
testimony, all of which was ordered to be printed, and made the
special order for Wednesday, December 4, 1867. James F. Wil
son, of Iowa, made a minority report against the resolution of im
peachment, signed by himself and Frederick E. Woodbridge, of
Vermont. Samuel S. Marshall, of Illinois, also made a minority
report in behalf of himself and Charles A. Eldridge, of Wisconsin. (413)

414 RECOLLECTIONS
On the 7th of Deceraber, the resolution of impeachment
reported by the comraittee on the judiciary at the previous ses
sion was disagreed to by a vote of 57 yeas and 108 nays. This
decision of the House of Representatives against an irapeach-
raent on the charges then raade was entirely justified. This
imposing process was not authorized for misconduct, immoral
ity, intoxication or neglect of duties, such as were alleged in
the report of the coramittee, but only for high crimes or mis
demeanors. The House properly made this distinction, and
here the accusations against the President would have ended,
but for his attempt, in violation of the constitution and law, to
place General Lorenzo Thoraas in an iraportant office without
the advice and consent of the Senate, then in session.
In the latter part of 1867, and the early part of 1868, I
becarae involved in a controversy, between President Johnson,
General Grant and General Sherraan, which caused the last-
naraed serious embarrassraent. As rauch of the correspondence
between these parties has been published in the "Sherman
Letters," I at first thought it best not to make any reference to
the matter, but upon reflection, and to explain subsequent
events, I insert the letters in their order.
General Sherraan was summoned to Washington, by the
President, and upon his arrival there wrote me the following
letter : Washington, October 11, 1867.
Dear Brother : — I have no doubt that you have been duly concerned
about my being summoned to Washington.
It was imprudently done by the President without going through
Grant. But I think I have smoothed it over so that Grant does not feel
hurt. I cannot place myself in a situation even partially antagonistic with
Grant. We must work together. Mr. Johnson has not offered me any
thing, only has talked over every subject, and because I listen to him
patiently, and make short and decisive answers, he says he would like to
have me here. Still he does not oppose my going back home. .
On Monday I will start for St. Louis by the Atlantic and G. W. road,
and pass Mansfield Tuesday. Can't you meet me and ride some railes ? I
have been away from home so much, and must go right along to Fort Lara
mie, that I cannot well stop at Cleveland or Mansfield, and would like to
see you for an hour or so to hear your views of the coming events. . . .
Yours affectionately,
W. T. Sherman.

OF JOIIN SHERMAN. 415
And on his return to St. Louis he continues :
I have alwjiys talked kindly to the President, and have
advised Grant to do so. I do think that it is best for all hands that his
adrainistration be allowed to run out its course without threatened or
attempted violence. Whoever begins violent proceedings will lose in the
long run. Johnson is not a man of action but of theory, and so long as
your party is in doubt as to the true mode of procedure, it would be at great
risk that an attempt be made to displease the President by a simple law of
Congress. This is as much as I have ever said to anybody. I have never,
by word or inference, given anybody the right to class me in opposition to,
or in support of. Congress. On the contrary, I told Mr. Johnson that from
the nature of things he could not dispense with a Congress to make laws
and appropriate money, and suggested to him to receive and make over
tures to such men as Fessenden, Trumbull, Sherman, Morgan, and Morton,
who, though differing with him in abstract views of constitutional law and
practice, were not destructive. That if the congressional plan of reconstruc
tion succeeded, he could do nothing, and if it failed or led to confusion,
the future developed results in his favor, etc.; and that is pretty much all
I have ever said or done. At the meeting of the society of the army of the
Tennessee on the 13th inst., I will be forced to speak, if here, and though I
can confine myself purely to the railitary events of the past, I can make the
opportunity of stating that in no event will I be drawn into the complica
tions of the civil politics of this country.
If Congress could meet and confine itself to current and committee
business, I feel certain that everything will work along quietly till the nom
inations are made, and a new presidential election will likely settle the prin
ciple if negroes are to be voters in the states without the consent of the
whites. This is more a question of prejudice than principle, but a voter has
as much right to his prejudices as to his vote. . . .
I answered : Mansi'ielw, Ohio, November 1, 1807.
Dear Brotiikh : — ... 1 see no real occasion for trouble with
Johnson. The great error of his life was in not acquiescing in and sup
porting the 14th amendment of the constitution in the 39th Congress. This
he could easily have carried. It referred the suffrage question to each state,
and if adopted long ago the whole controversy would have culminated ; or,
if further opposed by the extreme radicals, they would have been easily
beaten. Now I see nothing short of universal suffrage and universal
amnesty as the basis. When you come on, I suggest that you give out that
you go on to make your annual report and settle Indian affairs. Give us
notice when you will be on, and corae directly to my house, where we will
make you one of the family.
Grant, I think, is inevitably the candidate. He allows himself to drift
into a position where he can't decline if he would, and I feel sure he don't

416 RECOLLECTIONS
want to decline. My judgment is that Chase is better for the country and
for Grant himself, but I will not quarrel with what I cannot control.
John Sherman.
And later I Avrote: —
If you can keep free from committals to Johnson, you will surely as you
live be called upon to act as President. The danger now is that the mistakes
of the Republicans may drift the Democratic party into power. If so, the
Rebellion is triumphant, and no man active in suppressing it will be trusted
or honored. Grant is not injured by his correspondence with Johnson, but
no doubt feels annoyed. . . .
At this time President Johnson had corae to open disagree
ment with Mr. Stanton, his Secretary of War, and wished to
force him from the cabinet. Mr. Stanton had refused to resign
and had been upheld by Congress. The President then turned
for help in his difficulties to General Grant, commanding the
army ; but the latter found that any interference on his part
would be illegal and impossible.
Mr. Johnson then planned to create a new office for General
Sherman, that of brevet general of the array, in order to bring
hira to Washington.
The following letters and telegraras refer to this difliculty :
(Confidential.) Library Room, War Department, )
Washington, D. C, January 31, 1868. j
To the President : — Since our interview of yesterday I have given the
subject of our conversation all my thoughts, and I beg you will pardon my
reducing the result to writing.
My personal preferences, if expressed, were to be allowed to return to
St. Louis to resume my present command, because ray command was im
portant, large, suited to my rank and inclination, and because my family
was well provided for there, in house facilities, schools, living, and agree
able society.
Whilst, on the other hand, Washington was for many (to me) good
reasons highly objectionable. Especially because it is the political capital
of the country and focus of intrigue, gossip, and slander. Your personal
preferences were, as expressed, to raake a new department east adequate to
my rank, with headquarters at Washington, and to assign me to its command
— to remove my family here, and to avail myself of its schools, etc.; to
remove Mr. Stanton from his office as Secretary of War, and have me to
discharge the duties.
To effect this removal two modes were indicated: To simply cause him
to quit the war office building and notify tho treasury department and tho
army staff departments no longer to respect him as Secretary of War; or to

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 417
remove him, and submit my name to tho Senate for confirmation. Permit
me to discuss these points a little, and 1 will promise by saying that I havo
spoken to no one on tho subject, and have not even soen Mr. Ewing, Mr.
Stanbery, or General Grant since I was with you.
It has been the rule and custom of our army, since the organization of
the government, that the officer of the array second in rank should be in com
mand at the second place in importance, and remote from general head
quarters. To bring me to Washington would put three heads to an army,
— yourself. General Grant, and myself, — and we would be more than human
if we were not to differ. In my judgment it would ruin the army, and would
be fatal to one or two of us.
Generals Scott and Taylor proved themselves soldiers and patriots in
the field, but Washington was fatal to both. This city and the influences
that centered here defeated every army that had its head here from 1861 to
1805, and would have overwhelmed General Grant at Spottsylvania and
Petersburg, had he not been fortified by a strong reputation already hard
earned, and because no one then living coveted the place. Whereas in
the west we made progress from the start, because there was no political
capital near enough to poison our minds and kindle into light that craving
itching for fame which has killed more good men than bullets. I have been
with General Grant in the midst of death and slaughter — when the howls of
people reached him after Shiloh; when messengers were speeding to and
fro, between his army and Washington, bearing slanders to induce his
removal before he took Vicksburg; in Chattanooga, when the soldiers were
stealing the corn of the starving mules to satisfy their own hunger; at Nash
ville, when he was ordered to the 'forlorn hope' to command the army of the
Potomac, so often defeated — and yet I never saw him more troubled than
since he has been in Washington, and has been compelled to read himself a
'sneak and deceiver,' based on reports of four of the cabinet, and apparently
with your knowledge. If this political atmosphere can disturb the equa
nimity of one so guarded and so prudent as he is, what will be the result
with one so careless, so outspoken, as I am? Therefore, with my consent,
Washington never.
As to the Secretary of War, his office is twofold. As cabinet officer he
should not be there without your hearty, cheerful consent, and I believe that
is the judgment and opinion of every fair-minded man. As the holder of a
civil office, having the supervision of moneys appropriated by Congress, and
of contracts for army supplies, I do think Congress, or the Senate by delega
tion from Congress, has a lawful right to be consulted. At all events, I
would not risk a suit or contest on that phase of the question. The law of
Congress of March 2, 1807, prescribing the manner in which orders and in-
struorions relating to 'military movements' shall reach the army, gives you,
as constitutional commander in chief, the very power you want to exercise,
and enables you to prevent the secretary frora making any such orders and
instructions, and consequently he cannot control the army, but is limited and

418 RECOLLECTIONS
restricted to a duty that an auditor of the treasury could perform. You cer
tainly can afford to await the result. The executive power is not weakened,
but, rather, strengthened, Surely he is not such an obstruction as would
warrant violence or even a show of force which could produce the very reac
tion and clamor that he hopes for, to save him from the absurdity of holding
an empty office ' for the safety of the country.'
With great respect, yours truly,
W. T. Sherman.

Headquarters Military Division of the Missouri, )
St. Louis, Mo., February 14, 1808. j
To THE President :
Dear Sir : — It is hard for me to conceive you would purposely do me
an unkindness, unless under the pressure of a sense of public duty, or
because you do not believe me sincere.
I was in hopes, since my letter to you of the 31st of January, that you
had concluded to pass over that purpose of yours, expressed more than once
in conversation, to organize a new command for me in the east, with head
quarters in Washington ; but a telegram, from General Grant, of yesterday
says that ' the order was issued ordering you ' (me) 'to Atlantic division;'
and the newspapers of this morning contain tho same information, with tho
addition that I have been nominated as ' brevet general.' 1 have telegraphed
to my own brother in the Senate to oppose my confirmation, on the ground
that the two higher grades in the army ought not to be complicated with
brevets, and I trust you will conceive my motives aright. If I could see my
way clear to raaintain my family, I should not hesitate a moraent to resign
my present commission and seek some business wherein I would be free
frora those unhappy complications that seem to be closing about me, in spite
of my earnest efforts to avoid them ; but necessity ties my hands, and I
submit with the best grace I can, till I make other arrangements.
In Washington are already the headquarters of a department, and of
the army itself, and it is hard for me to see wherein I can render military
service there. Any staff officer with the rank of major could surely fill any
gap left between those two military offices ; and by being placed at Wash
ington I shall be universally construed as a rival to the general in chief, a
position damaging to me in the highest degree. Our relations have always
been most confidential and friendly, and if, unhappily, any cloud of difficulty
should arise between us, my sense of personal dignity and duty would leave
me no alternative but resignation. For this I am not yet prepared, but I
shall proceed to arrange for it as rapidly as possible, that when the time
does come (as it surely will if this ])lan is carried into efi'ect), I may act
prom])tly. Inasmuch as the order is now issued, 1 cannot cx|)ucl a full revocation
of it, but I beg the privilege of taking post at New York, or at any jioiiit
you may name, within the new military division, other than Washington.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 419
This privilege is generally granted to all military commanders, and I
can see no good reasons why I, too, raay not ask for it ; and this simple con
cession, involving no public interest, will much soften the blow whioh, right
or wrong, I construe as one of the hardest I have sustained in a life some
what checkered with adversity.
With great respect, yours truly,
(Signed) W. T. Sherman, Lieutenant General.
Headquarters Military Division of Missouri, )
St. Louis, February 14, 1808. \
Dear Brother : — ... I am again in the midst of trouble, oc
casioned by a telegram from Grant saying that the order is out for me to
come to the command of the military division of the Atlantic, headquarters
at Washington. The President repeatedly asked me to accept of some such
position, but I thought I had fought it off successfully, though he again and
again reverted to it.
Now, it seems, he has ordered it, and it is full of trouble for me. I
wrote him one or two letters in Washington, whioh I thought positive enough,
but have now written another, and if it fails in its object I might as well
cast about for new employment. The result would be certain conflict, result
ing in Grant's violent deposition, mine, or the President's.
There is not room on board of one ship for more tlian one cajjtain.
If Grant intends to run for President I should be willing to come on,
because my duties would then be so clearly defined that I think I could
steer clear of the breakers — but now it would be impossible. The Presi
dent would make use of me to beget violence, a condition of things that
ought not to exist now.
He has no right to use us for such purposes, though he is commander
in chief. I did suppose his passage with Grant would end there, but now
it seems he will fight him as he has been doing Congress. I don't object if
he does so himself and don't rope me in. . . .
If the President forces me into a false position out of seeming favor, I
must defend rayself. It is mortifying, but none the less inevitable.
Affectionately, W. T. Sherman.

(Telegram.) Washington, February 14, 1868.
From St. Louis, February 14, 1808.
To General U. S. Grant, Commander U. S. Army :
Your dispatch informing me that the order for the Atlantic division
was issued, and that I was assigned to its command, is received.
I was in hopes I had escaped the danger, and now, were I prepared,
should resign on the spot, as it requires no foresight to predict such must be
the inevitable result in the end.
[ will make one more desperate effort by mail, which please await.
(Signed) W. T. Sherman, Lieutenant General.

420 RECOLLECTIONS
(Telegram.) Dated St. Louis, February 14, 1868.
Received at House of Representatives, February 14.
To Hon. John Sherman :
Oppose confirmation of myself as brevet general on ground that it is
unprecedented, and that it is better not to extend the system of brevets
above major general. If I can't avoid coming to Washington I may have
to resign. W. T. Sherman, Lieutenant General.
This correspondence, some of which was published, excited
a great deal of attention, and 1 received many letters in regard
to it, one of which I insert :
Washington, D. C, February 17, 1868.
Dear Sherman : — How nobly and magnanimously your gallant brother
has acted. If A. J. was not callous to all that would affect gentlemen gen
erally, he would feel this rebuke stingingly. But since he has betrayed the
men who elected him he is proof against such things.
Yours very truly, Schuyler Colfax.
Upon the receipt of General Sherman's telegram I requested
the comraittee on military affairs to take no action upon his
nomination, as he did not desire, and would not accept, the
proposed compliraent. This correspondence then followed :
Headquarters Military Division of the Missouri, )
St. Louis, Mo., February 17, 1868. \
Dear Brother : — . . . I have not yet got the order for the
Atlantic division, but it is coming by mail, and when received I must act.
I have asked the President to let me make my headquarters in New York,
instead of Washington, making my application on the ground that my simply
being in Washington will be universally construed as rivalry to General
Grant, a position which would be damaging to me in the extrerae.
If I must come to Washington, it will be with a degree of reluctance
never before experienced. I would leave my family here on the supposition
that the change was temporary. I do not question the President's right to
make the new division, and I think Congress would make a raistake to qual
ify his right. It would suffice for thera to nonconfirm the brevet of general.
I will notify you by telegraph when the matter is concluded.
Affectionately, W. T. Sherman.
(Telegram.) Received Washington, February 20, 1868.
From St. Louis, Mo., February 20, 1868.
To General U. S. Grant :
The President telegraphs that I may remain in my {)rosent command.
I write him a letter of thanks through you to-day. Congress should not
have for publication my letters to the President, unless tho President him
self chooses to give them. (Signed) W. T. Sherman, Lieut. General.

3ii®i!!gs.©!? laaiFjjissgsiuawyiKs.

/y^ d>*^j~ ^9<<y^~^ //"^^eLf^atx,^

?

-^-r^^J^

/i^y^-^'^^"^ ^

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 421
Headquarters Army or the United States, )
Washington, February 21, 1808. [
Dear Sir : — By General Grant's direction I inclose a copy of a dis
patch from General Sherraan, seeming to indicate his preference that the
correspondence in question should not now be made public.
Respectfully yours, C. B. Comstock, B. B. S.
Hon. John Sherman, United States Senate.
A few days after this, General Sherman went to Washing
ton in response to the President's order, and while there had
several interviews with the President relating to the change of
his coramand. He objected very strongly, as has been seen, to
any such change, because he felt that he could not hold a com
mand in Washington without interfering with Grant's interests,
and because he had a rooted objection to living in Washington
in the midst of the turmoil of politics. These objections were
embodied in three letters which General Sherman wrote and
showed to Grant before he sent them to the President. One of
them found its way into the public press, and created a disturb
ance which called forth the following letters :
Headquarters Army of the United States, )
Washington, D. C, February 22, 1868. J
Hon. j. Sherman, United States Senate.
Dear Sir: — The 'National Intelligencer' of this morning contains a
private note which General Sherman sent to the President whilst he was in
Washington, dictated by the purest kindness and a disposition to preserve
harmony, and not intended for publication. It seems to rae the publication
of that letter is calculated to place the general in a wrong light before the
public, taken in connection with what correspondents have said before, evi
dently getting their inspiration from the White House.
As General Sherman afterwards wrote a seini-oflicial note to the Presi
dent, furnishing me a copy, and still later a purely ofladal one sent through
me, which placed him in his true position, and which have not been published,
though called for by the 'House,' I take the liberty of sending you these
letters to give you the opportunity of consulting General Sherman as to what
action to take upon them. In all matters where I am not personally inter
ested, I would not hesitate to advise General Sherman how I would act in his
place. But in this instance, after the correspondence I have had with Mr.
Johnson, I may not see General Sherman's interest in the same light that
others see it, or that I would see it in if no such correspondence had occurred.
I am clear in this, however, the correspondence here inclosed to you should
not bo made public except by tho President, or with the full sanction of
General Sherman. Probably the letter of the 31st of .January, marked ' con
fidential,' should not be given out at all. Yours truly, U. S. Grant.

422 RECOLLECTIONS
The following letter was addressed to the " National Intelli
gencer," a Washington newspaper :
United States Senate Chamber, )
Washington, February 22, 1868. j
Gentlemen: — The publication in your paper yesterday of General
Sherman's note to the President, and its simultaneous transmission by tele
graph, unaccompanied by subsequent letters withheld by the President be
cause they were ' private,' is so unfair as to justify severe censure upon the
person who furnished you this letter, whoever he may be. Upon its face it
is an informal private note dictated by the purest motives — a desire to pre
serve harmony — and not intended for publication. How any gentleman
receiving such a note could first allow vague but false suggestions of its
contents to be given out, and then print it, and withhold other letters because
they were 'private,' with a view to create the impression that General Sher
man, in referring to ulterior measures, suggested the violent expulsion of a
high officer from his office, passes my comprehension. Still I know that
General Sherman is so sensitive upon questions of official propriety in pub
lishing papers, that he would rather suffer from this false inference than
correct it by publishing another private note, and as I knew that this letter
was not the only one written by General Sherman to the President about Mr.
Stanton, I applied to the President for his consent to publish subsequent
letters. This consent was freely given by the President, and I therefore
send copies to you and ask their publication.
These copies are furnished me from official sources ; for while I know
General Sherman's opinions, yet he did not show me either of the letters to
the President, during his stay here, nervously anxious to promote harmony,
to avoid strife, and certainly never suggested or countenanced resistance to
law— or violence in any form. He no doubt left Washington with his old
repugnance to politics, politicians, and newspapers very much increased by
his visit here. John Sherman.
United States Senate Chamber, February 23, 1868.
Dear Brother: — I received your letters and telegrams, and did not
answer because events were moving so rapidly that I could say nothing but
might be upset before you got the letter.
Now you can congratulate yourself upon being clear of the worst
complications we have ever had. Impeachment seems to be a foregone con
clusion so far as the House of Representatives is concerned, based upon the
alleged forcible expulsion of Stanton. No one disputes the right of the
President to raise a question of law upon his right to remove Stanton, but
the forcible removal of a man in office, claiming to be in lawfully, is like the
forcible ejectment of a tenant when his right of possession is in dispute. It
is a trespass, an assault, a riot, or a crime, according to the result of the force.
It is strange the President can contemplate such a thing, when Stanton is
already stripped of power, and the courts are open to the President to try

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 423
his right of removal. The President is acting very badly with respect to
you. He creates the impression that you acted disingenuously with him. He
has published your short private note before you went to Annapolis, and yet
refuses to publish your forraal one subsequently sent to him, because it was
'private.' The truth is, he is a slave to his passions and resentments. No
man can confide in him, and you ought to feel happy at your extrication
from all near connection with him. . . . Grant is anxious to have your
letters published, since the note referred to was published. 1 will see Grant
and the President this evening, and if the latter freely consents, I will do it
informally ; but if he doubts or hesitates, I will not without your expressed
directions. In these times of loose confidence, it is better to submit for a
time to a wrong construction, than to betray confidential communications.
Grant will, unquestionably, be norainated. Chase acquiesces, and I see no
reason to doubt his election. . . . Affectionately,
John Sherman.

Headquarters Military Division of the Missouri, )
St. Louis, Mo., February 25, 1808. j
Dear Brother: — ... I am in possession of all the news up to
date — the passage of the impeachment resolution, etc. — but I yet don't
know if the nomination of T. Ewing, Senior, was a real thing or meant to
compromise a difficulty.
"The publication of ray short note of January 18, is nothing to me. I
have the original draft which I sent through Grant's hands, with his indorse
ment back to me. At the time this note must have been given to the
reporter, the President had an elaborate letter from rae, in which I discussed
the whole case, and advised against the very course he has pursued, but I
don't want that letter or any other to be drawn out to complicate a case
already bad enough.
You may always safely represent me by saying that I will not make up
a final opinion till called on to act, and I want nothing to do with these con
troversies until the time coraes for the actual fight, which I hope to God raay
be avoided. If the Democratic party intend to fight on this impeachment,
which I believe they do not, you raay count 200,000 men against you in the
south. The negroes are no match for them. On this question, the whites
there will be raore united than on the old issue of union and secession. I do
not think the President should be suspended during trial, and, if possible,
the Republican party should not vote on all side questions as a unit. They
should act as judges, and not as partisans. The vote in the House, being a
strictly party vote, looks bad, for it augurs a prejudiced jury. Those who
adhere closest to the law in this crisis are the best patriots. Whilst the float
ing politicians here share the excitement at Washington, the people gener
ally manifest little interest in the game going on at Washington. . . .
Affectionately yours,
W. T. Sherman.

424 RECOLLECTIONS United States Senate Chamher, )
Washington, March 1, 1868. J
Dear Brother: — Your letter of the 25th is received. I need not say
to you that the new events transpiring here are narrowly watched by me.
So far as I am concerned, I mean to give Johnson a fair and impartial trial,
and to decide nothing until required to do so, and after full argument. I re
gard him as a foolish and stubborn man, doing even right things in a wrong
way, and in a position where the evil that he does is immensely increased by
his manner of doing it. He clearly designed to have first Grant, and then
you, involved in Lorenzo Thomas' position, and in this he is actuated by his
recent revolt against Stanton. How easy it would have been, if he had fol
lowed your advice, to have made Stanton anxious to resign, or what is worse,
to have made his position ridiculous. By his infernal folly we are drifting
into turbulent waters. The only way is to keep cool and act conscientiously.
I congratulate you on your lucky extrication. I do not anticipate civil war,
for our proceeding is unquestionably lawful, and if the judgment is against
the President, his terra is just as clearly out as if the 4th of March, 1869, was
come. The result, if he is convicted, would cast the undivided responsibility
of reconstruction upon the Republican party, and would unquestionably
secure the full admission of all the states by July next, and avoid the danger
ous questions that may otherwise arise out of the southern vote iu the Presi
dential election. It is now clear that Grant will be a candidate, and his
election seems quite as clear. The action of North Carolina removed the last
doubt of his nomination. Affectionately yours,
John Sherman.
Headquarters Military Division op the Missouri, )
St. Louis, March 14, 1868. \
Dear Brother : — I don't know what Grant means by his silence
in the midst of the very great indications of his receiving the nomina
tion in May. Doubtless he intends to hold aloof from the expression
of any opinion, till the actual nomination is made, when, if he accepts
with a strong radical platform, I shall be surprised. My notion is that
he thinks that the Democrats ought not to succeed to power, and that
he would be willing to stand a sacrifice rather thau see that result. . . .
I notice that you Republicans have divided on some of the side ques
tions on impeachment, and am glad you concede to the President the
largest limits in his defense that are offered. 1 don't see what the Repub
licans can gain by shoving matters to an extent that looks like a foregone
conclusion. No matter what men may think of Mr. Johnson, his office is one that
ought to have a pretty wide latitude of opinion. Nevertheless, the trial
is one that will be closely and sternly criricised by all the civilized
¦world. . . . Your brother,
W. T. Sherman.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 425
At this time I wrote from Washington :
You notice tho imj)oachmont proceedings have commenced. As a
matter of course, I havo nothing to say about them. It is strange that they
have so little effect on prices and business. The struggle has been so long
that the effect has been discounted.
The President was very anxious to send you to Louisiana, and only
gave it up by reason of your Indian command. He raight think that your
visit to Europe now was not consistent with the reason given for your re
maining at St. Louis. Still, on this point you could readily ask his opinion,
and if that agrees with Grant's you need feel no delicacy in going. No
more favorable opportunity or time to visit Europe will likely occur. . . .
General Sherman responded :
I hardly know what to think of the impeachment. Was in hopes Mr-
Johnson would be allowed to live out his term, and doubt if any good will
result by a change for the few months still remaining of his term. A new
cabinet, and the changes foreshadowed by Wade's friends, though natural
enough, would have insufficient time to do any good. I have a private let
ter from Grant as late as March 18, but he says not a word of his political
intentions. So far as I know, he would yet be glad of a change that would
enable him to remain as now. . .
On the 27th of February, 1868, Mr. Stevens made the follow
ing report :
" The committee on reconstruction, to whom was referred, on the 27th
of January last, the following resolution :
" ' Resolved, That the committee on reconstruction be authorized to
inquire what combinations have been made or attempted to be raade to
obstruct the due execution of the laws ; and to that end the coramittee have
power to send for persons and papers, and to examine witnesses on oath, and
report to this House what action, if any, they may deem necessary ; and
that said comraittee have leave to report at any time.'
"And to whom was also referred, on the 21st day of February, instant, a
communicarion from Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, dated on
said 21st day of February, together with a copy of a letter from Andrew
Johnson, President of the United States, to the said Edwin M. Stanton, as
follows : Executive Mansion, )
Washington, D. C, February 21, 1868. \
Sir :  By virtue of the power and authority vested in me, as President,
by the constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed
from office as secretary for the department of war, and your functions as
such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication.
You will transfer to Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant
General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and erapowered to

426 RECOLLECTIONS
act as Secretary of War ad interim, all records, books, papers, and other
public property now in your custody and charge. Respectfully yours,
Andrew Johnson.
Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Washington, D. C.
"And to whom was also referred by the House of Representatives the
following resolution, namely :
" ' Resplved, That Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be
impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors :'
" Have considered the several subjects referred to them, and submit the
following report :
" ' That in addition to the papers referred to the committee, the committee
find that the President, on the 21st day of February, 1808, signed and issued
a commission or letter of authority to one Lorenzo Thomas, directing and
authorizing said Thomas to act as Secretary of War ad interi7ii, and to take
possession of the books, records, and papers, and other public jiroperty in
the war department, of which the following is a copy :
Executive Mansion, 1
Washington, February 21, ISeS.)
Silt: — Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office as sec
retary for the department of war, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act
as Secretary of War ad interim, aud will immediately enter upon the discharge of
the duties pertaining to that office. Mr. Stanton has been instructed to trauster to
you all the records, hooks, papers, and other yrablic property now in his custody and
charge. Respectfully yours, Andhew Johnson.
To Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General of the United
States Army, Washington, District of Columbia.
Official copy respectfully furnished to Hon. Edwin M. Stanton. L. Thomas,
Secretary of War ad interim.'
" Upon the evidence collected by the committee, which is herewith pre
sented, and in virtue of the powers with which they have been invested by
the House, they are of the opinion that Andrew Johnson, President of the
United States, be impeached of high crimes and raisdeineanors. They there
fore recommend to the House the adoption of the accompanying resolution :
Thaddeus Stevens,
George S. Boutwell,
John A. Bingham,
C. T. IIuLBURD,
John F. Farnsworth,
P. C. Beaman,
H. E. Paine."
" Resolution providing for the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, Presi
dent of the United States :
"'Resolved, That Andrew Johnson, President of the Unitsd States, be
impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors in office.' "
On the 24th of February the resolution providing for im-
peachraent was adopted by a vote of 126 yeas and 47 nays.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 427
On the same day Mr. Stevens introduced the following reso-
lutioii, which was agreed to:
" Resolved, 'Hint a committee of two be apjiointed to go to the Senate
and, at the bar thereof, in the name of the House of Representatives and of
all the people of the United States, to impeach Andrew Johnson, President
of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors in office, and
ac(piaint the Senate that the House of Representatives will, in due time,
exhibit particular articles of impeachment ag.ainst hira and raake good the
same ; and that the committee do demand that the Senate take order lor the
appearance of said Andrew .lohnson to answer to said impeachment.
" 2. Resolved, That a comraittee of seven be appointed to prepare and
report articles of irapeachment against Andrew Johnson, President of the
United States, with power to send for persons, papers, and records, and to
take testimony under oath."
The speaker then announced the following committees
under these resolutions :
Committee to communicate to the Senate the action of the House order
ing an irapeachraent of the President of the United States : — Thaddeus
Stevens, of Pennsylvania, and John A. Bingham, of Ohio.
Committee to declare articles of impeachment against the President of
the United States : — George S. Boutwell, of Massachusetts ; Thaddeus
Stevens, of Pennsylvania ; John A. Bingham, of Ohio ; James F. Wilson, of
Iowa; John A. Logan, of Illinois; George W. Julian, of Indiana; and
Hamilton Ward, of New York.
The trial of this impeachment by the Senate was an impos
ing spectacle, which excited profound interest during its con
tinuance. It was soon developed that the gravamen of the
charges was not the removal of Stanton, but was the attempt
of the President to force General Lorenzo Thomas into a high
office without the advice and consent of the Senate.
In the trial of this impeachment I wished to be, and I think
I was, absolutely impartial. 1 liked the President personally
and harbored against him none of the prejudice and animosity
of some others. I knew he was bold and rash, better fitted for
the storms of political life than the grave responsibilities of
the chief magistrate of a great country. His education, such
as it was, was acquired late in life, when his character was
formed and his habits fixed. Still, his mind was vigorous and
his body strong, and when thoroughly aroused he was an able

428 RECOLLECTIONS
speaker ; his language was forcible and apt and his influence
over a popular audience was effective. I disliked above all
things to be a judge in his case. I knew some of my associates
were already against the President, and others were as decided
in his favor. I resolutely made up my mind, so far as human
nature would admit, to fairly hear and irapartially consider
all the evidence produced and all the arguments made.
The counsel for the President were Henry Stanbery, B. R.
Curtis, Jeremiah S. Black, William M. Evarts, William S. Groes
beck, and Thomas A. R. Nelson. The managers oh the part of
the House of Representatives were John A. Bingham, George
S. Boutwell, James F. Wilson, John A. Logan, Thomas Wil
liams, Benjamin F. Butler and Thaddeus Stevens. The trial
lasted nearly two months, was ably conducted on both sides,
and ended by the acquittal of the President, on the eleventh
article of impeachment, by a vote of 35 guilty and 19 not guilty.
Two-thirds of those voting not having pronounced " guilty," as
required by the constitution, the President was acquitted upon
this article. Two other articles were voted on with the same
result. Thereupon, on the 26th day of May, 1868, the Senate
sitting as a court of impeachment adjourned without day.
Mr. Stanton resigned and General Schofield became Secretary
of War. I voted for conviction for the reasons stated in the opin
ion given by rae. I have carefully reviewed this opinion and
am entirely content with it. I stated in the beginning my
desire to consider the case without bias or feeling. I quote in
full the opening paragraphs:
" This cause must be decided upon the reasons and presumptions which
by law apply to all other criminal accusations. Justice is blind to the
official station of the respondent, and to the attitude of the accusers speak
ing in the name of all the people of the United States. It only demands of
the Senate the application to this cause of the principles and safeguards
provided for every huraan being accused of crime. For the proper apph-
cation of these principles we ourselves are on trial before the bar of public
opinion. The novelty of this proceeding, the historical character of the
trial, and the grave interests involved, only deepen tho obligation of tho
special oath we have taken to do impartial justice according to the constitu
tion and laws.

TliOToto of tho Sonalo.sillJiit^ as alR^i Court oTLnpeach-
iiu'iil fortliHriaIoI,^il|^JJHi!S|Pi*<'sidciit ol Ike
iriu(cdSlales,upoiitkclllli,2ndan(l3rdArticles. t^V'/J^ffi Chief Justice. ^^^-^r^""- 'T' Secxetswy.,

2 ..V.>dy]y^
/ d d.-^€rd^^_^
7'' Laz. S. Jt—u.

Z3

1.1 ^''"^ /4^^i<^M
20 J??L .M>,-<^'i
22 \M. 3. urlxU./

25 CU^ /, 6 azrzJS.^

fo!jtdet.<-<y^

32 <^..y.i

^^»rt(!5uilt^t

t.'ry'--

7-
13 C7^. t/J^t^^

dydi*-j €-i^
js '^dSdM^,^
J9 Ja-.-.-d'' -^yi:^^!^

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 429
"And this case must be tried upon the charges now made by the House
of Representatives. We cannot consider other offenses. An appeal is made
to the consoienoe of each Senator of guilty or not guilty by the President
of eleven specific offenses. In answering this appeal a Senator cannot jus
tify hiraself by publio opinion, or by polirical, personal, or partisan demands,
or even grave considerations of public policy. His conscientious conviction
of the truth of these charges is the only test that will justify a verdict of
guilty. God forbid that any other should prevail here. In forming this
conviction we are not limited merely to the rules of evidence, which, by the
experience of ages, have been found best adapted to the trial of offenses iu
the double tribunal of court and jury, but we may seek light from history,
from personal knowledge, and from all sources that will tend to form a con
scientious conviction of the truth. And we are not bound to technical defi
nitions of crimes and misdemeanors.
"A willful violation of the law, a gross and palpable breach of moral
obligations tending to unfit an officer for the proper discharge of his office,
or to bring the office into public contempt and derision, is, when charged
and proven, an impeachable offense. And the nature and criminality of
the offense may depend on the official character of the accused. A judge
would be held to higher official purity, and an executive officer to a stricter
observance of the letter of the law. The President, bound as a citizen to
obey the law, and specially sworn to execute the law, may properly, in his
high office as chief raagistrate, be held to a stricter responsibility than if his
example was less dangerous to the publio safety. Still, to justify the con
viction of the President there must be specific allegations of some crime or
misdemeanor involving raoral turpitude, gross misconduct, or a willful vio
lation of law, and the proof must be such as to satisfy the conscience of the
truth of the charge.
" The principal charges against the President are that he willfully and
purposely violated the constitution and the laws, in the order for the re
moval of Mr. Stanton, and in the order for the appointment of General
Thomas as Secretary of War ad i7iferim. These two orders were con
temporaneous — part of the same transaction — but are distinct acts, and are
made the basis of separate articles of impeachment."
I stated the grounds of my conviction that the action of
the President, in placing Lorenzo Thomas in charge of the
office of Secretary of War, without the advice and consent of
the Senate, was a clearly illegal act, comraitted for the pur
pose of obtaining control of that office. I held that the Presi
dent had the power to remove Secretary Stanton, but that he
had not the power to put anyone in his place unless the per
son appointed was confirmed by the Senate.

430 RECOLLECTIONS
Did the act of March 2, 1867, coraraonly known as the
"tenure of office act," confer this authority? On the con
trary, it plainly prohibits all teraporary appointraents ex
cept as specially provided for. The third section repeats the .
constitutional authority of the President to fill all vacancies
happening during the recess of the Senate by death or resigna
tion, and provides that if no appointraent is raade during the
following session to fill such vacancy, the office shall reraain in
abeyance until an appointraent is duly raade and confirraed, and
provision is raade for the discharge of the duties of the office in
the raeantirae. The second section provides for the suspension
of an officer during the recess, and for a teraporary appoint
raent during the recess. This power was exercised and fully ex
hausted by the suspension of Mr. Stanton until restored by the
Senate, in corapliance with the law. No authority whatever
is conferred by this act for any teraporary appointment during
the session of the Senate, but, on the contrary, such an ap
pointraent is plainly inconsistent with the act, and could not
be inferred or implied frora it. The sixth section further pro
vides :
"That every removal, appointment, or eraployment, made, had, or exer
cised, contrary to the provisions of this act, and the making, signing, seal
ing, countersigning, or issuing of any coraraission or letter of authority for,
or in respect to, any such appointment or employment, shall be deemed,
and are hereby declared to be, high misdemeanors, and, upon trial and con
viction thereof, every person guilty thereof shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding $10,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both
said punishments, in the discretion of the court."
This language is plain, explicit, and was inserted not only
to prohibit all teraporary appointments except during the
recess, and in the mode provided for in the second section, but
the unusual course was taken of affixing a penalty to a law
defining the official duty of the President. The original bifi
did not contain penal clauses; but it was objected in the Sen
ate that the President had already disregarded mandatory pro
visions of law, and would this; and therefore, after debate,
these penal sections were added to secure obedience to the
law, and to give to it the liigbef?t sanction.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 431
I quote my view of the action of the President:
"Was not this act willfully violated by tho President during the session
of the Senate?
" It appears, from the letter of the President to General Grant, from his
conversation with General Sherman, and from his answer, that he had
formed a fixed resolve to get rid of Mr. Stanton, and fill the vacancy with
out the advice of the Senate. He might have secured a new Secretary of
War by sending a proper nomination to the Senate. This he neglected
and refused to do. He cannot allege that the Senate refused to relieve him
frora an obnoxious minister. He could not say that the Senate refused to
confirm a proper appointee, for he would raake no a])pointment to them.
The Senate had declared that the reasons assigned for suspending Mr. Stan
ton did not make the case required by the tenure of office act, but I affirm
as my conviction that the Senate would have confirmed any one of a great
number of patriotic citizens if nominated to the Senate. I cannot resist the
conclusion, from the evidence before us, that he was resolved to obtain a
vacancy in the department of war in such a way that he might fill the
vacancy by an appointment without the consent of the Senate, and in viola
tion of the constitution and the law. This was the purpose of the offer to
General Sherman. This was the purpose of the appointment of General
Thoraas. If he had succeeded as he hoped, he could have changed his
temporary appointment at pleasure, and thus have defied the authority of
the Senate and tho mandatory provisions of the constitution and the law.
I cannot in any other way account for his refusal to send a nomination to
the Senate until after the appointment of General Thomas. Tho removal
of Mr. Stanton by a new appointment, confirraed by the Senate, would have
complied with the constitution. The absolute removal of Mr. Stanton
would have created a temporary vacancy, but the Senate was in session to
share in the appointment of another. An ad interim appointment, without
authority of law, during the session of the Senate, would place the depart
ment of war at his control in defiance of the Senate and the law, and would
have set an evil exaraple, dangerous to the public safety — one which, if
allowed to pass unchallenged, would place the President above and beyond
the law." The claim now made, that it was the sole desire of the President to
test the constitutionality of the tenure of office act, is not supported by rea
son or by proof. He might, in August last, or at any tirae since, without
an ad interi7n appointment, have tested this law by a writ of quo warranto.
He might have done so by an order of removal, and a refusal of Mr. Stan
ton's requisitions. He might have done so by assigning a head of a depart
ment to the place made vacant by the order of removal. Such was not his
purpose or expectarion. He expected by the appointment of General Sher
man at once to get possession of the war department, so when General
Thomas was appointed there was no suggesrion of a suit at law, until the

432 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
unexpected resistance of Mr. Stanton, supported by the action of the Sen
ate, indicated that as the only way left."
It is difficult to convey, by extracts, a correct idea of a care
fully prepared opinion, but this statement shows ray view of the
case, and, entertaining it, I felt bound, with rauch regret, to vote
"guilty" in response to my name, but I was entirely satisfied
with the result of the vote, brought about by the action of
several Republican Senators. There was some disposition to
arraign these Senators and to attribute their action to corrupt
motives, but there was not the slightest ground for these impu
tations. Johnson was allowed to serve out his term, but there
was a sense of relief when General Grant was sworn into office
as President of the United States.

CHAPTER XX.
The Fortieth Congeess.
Legislation During tha Two Years — Further Reduction of tho Currency by the
Secretary Prohibited — Report of the Committee of Conference— Bill for Re
funding the National Debt — Amounted to |2,6.39,.382,G72.68 on De
cember 1, 1867 — Resumption of Specie Payments Recommended —
Refunding Bill in the Senate — Change in My Views— Debate
Participated in by Nearly Every Senator — Why the Bill
Failed to Become a Law — Breach Between Congress
and the President Paralyzes Legislation — Nomina
tion and Election of Grant for President — His
Correspondence with General Sherman.
DURING the 40th Congress, extending from the 4th of
March, 1867, to the 4th of March, 1869, the chief sub
jects of debate were the contraction of the currency,
the refunding of the public debt, the payment of
United States notes in coin, and a revision of the laws impos
ing internal taxation and duties on imported goods.
Early in the first session of this Congress, the opposition of
the people to the policy of contraction, constantly pressed by
Secretary McCulloch, became so imperative that both Houses
determined to take from him all power to diminish the volume
of currency then in circulation. On the 6th of December, 1867,
Robert C. Schenck, chairman of the committee of ways and
means, reported a bill in the following words :
"Be it e7iacted, etc.. That so rauch of an act entitled "An act to araend
an act to provide ways and means to supjiort the governraent," approved
April 12, 1800, as authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to rerire United
States notes to an amount not exceeding $4,000,000 in any one month, is
hereby repealed.
" Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passage
of this act the further reduction of the currency by reriring or canceling
United States notes shall be, and hereby is, prohibited."
This bill was taken up for consideration on the 7th of
December, and, after a brief debate, with little opposition, (433)

434 RECOLLECTIONS
passed the House by the vote of 127 yeas and 32 nays. It was
sent to the Senate, referred to the comraittee on finance, and
was carefully considered. That coramittee, with but two dis
senting voices, directed me to report the bill to the Senate with
a single araendraent. On the 9th of January, 1868, 1 called up
the bill for consideration, and raade a brief explanation, in
which I said the coramittee, after full reflection, had thought
proper to recoraraend the passage of the bill of the House of
Representatives, in substance as it was sent to us, only chang
ing the phraseology. I said that the bill contemplated further
legislation during that session. It was understood by all tliat
some more comprehensive measures must be adopted dur
ing that session, but until further legislation there should
be no more contraction of the currency. I thus stated the
reasons which, in my opinion, justified the passage of the
bill: " First. It will satisfy the public mind that no further contraction will
be made when industry is in a measure paralyzed. We hear the complaint
from all parts of the country, from all branches of industry, from every
state in the Union, that industry for some reason is paralyzed, and that trade
and enterprise are not so well rewarded as they were. Many, perhaps
erroneously, attribute all this to the contraction of the currency — a contrac
tion that I believe is unexampled in the history of any nation. $140,000-
000 have been withdrawn out of |737,000,000 in less than two years. There
is no exaraple, that I know of, of such rapid contraction. It may be wise, it
may be beneficial, but still it has been so rapid as to excite a stringency
that is causing complaint, and I think the people have a right to be relieved
from that.
" Second. This bill will restore to the legislature their power over the
currency, a power too important to be delegated to any single officer of the
governraent. I do not wish to renew the discussion that occurred here two
years ago on the passage of the law of April 12, 1866; but it is still my
opinion, as it has been always, that the question of the amount of currency
ought to be fixed by Congress. We have the power to coin money, and to
regulate the value thereof. We have coined money in the form of paper
money, and certainly the power of Congress in this respect ought not to be
delegated to any single officer. If contraction ought to be established as
the policy it should be by Congress, not by the Secretary of the Treasury,
and it is not wise to confer upon any officer of the government a power of
this kind, whicli can be and may be properly controlled and limited by
Congress.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 435
" T'ldrd. This will strongly impress upon Congress the imperative duty
of acting wisely upon financial measures, for the responsibility will then
rest entirely upon Congress, and will not be shared with them by the Secre
tary of the Treasury.
" Foxn'th. It will encourage business men to continue old, and embark
in new, enterprises, when they are assured that no change will be made in
the measure of value without the open and deliberate consent of their
representatives. " These considerations are amply sufficient to justify this measure, but
it is only preliminary to others of far greater iraportance that must command
our attention. These involve —
" 1. The existence of the banking system of the United States.
" 2. The time and manner of resuming specie payments.
" 3. The modo of redeeming the debt of the United States and the
kind of money in which it may be redeemed ; and, in this connection, the
taxes, if any, that may be levied upon the public creditors.
" 4. Such a reduction of our expenditures and taxes as will relieve our
constituents, as far as practicable, frora the burdens resulting from the re
cent war."
This led to a long debate, which continued until the 15th of
January, when the bill, as amended, passed by a vote of 33 yeas
and 4 nays.
These decisive votes against contraction definitely settled
the policy of the government to retain in circulation the then
existing volume of United States notes. The disagreement be
tween the two Houses was referred to a committee of confer
ence, and the conferees reported the bill in the following forra :
"Re it enacted, by the Se7iate a7id House qf Represe7itatives of the
United States qf America m Co7igress as.iembled,
"That, from and after the jiassage of this act, the authority of the Sec
retary of the Treasury to make any reduction of the currency, by retiring
or canceling United States notes, shall be, and is hereby, suspended ; but
nothing herein contained shall prevent the cancellarion and destruction of
mutilated United States notes, and the replacing of the same with notes of
the same character and amount."
This bill was sent to the President, and, not having been
returned by him within ten days, it became a law without his
approval, under the constitution of the United States.
On the 17th of December, 1867, I reported from the com
raittee on finance a bill for refunding the national debt and
for a conversion of the notes of the United States. This bill

436 RECOLLECTIONS
was accorapanied by an elaborate report. This report was
carefully prepared by me, and raet, I believe, the general ap
proval of the coraraittee on finance. In that Congress there
were but five Democratic Senators, and it so happened that all
the members of the committee on finance were Republicans,
but these represented widely different opinions on financial
subjects. I undertook, in this report, to deal in a general way
with these topics. Upon a careful reading of it now I find but
little that I do not approve. The general policy set out in this
report Avas subsequently embodied into laws, but the raeasures
relating to refunding the debt and the resumption of specie
payments were not adopted until several years after the date
of the report.
The ascertained debt on the first day of December, 1867, as
stated by the Secretary of the Treasury, was $2,639,382,572.68,
divided as follows :
DEBT BEARING COIN INTEREST.
5 per cent, bonds, 10-40's and old fives 1205,532,850 00
6 per cent, bonds of 1867 and 1868. . . 14,690,941 80
6 per cent, bonds, 1881  282,731,550 00
6 per cent. 5-20 bonds  1,324,412,550 00
Navy pension fund  13,000,000 00
 $1,840,367,891 80
DEBT BEARING CURRENCY INTEREST.
6 per cent, bonds  18,601,000 00
3-year compound interest notes  62,249,360 00
3-year 7-30 notes  285,587,100 00
3 per cent, certificates  12,855,000 00
 $379,292,460 00
MATURED DEBT NOT PRESENTED FOR PAYMENT.
3-year 7-30 notes, due August 15, 1867 $2,855,400 00
Compound interest notes, matured June
10, July 15, August 15, and Octo
ber 15, 1867  7,065,750 00
Bonds, Texas indemnity  260,000 00
Treasury notes, acts July 17, 1861 and
prior thereto  163,011 64
Bonds, April 15, 1842  54,061 64
Treasury notes, March 3, 1803  868,210 00
Temporary loan  2,880,900 55
Certificates of indebtedness  31,000 00
 $14,178,363 83

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 437
DICHT KIOARINO NO INTEREST.
United States notes  $350,212,473 00
Fra<itional currency  3()!o'29!984 05
Gold certificates of deposit  18,401,400 00
 '-  $405,543,857 05
Total debt  $2,639,382,572 68
Amount in treasury, coin  $100,090,645 69
Amount in treasury, currency  37,486,175 24
—  ¦ 138,176,820 93
Araount of debt less cash in treasury  $2,501,205,751 75
Besides the amounts thus stated there were large balances
due to loyal states, upon accounts not then rendered or ascer
tained, and to individuals for losses sustained during the war.
The ascertained debt consisted of twenty different forms of
liability, some payable in coin and some in lawful money.
Much of this debt was due on demand, but the great body of
it was payable in from one to twenty years, while the unascer
tained debt was being stated from time to time and had to be
met from accruing revenues. Nearly $300,000,000 of debt had
been paid out of current revenue since the close of the war.
The first recommendation of the committee was that the debt
should be refunded as rapidly as practicable into bonds bearing
as low a rate of interest as possible, payable in twenty or thirty
years, but redeemable at the pleasure of the United States in
five or ten years. This recomraendation was based on the fixed
policy of the government to limit the duration of a bond with
in a lifetime, and thus leave it to the option of the government
to pay its indebtedness and to reduce the rate of interest after
a brief period, if the condition of the public revenues and of
the money market should enable it to do so.
Here the question arose whether the bonds known as the
5-20 bonds could be paid in lawful money after the period of
five years, when, by their terms, they were redeemable. These
bonds promised to pay so many dollars. Other bonds were spe
cifically payable in coin, and still other bonds were payable in
lawful money; that is, in United States notes. These notes
were then at a discount, being worth in the market about 88
cents in coin. But the notes were obligations of the United
S.— 31

438 RECOLLECTIONS
States, and it was the duty, and then within the power of the
United States, to advance these notes to par in coin.
The majority of the comraittee, I araong them, believed
that the United States should not take advantage of its own
wrong, in not redeeming its notes in coin, but should either
advance these notes to par in coin, or pay its bonds in coin.
The comraittee, therefore, recoraraended that both the notes
and bonds should be received in exchange for the funding
bonds, and that the notes should be reissued and raaintained
at par with coin, and be supported by a reserve of coin ample
to maintain the notes at par with coin. In other words, the
United States would resume specie payraents. The committee
expressed the opinion that, with the system of taxation then
in existence, this policy of refunding and resumption could be
maintained, and that the rate of interest then paid could be
reduced to four or five per cent., and the money then in circu
lation would be kept at par with coin at the cost only of the
interest on the bullion and coin held to meet any notes pre
sented for redemption. The comraittee also recoraraended
that the internal and tariff taxes be revised to correct irregu
larities or defects, and to repeal such as were oppressive.
While the coramittee opposed any contraction of the cur
rency it also opposed any increase of it. The general theory
of the report was to advance both bonds and notes to par in
coin, and to issue bonds in such form and terms that the gov
ernment could redeem them, or renew thera at lower rates of
interest. The report states :
" Your committee are therefore of opinion that no legal tender notes,
beyond the araount now limited by law, should be issued under any
pressure of financial or political necessity until they are convertible into
gold and silver. Our duty is to elevate the ' greenback,' the standard of
national credit, to the standard of gold, the money of the world. Until
then we are not on a substantial foundation. Let us make the dollar of our
promise in the pocket of a laboring man equal to the dollar of our mint.
Tho rapidity of the process is a question of ])ublic jiolicy. It raay be hy
gradually diminishing the volume of currency, or be loft at its present
amount until increased business or improved cicidit bring it up to the
specie standard."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 439
The refunding bill was taken up by the Senate on the 27th
of February, 1868, and was fully discussed by me. After stat
ing its general objects I said :
" It is with this view, and actuated by this principle, that the committee
on finance have endeavored to make this bill a bill of relief, reducing, if
possible, consistent with the public faith, the interest of the public debt,
and giving increased value to United States notes. We have endeavored
in this bill to accomplish three results : First, to reduce the rate of interest
with the voluntary consent of the holders of our securities ; second, to raake
a distinct provision for the payraent of the public debt ; and third, to give
increased value to United States notes, and to provide for a gradual re
sumption of specie payments. All these are objects admitted to be of the
highest importance. The only question is, whether the measure proposed
tends to aocomjilish thein."
I then quoted the example of the United States and Great
Britain in reducing the rate of interest on public securities. I
do not approve all I said in that speech. It has been fre
quently quoted as being inconsistent with my opinions and ac
tion at a later period. It is more important to be right than
to be consistent. I then proposed to use the doubt expressed
by many people as to the right of the government to redeem
the 5-20 bonds in the legal tender money in circulation when
the bonds were sold, as an inducement to the holders of bonds
to convert thein into securities bearing a less rate of interest
but specifically payable in coin. Upon this policy I changed
my opinion. I became convinced that it was neither right
nor expedient to pay these bonds in money less valuable than
coin, that the government ought not to take advantage of its
neglect to resume specie payments after the war was over, by
refusing the payment of the bonds with coin. I acted on this
conviction when years afterwards the resumption act was
adopted, and tho beneficial results from this action fully justi
fied my change of opinion.
The debate on this bill was participated in by nearly every
Senator, and was conceded to be the most comprehensive and
instructive debate on financial questions for raany years.
The bill, as it tiien stood, authorized the Secretary of the
Treasury to issue registered or coupon bonds of the United
States, in such form and of such denominations as he might

440 RECOLLECTIONS
prescribe, payable, principal and interest, in coin, and bearing
interest at the rate of five per cent, per annum, payable semi
annually, such bonds to be payable forty years frora date and
to be redeeraable in coin after ten years.
It authorized the exchange of the bonds commonly known
as the 5-20 bonds for the bonds authorized by that bill. It
also authorized the holders of United States notes to the
amount of $1,000, or any multiple of that sum, to convert them
into the five per cent, bonds provided for by the bill. This bill
passed the Senate on the 14tli of July, 1868. It passed the
House of Representatives soon after, with amendments that
were disagreed to by the Senate. The bill and amendments
were referred to a conference committee which reported a
modified bill which passed both Houses and was sent to Presi
dent Johnson, but at so late a period of the session that it was
not approved by him and thus failed to become a law.
The comraittee on finance at the next and closing session of
that Congress deeraed it useless to report another funding bill,
and on the 16tli of Deceraber, 1868, I reported, by direction of
that coraraittee, the following resolution :
" Resolved by the Senate, That neither public policy nor the good faith
of the nation will allow the redemption of the 5-20 bonds until the United
States shall perform its priraary duty of paying its notes in coin or making
them equivalent thereto ; and measures shall bo adopted by Congress to se
cure the resumption of specie payments at as early a period as practicable."
This resolution was the foundation of the act "to strengthen
the public credit," the first act subsequently adopted in Gen
eral Grant's adrainistration. Neither this nor any other finan
cial raeasure was pressed to a conclusion, as we knew that auy
raeasure that would be sanctioned by Congress would probably
be vetoed by the President. This, however, did not stop the
almost continous financial debate which extended to currency,
banking, funding and taxation. The drift of opinion was in
favor of resuinption without contraction, aud funding at low
rates of interest on a coin basis. The wido breach between
Congress and the President paralyzed legislation. But one
vital question had been settled, that no further contraction of

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 441
the currency should occur; and it was well settled, though not
embodied in law, that no question would be made as to the
payment of bonds in coin.
While Congress was drifting to a sound financial policy,
the President and his Secretary of the Treasury were wide
ly divergent, the former in favor of repudiation, and the
latter in favor of paying and canceling all United States
notes. President Johnson, in his last annual message to Congress,
on the 9th of December, 1868, substantially recommended a
repudiation of the bonds of the United States, as follows :
" Upon this statement of facts it would seem but just and equitable
that the six per cent, interest now paid by the government should be ap
plied to the reduction of the principal in semi-annual installments, which in
sixteen years and eight months would liquidate the entire national debt.
Six per cent, in gold would, at present rates, be equal to nine per cent, in
currency, and equivalent to the payment of the debt one and a half times in
a fraction loss than seventeen years. This, in connection with the other
advantages derived from their investment, would afford to the public cred
itors a fair and liberal compensation for the use of their capital, and with
this they should be satisfied. The lessons of the past admonish the lender
that it is not well to be over anxious in exacting from the borrower rigid
compliance with the letter of the bond."
While the President wished to apply the interest on the
United States bonds to the redemption of the principal, the
Secretary of the Treasury was pressing for the restoration of
the specie standard. I quote from his report to Congress,
made on the same day the message of the President was
sent us:
"The first and most iraportant of these measures are those which shall
bring about, without unnecessary delay, the restor.ation of the specie stand
ard. The financial difficulties under which the country is laboring may be
traced directly to the issue, and continuance in circulation, of irredeemable
promises as lawful money. The country will not be really and reliably
prosperous until there is a return to specie payments. The question of a
solvent, convertible currency, underlies all other financial and economical
questions. It is, in fact, a fundamental question ; and until it is settled,
and settled in accordance with the teachings of experience, all attempts at
other financial and economical reforms will either fail absolutely, or be but

442 RECOLLECTIONS
partially successful. A sound currency is the lifeblood of a commercial
nation. If this is debased the whole current of its commercial life must be
disordered and irregular. The starting point in reformatory legislation
must be here. Our debased currency raust be retired or raised to the par
of specie, or cease to be lawful money, before substantial progress can be
made with other reforms,"
Under these circumstances, it was manifest that no wise
financial legislation could be secured until General Grant
should become President of the United States.
The Republican national convention met at the city of
Chicago, on the 20th of May, 1868. It declared its approval
of the reconstruction policy of Congress, denounced all forms
of repudiation as a national crime, and pledged the nation
al good faith to all creditors at home and abroad, to pay all
public indebtedness, not only according to the letter, but
the spirit, of the law. It favored the extension of the national
debt over a fair period for redemption, and the reduction of
the rate of interest whenever it could be honestly made. It
arraigned, with severity, the treachery of Andrew Johnson,
and deplored the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln. The en
tire resolutions were temperate in tone; they embodied the
recognized policy of the Republican party, and raade no issue
on which Republicans were divided.
The real issue was not one of raeasures, but of men. The
nomination of General Grant for President, and of Schuyler
Colfax for Vice President, upon the basis of reconstruction by
loyal men, was antagonized by the noraination, by the Demo-
ocratic convention, of Horatio Seymour for President and Fran
cis P. Blair for Vice President, upon the basis of universal
amnesty, and immediate restoration to power, in the states
lately in rebellion, of the men who had waged war against the
government. In this contest. Grant was the representative Union soldier
of the war, and Seymour was the special representative of the
opponents in the north to the war. Grant received 197 elec
toral votes, and Seymour 72.
A few hours in advance of the meeting of the national
convention, there was a great mass meeting of soldiers

OF JOHN SHERMAN. ^ 443
and sailors of the war, a delegation from whom, headed
by General Lucius Faircliild, of Wisconsin, entered the con
vention after its organization and presented this resolu
tion:
"Resolved, That as the soldiers and sailors, steadfast now as ever to the
Union and the flag, fully recognize the clairas of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to
the confidence of tho Araerican people, and believing that the victories
won under his guidance in war will be illustrated by, him in peace by such
raeasures as will secure the fruits of our exertions and restore the Union
upon a loyal basis, we declare our deliberate conviction that he is the choice
of the soldiers and sailors of the Union for the office of President of the
United States."
This resolution was received with great applause. Henry
S. Lane, of Indiana, leaped upon a chair, and moved to nomi
nate Grant by acclamation. This was done without rules and
amid great excitement.
I need not say that I gave to General Grant my cordial and
active support. Frora the beginning of the canvass to the end,
there was no doubt about the result. I spoke in his behalf in
several states and had frequent letters from him. Assuming
that his election was already foreordained, I invited him to
stop with me at Mansfield, on his way to Washington, and
received from him the following autograph letter, which,
though dated at the Headquarters, Array of the United States,
was written at Galena, Illinois :
Headquarters Army of the United States, )
Washington, D. C, October 26, 1868. \
Dear Senator : — Your invitarion to Mrs. Grant and myself to break
our journey east and spend a day or two with you was duly received, and
should have been sooner acknowledged. I thank you for the invitation
and would gladly accept it, but my party will be large and having a special
car it will inconvenience so many people to stop over. Mrs. Grant too and
her father are anxious, when they start, to get through to Washington
before they unpack. Yours truly, U. S. Grant.
Hon. J. Sherman, U. S. S.
On the same day he wrote a letter to General Sherman,
which was referred to me by the latter. I regard this letter,
which exhibits cleariy the cordial relations existing, at the

444 RECOLLECTIONS
time, between these two men, as of sufficient interest to justify
its publication: Headquarters Army of the United States, )
Washington, D. C, October '26, 1868. \
Dear General : — Your letter inclosing one from your brother was duly
received. As I did not want to change your determination in regard to the
publication of the correspondence between us, and ara getting to be a little
lazy, I have been slow in answering. I had forgotten what my letter to
you said but did remember that you spoke of the probable course the
Ewings would take, or something about them which you would not prob
ably want published with the letters. The fact is, general, I never wanted
the letters published half so much on my own account as yours. There are
a great raany people who do not understand as I do your friendship for me.
I do not believe it will raake any difference to you in the end, but I do fear
that, in case I ara elected, there will be men to advocate the ' abolition of the
general ' bill who will charge, in support of their motion, lack of evidence
that you supported the Union cause in the canvass. I would do all I could
to prevent any such legislation, and believe that without my doing anything
the confidence in you is too genuine with the groat majority of Congress
for any such legislation to succeed. If anything more shouhl bo necessary
to prove the falsity of such an assumption the correspondeiico between us
heretofore could then be produced.
I agree with you that Sheridan should be let alone to prosecute the In
dian War to its end. If no treaty is made with the Indians until they can
hold out no longer we can dictate terms, and they will then keep them.
This is the course that has been pursued in the northwest, where Crook has
prosecuted war in his own way, and now a white man can travel through all
that country with as much security as if there was not an Indian in it.
I have concluded not to return to Washington until after the election.
I shall go very soon after that event, however. My family are all well and
join rae in respects to Mrs. Sherman and the children.
Yours truly, U. S. Grant.
Lt. Gen. W. T. Sherman, U. S. Army.
In the spring of 1871 there was a good deal of feeling
against Grant, and some opposition indicated to his renomi
nation for the presidency. Several influential papers had
recommended the nomination of General Sherman, who then,
as always afterwards, had resolutely announced his pur
pose not to allow his name to be used in connection with tho
office of President. This suggestion arose out of the feeling that
injustice had been done to General Sherraan by the Secretary of
War, Mr. Belknap, who practically ignored him, and issued

tt^- z^ c^-^^ ^^C^ A..^

<.-*^

^

6^-.^ -^^i-i^

d'^^-^-^ —

^^-rx-'t-:^^ >u-.t.-«.-t<^

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 445
orders in the name of the President, greatly interfering with
the personnel of the army. This led to the transfer of General
Sherman from Washington to St. Louis. General Sherman
made no complaint of Grant, who had the power to con
trol the action of the Secretary of War, but the general
impression prevailed that the friendly relations that had al
ways subsisted between the President and General Sherman
had been disturbed, but this was not true. I have no doubt
that Grant, in the following letter, stated truthfully his per
fect willingness that General Sherman should, if he wished,
be made his successor as President :
Long Branch, N. J., June 14, 1871.
Dear Senator: — Being absent at West Point until last evening, for the
last week, your letter of the 5tli inst., inclosing one to you from General Sher
man, is only just received. Under no circurastances would I publish it ; and
now that the ' New York Herald ' has published like statements from him
it is particularly unnecessary. I think his determination never to give up
his present position a wise one, for his own comfort, and the public, knowing
it, will relieve him from the suspicion of acting and speaking with reference
to the effect his acts and sayings may have upon his claims for political pre
ferment. If he should ever change his raind, however, no one has a better
right than he has to aspire to anything within the gift of the American
people. Very truly yours,
Hon. j. Sherman, U. S. S. U. S. Grant.

CHAPTER XXI.
Beginning of Grant's Administration.
His Arrival at Washington in 18G4 to Take Command of the Armies of the United
States — Inaugural Address as President — "An Act to Strengllien the Public
Credit" Becomes a Law on March 19, 18G9 — Formation of the Presi
dent's Cabinet — Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution — Bill to
Fund the Publio Debt and to Aid in the Resumption of Specie
Payment — Bill Finally Agreed to by the House and Seu
ate — A Redemption Stipulation Omitted — Reduc
tion of the Publio Debt — Problem of Advancing
United States Notes to Par with Coin.
PRESIDENT Grant entered into his high office without
any experience in civil life. In his training he was a
soldier. His education at West Point, his services as
a subordinate officer in the Mexican War, and as the
principal officer in the Civil War of the Rebellion, had demon
strated his capacity as a soldier, but he was yet to be tested in
civil life, where his duties required him to deal with problems
widely differing from those he had successfully perforraed in
military life. I do not recall when I first met him, but am
confident it was before his coming to Washington, in March,
1864, to take coraraand of the armies of tho United States.
His arrival in Washington then was not generally known until
he entered the dining hall at Willard's hotel. He came in
alone, and was modestly looking for a vacant seat when I rec
ognized him and went to hira and invited him to a seat at my
table. He quietly accepted, and then the word soon passed
among the raany guests at the tables, that General Grant was
there, and something like an ovation was given him. His face
was unknown, but his name and praise had been sounded for
two years throughout the civilized world. His coming to take
full command of the Union forces was an augury of success to
every loyal citizen of the United States. His personal mem
oirs, written in the face of death, tell the story of his life in
(446)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 447
a modest way, without pretension or guile. I am not sure that
he added to his fame by his eight years of service as President
of the United States, Ijut what he did in subduing the Rebel
lion will always keep his name among those of the greatest
benefactors of his country. He was elected because of his
military services, and would have been elected in 1868 by any
party that put him in nomination, without respect to platform
or creed. He opened his inaugural address with these words:
" Your suffrages having elected rae to the office of President of the
United States, I have, in conforraity with the constitution of our country,
taken the oath of oflice prescribed therein. I have taken this oath without
mental reservation and with the determination to do to the best of my abil
ity all that it requires of me. The responsibilities of the position I feel but
accept thera without fear. The office has come to me unsought. I com
mence its duties untrammeled. I bring to it a conscientious desire and de
termination to fill it to the best of my ability to the satisfaction of the
people. " On all leading questions agitating the public mind I will always ex
press my views to Congress, and urge them according to my judgment ;
and when I think it advisable will exercise the constitutional privilege of
interposing a veto to defeat measures which I oppose. But all laws will be
faithfully executed whether they meet my approval or not.
"I shall on all subjects have a policy to recommend, but none to enforce
against the will of the people. Laws aro to govern all alike, those opposed
as well as those who favor them. I know no method to secure the repeal
of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution."
And closed with these words :
"In conclusion I ask patient forbearance one toward another through
out the land, and a deterrained effort on the part of every citizen to do his
share toward ceraenting a happy Union ; and I ask the prayers of the nation
to Almighty God in behalf of this consummation."
I believe he strictly performed what he thought was his
duty, and if he erred, it was from a want of experience in the
complicated problems of our form of government. The execu
tive department of a republic like ours should be subordinate
to the legislative department. The President should obey and
enforce the laws, leaving to the people the duty of correcting
any errors committed by their representatives in Congress.

448 RECOLLECTIONS
The first act of the 41st Congress, entitled "An act to
strengthen the public credit," was introduced in the House of
Representatives by General Schenck, on the 12th of March,
1869, and was passed the same day. It carae to the Senate on
the 15th of March, and, on ray raotion, was substituted for a
similar bill, reported from the committee on finance, and, after
a brief debate, was passed by the decisive vote of 42 yeas and
13 nays, as follows:
" That in order to remove any doubt as to the purpose of the govern
ment to discharge all just obligations to the public creditors, and to settle
conflicting questions and interpretations of the laws by virtue of which
said obligations have been contracted, it is hereby provided and declared
that the faith of the United States is solemnly pledged to the payment in
coin, or its equivalent, of all obligations of the United States not bearing
interest, known as United States notes, and of all interest-bearing obliga
tions of the United States, except in cases where the law authorizing the
issue of any such obligations has expressly provided that the same may be
paid in lawful money or other currency than gold and silver. But none of
said interest-bearing obligations not already due shall be redeemed or paid
before maturity, unless at such time United States notes shall be convertible
into coin at the option of the holder, or unless at such time bonds of the
United States bearing a lower rate of interest than the bonds to be re
deemed can be sold at par in coin. And the United States also solemnly
pledges its faith to make provision, at the earliest practicable period, for the
redemption of the United States notes in coin."
It was approved by the President and became a law on the
19th of March. Thus the controversy as to the payment of
bonds in coin was definitely decided.
But little else of importance was done by Congress during
this session. The usual general appropriation bill for the
Indian departraent having failed in the previous Congress, a
bill for that purpose was introduced in the House of Represent
atives and becarae a law on the lOtli of April. The bill to
provide for deficiencies was passed on the same day. A change
was made in the tax on distilled spirits and tobacco, and pro
vision was made for submitting the constitutions of Virginia,
Mississippi and Texas to a vote of the people. A number of
measures of local importance were passed, and, on the 10th of
April, the Congress adjourned without day.

U. S. GRANT.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 449
The Senate convened in pursuance of a proclamation of the
President immediately on the adjournment of Congress, and aft
er a few days, confined mainly to executive business, adjourned.
The early movements of Grant as President were very
discouraging. His attempt to form a cabinet without con
sultation with anyone, and with very little knowledge, ex
cept social intercourse with the persons appointed, created a
doubt that he would not be as successful as a President as he
had been as a general, a doubt that increased and became a
conviction in the minds of many of his best friends. The ap
pointraents of Stewart and Borie were especially objectionable.
George S. Boutwell was well fitted for the office of Secretary
of the Treasury, to which he was appointed after Stewart was
excluded by the law. Washburne was a man of ability and ex
perience, but he was appointed Secretary of State only for a
brief time, and was succeeded by Hamilton Fish. Mr. Fish was
eminently qualified for that ofiice, and during both of the terms
of Grant discharged the duties of it with great ability and
success. Jacob D. Cox, of Ohio, was an educated gentleman, a
soldier of great merit, and an industrious and competent Secre
tary of the Interior.
The impression prevailed that the President regarded these
heads of departments, invested by law with specific and inde
pendent duties, as mere subordinates, whose functions he might
assume. This is not the true theory of our government. The
President is intrusted by the constitution and laws with im
portant powers, and so by law are the heads of departments.
The President has no more right to control or exercise the
powers conferred by law upon them than they have to control
him in the discharge of his duties. It is especially the custom
of Cougress to intrust to the Secretary of the Treasury specific
powers over the currency, the public debt and the collection of
the revenue. If he violates or neglects his duty he is subject to
removal by the President, or impeachment by the House of
Representatives, but the President cannot exercise or control
the discretion reposed by law in the Secretary of the Treasury,
or in any head or subordinate of any departraent of the govern
ment. This limitation of the power of the President, and the
S.— 32

450 RECOLLECTIONS
distribution of power among the departments, is an essential
requisite of a republican government, and it is one that an
army officer, accustomed to give or receive orders, finds it
difficult to understand and to observe when elected President.
Congress convened on the 6th of December, 1869. The
chief recommendations submitted to Congress by the President
related to the gradual reconstruction of the states lately in
rebellion, to the resumption of specie payments and tho reduc
tion of taxation. The relations of Great Britain and the Lhiited
States growing out of the war were treated as a grave question,
and a hope was expressed that both governments would give
immediate attention to a solution of the just claims of the
United States growing out of the Civil War. The message was
brief, modest, conservative and clear. He closed by saying that
on his part he promised a rigid adherence to the laws and their
strict enforcement.
The raost important measure consummated during this
Congress was the adoption of the 15th amendment of the con
stitution of the United States, declared, in a proclamation of
the Secretary of State, dated March 30, 1870, to have been
ratified by the legislatures of twenty-nine of ilie thirty -seven
states, as follows :
" The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States, or by any state, on account of race, color,
or previous condition of servitude."
It is a question of grave doubt whether this amendment,
though right in principle, was wise or expedient. The de
clared object was to secure impartial suft'rage to the negro
race. The practical result has been that the wise provisions of
the 14th araendraent have been modified by the 15th amend
ment. The latter amendment has been practically nullified
by the action of most of the states where the great body of
this race live and will probably always remain. This is done,
not by an express denial to thera of the right of suffrage, but
by ingenious provisions, which exclude thera on the alleged
ground of ignorance, while permitting all of the white race,
however ignorant, to vote at all elections. No way is pointed
out by which Congress can enforce this amendment. If the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 451
principle of the 14th amendment had remained in full force,
Congress could have reduced the representation of any state,
in the proportion which the number of the male inhabitants of
such state, denied the right of suffrage, might bear to the whole
nuraber of male citizens twenty-one years of age, in such state.
This simple remedy, easily enforced by Congress, would have
secured the right of all persons, without distinction of race or
color, to vote at all elections. The reduction of representation
would have deterred every state from excluding the vote of
any portion of the male population above twenty-one years of
age. As the result of the 15th amendment, the political power
of the states lately in rebellion has been increased, while the
population, conferring this increase, is practically denied all
political power. 1 see no remedy for this wrong except the
growing intelligence of the negro race, which, in time, I trust,
will enable them to demand and to receive the right of suf
frage. The most important financial measure of that Congress was
the act to refund the national debt. The bonds known as the
5-20's, bearing interest at six per cent., became redeemable,
and the public credit had so advanced that a bond bearing a
less rate of interest could be sold at par. The committee on
finance of the Senate, on the 3rd day of February, 1870, after
more care and deliberation than, so far as I know, it has ever
bestowed on any other bill, finally reported a bill to fund tho
public debt, to aid in the resumption of specie payments, aud
to advance the public credit.
The first section authorized the issue of $400,000,000 of
bonds, redeemable in coin at the pleasure of the United
States, at any time after ten years, bearing interest at five per
cent. The second section authorized the issue of bonds to the
araount of $400,000,000, redeemable at the pleasure of the gov
ernment, at any time after fifteen years, and bearing interest
at four and a half per cent.
The third section authorized the issue of $400,000,000 of
bonds, redeemable at any time after twenty years, and bearing
interest at the rate of four per cent.

452 RECOLLECTIONS
The proceeds of all these bonds were to be applied to the
rederaption of 5-20 and 10-40 bonds, and other obligations of
the United States then outstanding.
It will be perceived that this bill provided for the issue of
securities, all of which were redeeraable within twenty years,
and two-thirds of which were redeeraable within fifteen years;
so that if the bill, as reported by the coraraittee on finance,
had becorae the law, no such difficulty as we labored under
eighteen years later, when we had a large surplus revenue,
would have existed.
The bill passed the Senate, in substantially the forra reported
frora the committee on finance, by the large vote of 33 to 10,
and was, perhaps, the raost carefully prepared of any of the
financial raeasures of the governraent.
In opening the debate, I called the attention of the Senate
to the great advantage the governraent had derived frora raak
ing its bonds redeeraable at brief periods, like the 5-20 bonds,
the 10-40 bonds, and the treasury notes. I also called atten
tion to the fact that the sarae principle of raaintaining the
right to redeera had been ingrafted in the bill then before the
Senate, that the duration of the bonds was divided into three
periods of ten, fifteen, and twenty years, during which time, by
the gradual application of the surplus revenue, the whole debt
might be paid. This was the bill sent by the Senate to the
House of Representatives, and if it had been adopted by the
House, there would have been no trouble about the application
of the surplus revenue, but by common consent it would have
been used in the speedy extinction of the public debt.
The bill was sent to the House of Representatives on the
11th of March, and there seeras to have slept for nearly
three raonths without any action on the part of the House.
On the 6th of June the coramittee on ways and raeans
reported House bill 2167, covering the sarae subject-matters
as were contained in the Senate bill. The consideration of
this bill was comraenced, by sections, on the 30th of June.
The raaterial part of the first section of this bill is as follows :
" That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to issue, in a
sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate 11,000,000,000, coupon or

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 453
registered bonds of the United States, in such forra as he may prescribe, and
of denomination of |50, or sorae multiple of that sura, redeemable in coin of
the present standard value at the pleasure of the United States after thirty
years from the date of their issue, and bearing interest payable semi-annu
ally in such coin at the rate of four ])er cent, per annum."
Thus it will be perceived that instead of the three series of
bonds provided by the Senate, the 1 louse proposed to authorize
the issue of $1,000,000,000, redeemable in coin after thirty years
from the date of their issue, with interest at four per cent. This
difference in the description of the bonds was the chief difference
between the propositions of the House and the Senate. To em
phasize this difference I quote what was said by the chairman
of the House committee, Mr. Schenck, in reporting the bill :
" It is a proposition to refund a portion of the public debt of the coun
try at a very much lower rate of interest. It is a proposition that $1,000,
000,000 of that debt shall take the form of bonds, upon which the United
States will agree to pay only four per cent, per annum. But, in order to
raake those bonds acceptable to capitalists at home and abroad, further pro
vision is made that the bonds themselves shall have a longer time to run,
not merely for thirty years, but that they shall only be redeemable after
thirty years ; thus giving them, without the objections, the advantages
which in a great degree attach to a perpetual loan."
This bill, with a very limited debate, passed the House on
the 1st of July, and then immediately was offered as a sub
stitute for the Senate bill, and was adopted.
Those two rival propositions, differing mainly upon the
question of the character of the bonds to be issued, were sent
to a committee of conference, composed on the part of the
Senate of Messrs. Sherman, Sumner and Davis. The chief con
troversy ill the conference was as to the description of funding
bonds to be provided for. After many meetings it was finally
agreed that the bonds authorized should be $200,000,000 five
per cent, bonds, $300,000,000 four and a half per cent, bonds,
of the character described in the Senate bill, and $1,000,000,000
of four per cent, bonds, as described in the House bill. In other
words, it was a compromise which, like raany other compro
mises, was in its results an injury of great magnitude, but it
was an honest difference of opinion between the Senate and
the House, in which, tested by the march of time, the Senate

454 RECOLLECTIONS
was right and the House was wrong. But it was perfectly raani
fest that without this concession by the Senate to the House,
the bill could not have passed, and even with this concession
the first report of the comraittee of conference was disagreed
to by the House, because of certain provisions requiring the
national banks to substitute the new bonds as the basis of
banking circulation.
This disagreement by the House compelled a second com
mittee of conference, in which the contested banking section
was stricken out, and the bill agreed to as it now stands on the
statute books.
And thus thirty-year securities, subsequently at a premium
of more than twenty-five per cent., were forced into the law by
the deterrained action of the House.
This proved to be an error. No bonds should have been
authorized that did not contain a stipulation that the govern
ment might pay thera at pleasure, after a brief period and before
they became due. This stipulation during the war was inserted
in the 5-20 and the 10-40 bonds. Its wisdom and importance
were demonstrated by the early substitution of bonds bearing
a lower rate Of interest for the 5-20 six per cent, bonds. When
this precedent was cited, and its saving to the government
shown, it was strongly urged by the House conferees that such
a provision would prevent the sale of bonds, and that there was
no probability that bonds bearing less than four per cent, could
be sold at any time at par. This was proven to be an error
within a short period, for securities of the United States bear
ing three per cent, interest have been sold at par.
Some years later. Senator Beck, of Kentucky, arraigned me
for consenting to the issue of bonds running thirty years, but I
was able to show by the public records that [ resisted this long
duration of the four per cent, bonds, that the House insisted
upon it, and that Mr. Beck, then a Member of the House,
voted for it. The same objection was made by the Senate con
ferees to the bonds bearing four and a half and five per cent.,
that no stipulation was made authorizing the government to
anticipate the payment of these bonds. Under the Senate bill
the bonds would have been redeeraable in a brief period, and

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 455
would, no doubl, have been redeemed by bonds bearing four,
three and a half, or three per cent, interest.
'The bill, a,s it passed, authorized the conversion of all forms
of securities, then outstanding, into the bonds provided for by the
refunding act at par one with the other. The Secretary of the
Treasury could sell the bonds provided for by the refunding act
at par, and with the proceeds pay off the then existing securi
ties as they became redeemable. In the discussion of this bill
in the Senate, on the 28th of February, 1870, 1 made a carefully
prepared speech, giving a detailed history of the various securi
ties outstanding, and expressed the confident opinion that the
existing coin bonds bearing six per cent, interest, and other
securities bearing interest in lawful money, could be refunded
into bonds running for a short period, bearing a reduced rate
of interest. I said :
"After a long and memorable debate of over two months iu both
Houses of Congress, the act of February 25, 1862, was adopted. That was
a revolutionary act. It was a departure from every principle of the finan
cial policy of this government from its foundation. It overthrew, not only
the mode and raanner of borrowing money, but the character of our public
securities, and was the beginning of a new financial system, unlike anything
that had been ventured upon by any people in tho world before. This new
])ollcy was adopted under the pressure of the severest necessities, and only
because of those necessities, and was intended to meet a state of affairs
never foreseen by the framers of the constitution.
"Now, sir, it is important to understand the principles of this act; for
this act was the foundation of all the financial measures during the war. It
was upon the basis of this act, enlarged and modified from time to time,
that wo wore onablnd to borrow $.3,000,000,000 in three years and to put
down tho most formidable rebellion in modern history. This act was based
upon certain fundamental conditions.
" Extraordinary power was conferred upon the Secretary of the Treasury
to borrow money in almost any form, at home or abroad, practically without
limitation as to araount, or with limits repeatedly enlarged. Every form of
security which the ingenuity of man could devise was provided for by this
act or the acts araending it. Under these acts bonds were issued, p.ayable
in twenty years, treasury notes were issued, certificates of indebtedness,
compound-interest notes, and other forms of indebtedness, with varying
rates of interest. There were, however, distinct limitations upon the nature
and character of these loans. It was stipulated first, that more than six per
cent, interest in gold should not be paid on the bonds issued, nor more than
seven and three-tenths interest in currency should be paid on the notes

456 RECOLLEtrriONS
issued ; and second, all the loans provided by this act were short loa/is, re
deemable within a short period of time at the pleasure of the United States.
Thus the gold bonds were redeemable after five years, the treasury notes
were redeemable after three years, and all forms of security were within the
power of the United States at the end of five years at furthest. And third,
no securities were to be sold less than par. Their unavoidable depreciation
was measured, not by the rate of their discount, but by the depreciation
of the currency. We held our bonds at par in paper money, though at
times they were worth only forty per cent, of gold.
" Now, Mr. president, it may be proper to state the reasons for this
policy. Short loans were adopted that we raight not bind the future to
the payment of usurious rates of interest. We recognized the existence of
a great pressing necessity that would tend to depreciate the public credit ;
and we took care, therefore, not to make those loans for a long period, so as
to bind the future to the payraent of the rates which we were then com
pelled to pay.
" We provided for gold interest and gold revenue, to avoid the extreme
inflations of an irredeemable currency. We wished to rest our paper fabric
on a coin basis, and to keep constantly in view ultimate specie payments.
I believe but for that provision in the loan act of February 25, 1862, that in
1864 our financial system would have been utterly overthrown. There was
nothing to anchor it to the earth except the collection of duties in coin and
the payment of the interest on our bonds in coin.
"But, sir, the most important and the most revolutionary principle of
the act of February 25, 1862, was the legal tender clause. This was a
measure of imperious and pressing necessity. I can recall very well the
debates in the Senate and in the House of Representatives upon the legal
tender clause. We were then standing in the face of a deficit of some
$70,000,000 of unpaid requisitions to our soldiers. Creditors in all parts of
the country, among them the most powerful corporations of this country,
had refused our demand notes, then very slightly depreciated. We were
under the necessity of raising two or three million dollars per day. We
were then organizing armies unheard of before. We stood also in the pres
ence of defeat, constant and imrainent, which fell upon our armies in all
parts of the country. It was before daylight was shed upon any part of our
military operations. We adopted the legal tender clause then as an abso
lute expedient. Remembering the debate, I know with what slow steps the
majority of the Senate came to the necessity of adopting leoal tenders.''
The debt of the United States on the 31st of August, 1866,
when it reached its maxiraura, araounted to $2,844,649,627.
On the 1st of March, 1870, the debt had been reduced to less
than $2,500,000,000, of which about $400,000,000 was in United
States notes, for the rederaption of which no pro^¦isioll was

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 457
made. It was the confident expectation of Congress, which
proved to be correct, that before the refunding operations were
complete, the debt would be gradually reduced, so that the
sum of $1,500,000,000, provided for in the law, would be suffi
cient to refund all existing debts, except United States notes,
into the new securities.
The process of refunding progressed slowly, was confined to
the five per cent, bonds, and was somewhat interrupted by the
financial stringency of 1873.
By the act approved January 20, 1871, the amount of five
per cent, bonds authorized by the act approved July 14, 1870,
was increased to $500,000,000, but the act was not to be con
strued to authorize any increase of bonds provided for by the
refunding act.
Prior to the 24tli of August, 1876, there had been sold, for
refunding purposes, the whole of the $500,000,000 five per cents.
authorized by that act, and on that day Lot M. Morrill, Secre
tary of the Treasury, entered into a contract for the sale of
$40,000,000 of the four and a half per cent, bonds authorized
by the refunding act. By this process of refunding an annual
saving had been made of $5,400,000 a year, by the reduction of
interest in the sale of $540,000,000 bonds. On the 9th day of
June, 1877, I, as Secretary of the Treasury, terminated the con
tract raade by Mr. Morrill, my predecessor, and placed on the
market the four per cent, bonds provided for by the refunding
act. The subsequent proceedings under this act will be more
appropriately referred to hereafter.
The more difiicult problem remained of advancing United
States notes to par in coin. This could be accomplished by
reducing the amount of these notes outstanding, and, thus, by
their scarcity, add to their value. They were a legal tender in
payment for all debts, public and private, except for duties on
imported goods and interest on the public debt. As long as
these notes were at a discount for coin they could circulate
only in the United States, and until they were at par with
coin, coin would not circulate as money in the United States,
except to pay coin liabilities. The notes were a dishonored,
depreciated promise, the purchasing power of which varied day

458 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
by day, the football of "bulls and bears." In many respects
these notes were better than any other form of depreciated
paper raoney, for the people of the United States had full con
fidence in their ultimate redemption. They were rauch better
and in higher favor with the people than the state bank notes
which they replaced and which were not only depreciated like
United States notes but had been often proven worthless in
the hands of innocent holders. They were as good as national
bank notes, however well secured, for these notes were not pay
able in coin, but could be redeemed by United States notes.
Still, with all their defects the United States notes were the
favorite money of the people, and any attempt to contract
their volurae was met by a strong popular opposition.
As already stated, the gradual reduction of the volume of
United States notes, urged so strongly by Secretary McCulloch
and provided for by the resuinption act, met with popular op
position and was repealed by Congress. Under these condi
tions it became necessary to approach the specie standard of
value without a contraction of the currency. The act to
strengthen the public credit, already referred to, was the be
ginning of this struggle. The governraent was, by this act,
committed to the payment of the United States notes in coin
or its equivalent. But when and how was not stated or even
considered. The extent to which Congress would then go, and
to which popular opinion would then consent, was the declara
tion that the "United States soleranly pledges its faith to
raake provision at the earliest practicable period for the re
demption of the United States notes, in coin." Many events
must occur before the fulfillment of this promise could be
atterapted.

CHAPTER XXII.
Our Coinage Before and After the War.
But Little Coin in Circulation in 18()9 — General Use of Spanish Pieces — No Mention
of the Dollar Piece in the .\ct of 18.53 — Free Circulation ot Gold After the
18.').'} Act— No Truth in tho " Denioiii'tii'-a,tion " Charge — Account of the Bill
Revising the Laws Relative to the Mint, Assay Offices ond Coinage of the
United States — Why the Dollar was Dropped from the Coins — Then
Known Only fis a Coin for the Foreign Market — Establishment
of the "Trade Dollar " — A Legal Tender for Only Five Dol
lars — Ri'poatcd Attempts to Have Congress Pass a I'''ree-
Coiniige Act— flow it Would Affect Us — Coiitroverey
lietween Senator Sumner and Sccretaiy Fish.
AT the date of the passage of the act "to strengthen
the public credit," on March 19, 1869, there was but
little coin in circulation in the United States except
gold coin, and that was chiefly confined to the Pacific
coast, or to the large ports of entry, to be used in payment of
duties on imported goods. Silver coins were not in circulation.
The amount of silver coined in 1869 was less than one million
dollars and that mainly for exportation. Fractional notes of
different denominations, from ten to fifty cents, were issued by
the treasury to the amount of $160,000,000, of which $120,000,-
000 had been ledeemed, and $40,000,000 were outstanding in
circulation or had been destroyed. These fractional notes
superseded silver coin as United States notes superseded gold
coin. The coinage laws as they then existed were scattered
through the laws of the United States from 1793 to 1853, and
were in many respects imperfect and conflicting.
The ratio fixed by Alexander Hamilton, of fifteen ounces of
silver as the equivalent of one ounce of gold, was, at the time it
was adopted, substantially the raarket ratio, but the constant
tendency of silver to decline in relative value to gold had been
going on for years and it continued to decline, almost impercep
tibly perhaps, and the legal ratio in France having been fixed
(459)

460 RECOLLECTIONS
at fifteen and a half to one, there was an advantage in shipping
gold to that country from this, and consequently very little if
any of our gold, even if coined, came into circulation. By the
act of 1793 foreign coins were made a legal tender for circula
tion in this country, and the Spanish silver dollar, on which ours
was founded, with its 8ths or "real" pieces, found great favor.
Singularly enough, in Mexico and the West Indies, the Spanish
population would exchange their dollars for ours, dollar for dol
lar, although their pieces, if not worn, were each three grains
heavier. This led to an exchange of our dollars for the Span
ish ones, which were promptly recoined at the raint at a fair
profit to the depositor.
This put upon the government the expense of manufactur
ing coins with no advantage. The evil grew so great that in
1806 the further coinage of our silver dollars was prohibited by
President Jefferson, in an order issued through the state de
partment, as follows : Depaethent of State, May 1, 1806.
Sik: — In consequence of a representation from the director of the Bank
of the United States, that considerable purchases have been made of dollars
coined at the mint for the purpose of exporting thera, and as it is probable
further purchases and exportations will be made, the President directs that
all the silver to be coined at the mint shall be of sraall denominations, so that
the value of the largest pieces shall not exceed half a dollar.
I am, etc., James Makison.
RoBEKT Paii'erson, Esq., Director of the Mint.
The coinage of the silver dollar at our mint was not resumed
until 1836. The small and worn Spanish pieces, being legal
tender, also drove from circulation our fractional coins coming
bright and plump from the raint. Bank notes and tliese worn
pieces furnished the circulation of the country.
The condition of the currency became so objectionable that
in 1880 the subject was taken up by a special committee of the
House of Representatives, appointed for that purpose. Three
reports were subraitted, in one of which the committee stated
that of $37,000,000 coined at our mints only $5,000,000 re
mained in circulation. A bill was submitted to the House fix
ing the ratio at 15.625 to one, and was strongly urged. There
appeared no special opposition to the raeasure for a time, but

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 461
the feeling of opposition to the circulation of bank bills had
become very strong among the people and was reflected by the
administration. In the Senate the opposition to bank bills was headed by
Thomas H. Benton, who openly advocated so changing the
coinage ratio that gold would circulate to the exclusion of the
notes, and perhaps incidentally of silver also. The matter of
providing for silver, however, received little attention. The
ratio was changed to sixteen to one, John Quincy Adams and
Daniel Webster joining with Calhoun and Benton in bringing
it about. It was well understood at the time that the opera
tion of this act would banish silver. The object of the change
was distinctly stated, especially by Mr. Benton, who said :
" To enable the friends of gold to go to work at the right place to effect
the recovery of that precious metal, which their fathers once possessed ;
which the subjects of European kings now possess ; which the citizens of
the young republics to the south all possess ; which even the free negroes of
San Domingo possess ; but of which the yeomanry of this America have
been deprived for more than twenty years, and will be deprived forever,
unless they discover the cause of the evil and apply the remedy to its root."
By the act of 1834, superadded to by the act of 1837, the ratio
of sixteen to one instead of fifteen to one was adopted. The
result was that gold coins were largely introduced and circu
lated ; but as sixteen ounces of silver were worth raore than one
ounce of gold, the silver coins disappeared, except the depre
ciated silver coin of other countries, then a legal tender. To
correct this evil, Congress, on the 21st of February, 1853, pro
vided for the purchase of silver bullion by the government, to
be coined by it and not for the owners of the bullion. That
was the first time the government had ever undertaken to
buy bullion for coinage purposes. It provided for the purchase
of silver bullion and the coinage of subsidiary silver coins at
the ratio of less than fifteen to one. No mention was raade
of the dollar in the act of 1853. It had fallen into disuse and
when coined was exported, being raore valuable as bullion than
as coin. As the value of the minor coins was less than gold at the
coinage ratio, they were limited as a legal tender to five dollars

462 RECOLLECTIONS
in any one payraent. They were, in fact, a subsidiary coin made
on government account, and, from their convenience and neces
sity, were raaintained in circulation. They were sirailar to
the coins now in use, revived and reenacted by the resumption
act of 1875.
It was not the intention of the framers of this law to demone
tize silver, because they were openly avowed biinetallists, but
it limited coinage to silver bought by the government at
market price. They saw, in this expedient, a way in which
silver could be raore generally utilized than in any other.
Mr. R. M. T. Hunter, an avowed bimetallist, in a report to the
United States Senate, said :
" The mischief would be great indeed if all the world were to adopt but
one of the precious metals as the standard of value. To adopt gold alone
would diminish the specie currency more than one-half ; and the reduction
the other way, should silver be taken as the only standard, would be large
enough to prove highly disastrous to the human race."
He evidently did not consider the purchase of silver bullion
at its coinage value by the government, instead of the free
coinage of silver, as raonoraetallisin.
After the passage of the act of 1853, gold in great quanti
ties, the product of the mines in California, was freely coined
at the ratio of sixteen to one, and was in general circulation.
If, then, the purchase of silver, instead of the free coinage of
silver, is the demonetization of silver, it was demonetized prac
tically in 1834, and certainly in 1853, when the purchase of
silver and its use as raoney increased enorraously. In 1852
the coinage of silver was less than $1,000,000. In the next
year the coinage of silver rose to over $9,000,000, and reached
the aggregate of nearly $50,000,000 before the beginning of the
Civil War. Then, as now, the purchase of sih-er bullion led
to a greater coinage than free coinage.
This was the condition of our coinage until the war, like all
other great wars in history, drove all coins into hoarding or ex
portation, and paper proraises, great and small, from five cents
to a thousand dollars, supplanted both silver and gold.
When, therefore, it became necessary to prepare for the
coinage of gold and silver to meet the requirements of the act

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 463
of 1869, " to strengthen the public credit," it was deemed by the
ti-easury department advisable to revise and codify the coinage
laws of the United States. Mr. Boutwell, then Secretary of the
Treasury, with the assistance of John Jay Knox, deputy comp
troller, afterwards comptroller, of the currency, and the officers
of the mints of the United States, prepared a complete code
of the coinage laws. It was submitted to experts, not only to
those in the treasury but also to all persons familiar with the
subject. The bill was entitled, "An act revising and amend
ing the laws relative to the mint, assay offices, and coinage of
the United States."
The law, tested by experience, is conceded to be an excellent
measure. A single provision of this bill has been the subject
of charges and imputations that the silver dollar was, in a
fraudulent and surreptitious way, " demonetized " by this act.
There is not the slightest foundation for this imputation. The
bill was sent to me as chairman of the committee on finance,
and submitted to the Senate with this letter :
Treasury Department, April 25, 1870.
Sir: — I have the honor to transmit herewith a bill revising the laws rel
ative to tho mint, assay offices, and coinage of the United States, and
accompanying report. The bill has been prepared under the supervision of
John Jay Knox, deputy comptroller of the currency, and its passage is rec
ommended in the form presented. It includes, in a condensed form, all the
important legislation upon the coinage, not now obsolete, since the first mint
w.as established, in 1792; and the re[)ort gives a concise statement of the
various amendments proposed to existing laws and the necessity for tho
change rocoramended. There has been no revision of the laws pertaining
to the raint and coinage since 1837, and it is believed that the passage of the
inclosed bill will conduce greatly to the efficiency and econoray of this
important branch of the government service.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Geo. S. Boutwell, Secretary of the Treasury.
Hon. John Sherman,
Chairman Finance Committee, United States Senate.
Section 15 of the original bill omitted the silver dollar. It
was as follows :
" Sec. 15. And be itfu7-ther e7iacted. That of the silver coin, the weight
of the half dollar, or piece of 50 cents, shall be 192 grains ; and that of the
quarter dollar and dime shall be, respecrively, one-half and one-fifth of

464 RE(X)LLI0CTTONS
the weight of said half dollar. That the silver coin issued in conformity
with the above section shall be a legal tender in any one payment of debts
for all sums less than one dollar."
Section 18 prohibited all coins except those named, as
follows :
" Sec. 18. And be it further enacted. That no coins, either gold, silver,
or minor coinage, shall hereafter be issued from the mint other than those of
the denominations, standards, and weights herein set forth."
Special attention was called to the dropping out of the
silver dollar, both by Secretary Boutwell and Mr. Knox, and
the opinion of experts was invited and given on this special
matter and communicated to Congress. These sections, in
the three years that the bill was pending in Congress, were
changed either in the House or Senate in only one or two
unimportant particulars.
Accompanying the report of Mr. Knox were the stateraents
of Robert Patterson, of Philadelphia, confessedly one of the
ablest scientists and metallists in the United States, in favor
of dropping from our coinage the silver dollar. Dr. Linderman,
the director of the mint, made the same recomraendation. In
the report accorapanying the introduction of the bill, under
date of April 25, 1870, Coraptroller Knox gives the history
of the silver dollar and the reasons for its discontinuance as
follows :
" The dollar unit, as money of account, was established by the act of
Congress April 2, 1792, and the same act provides for the coinage of a sil
ver dollar, ' of the value of a Spanish milled or pillar dollar, as the same
is now current.' The silver dollar was flrst coined in 1794, weighing 416
grains, of which 371^ grains were pure silver, the fineness being 892.4.
The act of January 18, 1837, reduces the standard weight to 412^ grains,
but increases the fineness to 900, the quantity of pure silver remaining 371^
grains as before, and at these rates it is still coined in limited araount."
He then says :
" The coinage of the silver dollar piece, the history of which is here
given, is discontinued in the proposed bill. It is, by existing law, the dollar
unit, and assuming the value of gold to be fifteen and one-half times that of
silver, being about the mean ratio for the past six years, is worth in gold a
premium of about three per cent, (its value being 103.12) and intrinsically more
than seven per cent, premium in our other silver coin, its value thus being

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 465
107.42. The present laws consequently authorize both a gold dollar unit and
a silver dollar unit, difToring from each other in intrinsic value. The present
gold dollar piece is made the dollar unit in the proposed bill, and the silver
dollar piece is discontinued. If, however, such a coin is authorized, it should
be issued only as a commercial dollar, not as a standard unit of account, and
of the exact value of the Mexican dollar, which is the favorite for circulation
in China and Japan and other oriental countries.
" Note. — Assuming the value of gold to be fifteen and one-half times
that of silver, the French 5-franc piece is worth about 96| cents (96.4784) ;
the standard Mexican dollar 104.90, our silver dollar piece 103.12, and two
of our half-dollar pieces 96 cents."
The finance coraraittee carefully examined the bill. We
Avere not in any hurry about it. It was sent to us in April,
1870, and was printed and sent, by the order of the Senate, to
everyone who desired to read it or look over it.
That committee was composed of Messrs. Sherman, Wil
liams, Cattell, Morrill, Warner, Fenton and Bayard.
The bill was reported unanimously to the Senate December
19, 1870, after lying in the coraraittee room for eight months.
The dollar was dropped from the coins in the bill framed
in the treasury department. It was then an unknown coin.
Although I was quite active in business which brought under
my eye different forms of money, I do not remeraber at that
time ever to have seen a silver dollar. Probably if it had
been mentioned to the committee and discussed it would
have been thought, as a matter of course, scarcely worthy of
inquiry. If it was known at all, it was known as a coin for
the foreign market.
No one proposed to reissue it. The Pacific coast had six
intelligent, able, and competent Senators on the fioor of the
Senate. They would have carefully looked out for the interest
of silver, if the bill affected them injuriously. The authority
given in the bill as it finally passed for coining the so-called
trade dollar, met all the demands of the silver producing
states. But the silver dollar at that time was worth more than
the gold dollar. California and Nevada were on the gold
standard. The bill was printed over and over again, finally reported,
and brought before the Senate. It was debated there for three

466 RECOLLECTIONS
days. Every Senator from the Pacific coast spoke upon the
measure. Representing the committee, I presented the ques
tions as they occurred from tirae to time, until finally we
differed quite seriously upon the question of a charge for the
coinage of gold. The only yea and nay vote in the Senate on
the passage of that bill, after two days debate, occurred on
the 10th of January, 1871. Those who voted in favor of the
bill were Messrs. Bayard, Boreman, Brownlow, Casserly, Cole,
Conkling, Corbett, Davis, Gilbert, Hamlin, Plarlan, Jewett,
Johnston, Kellogg, McCreary, Morton, Nye, Patterson, Pome-
roy. Pool, Ramsey, Rice, Saulsbury, Spencer, Stewart, Stockton,
Sumner, Thurman, Tipton, Trumbull, Vickers, Warner, Willey,
Williams, Wilson and Yates — 36.
Every one of the six Members of the Pacific coast voted for
the bill after full debate.
Against this bill were Messrs. Abbott, Araes, Anthony,
Buckingham, Carpenter, Chandler, Fenton, Hamilton, of Texas,
Harris, Howell, Morrill, of Vermont, Pratt, Scott and Sher
man — 14.
So that on the only yea and nay vote which was ever taken
upon the bill I voted against it. It was not on account of de-
raonetizing the silver dollar. I did not do it because of that,
but I did it because gold was then only coined for the benefit
of private depositors; we were not using gold except for limited
purposes. Gold was the standard in California, and we thought
the people of that state ought to continue to pay the old and
reasonable rate for coinage of one-fifth of one cent to the dol
lar. No action was taken on the bill in the House of Repre
sentatives, and it failed to pass during that Congress. At the
beginning of the next Congress the bill was introduced by Wm.
D. Kelley, and reported by him favorably to the House of Rep
resentatives. It gave rise to considerable debate, especially
the section defining the silver coins. No one proposed to
restore the old silver dollar, but the House inserted a
coin precisely the equivalent of five francs, or two half
dollai's of our subsidiary coin, and this fiaiiii d<dlar, as it
was called, was made, like other subsidiary coins, a legal
tender for only five dollars. On the 9th of April, 1872, Mr.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 467
Hooper, having charge of the bill, called especial attention
to the dropping of the old dollar and the substitution of the
French dollar. He said, on April 9, 1872:
" Section 10 reenacts the provisions of existing laws defining the silver
coins and their weights, respectively, except in relation to the silver dollar,
which is reduced in weight from 41'2| to 384 grains ; thus making it a sub
sidiary coin in harmony with the silver coins of less denoraination, to secure
its concurrent circulation with them. The silver dollar of 412^ grains, by
reason of its bullion and intrinsic value being greater than its nominal value,
long since ceased to be a coin of circulation, and is melted by manufactur
ers of silverware. It does not circulate now in commercial transactions with
any country, and the convenience of those manufacturers, in this respect, can
better be met by supplying small stamped bars of the same standard, avoid
ing the useless expense of coining tho dollar for that purpose. The coinage
of the half dime is discontinued for the reason that its place is supplied by
the copper nickel five-cent piece, of which a large issue has been made, and
which, by the provisions of the act authorizing its issue, is redeemable in
United States currency."
When the bill was sent to the Senate it, in compliance
with the memorial of the legislature of the State of California,
inserted in place of the French dollar, of 384 grains of stand
ard silver, a dollar containing 420 grains of standard silver,
called the "trade dollar." This was urged upon the ground
that, as the Mexican dollar contained 416 grains, or 3^ grains
more than the old silver dollar, it had an advantage in trade
with China and Japan over our dollar, and that a coin contain
ing a few grains more than the Mexican dollar would give
our people the benefit of this use for silver. This dollar was,
in conference, agreed to by the House, but was a legal tender
for only five dollars. On final action on that bill, the con
ferees on the part of the Senate were Messrs. Sherman, Scott
and Bayard. The amendraent of the Senate adopting the
trade dollar was agreed to by the House, and the bill passed in
both Houses without a division.
There never was a bill proposed in the Congress of the United
States which was so publicly and openly presented and agi
tated. I know of no bill in my experience which was printed,
as this was, thirteen times, in order to invite attention to it. I
know no bill which was freer from any immoral or wrong influ
ence than this act of 1873.

468 RECOLLECTIONS
During the pendency of this bill, the Senators and Repre
sentatives from the Pacific coast were in favor of the single
standard of gold alone. This was repeatedly shown during the
debates, but now they complain that the silver dollar was de
monetized, and that, though present, taking the most active
interest in the consideration of the bill, they did not observe
that the silver dollar was dropped from the coinage. The pub
lic records are conclusive against this pretense. Mr. Stewart,
Senator from Nevada, and all the Senators frora the Pacific
coast, who took an active part in the debate on the bill, raust
have known of the dropping of the silver dollar from the coin
age. It appears from the " Congressional Record" that, on
the nth of February, 1874, Mr. Stewart said :
"I want the standard gold, and no paper money not redeemable in
gold ; no paper money the value of which is not ascertained ; no paper
money that will organize a gold board to speculate in it."
Again, only a few days after this, on the 20tli of Febru
ary, when he was speaking in favor of the resolution, instruct
ing the coramittee on finance to report a bill providing for the
convertibility of treasury notes into gold coin or five per cent.
bonds, he said :
" By this process we shall come to a specie basis, and when the laboring
man receives a dollar it will have the purchasing power of a dollar, and he
will not be called upon to do what is impossible for him or the producing
classes to do, figure upon the exchanges, figure upon the fluctuations, figure
upon the gambling in New York ; but he will know what his money is
worth. Gold is the universal standard of the world. Everybody knows
what a dollar in gold is worth."
To review the history of the act of 1873 : It was framed in
the treasury department after a thorough examination by ex
perts, transmitted to both Houses of Congress, thoroughly ex
amined and debated during four consecutive sessions, with in
formation called for by the House of Representatives, printed
thirteen times by order and broadly circulated, aud many
amendments were proposed, but no material changes were made
in the coinage clause from the beginning to the end of the con
troversy. It added the French dollar for a time, but that was
superseded by the trade dollar, and neither was made a legal

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 469
tender but for five dollars. It passed the Senate on the 10th of
January, 1871—36 yeas and 14 nays— every Senator from the
Pacific coast voting for it.
It was introduced in the House of Representatives by Mr.
Kelley, at the next session. It was debated, scrutinized, and
passed unanimously, dropping the silver dollar, as directly
stated by Mr. Hooper. It was reported, debated, amended, and
passed by the Senate unanimously. In every stage of the bill,
and every print, the dollar of 41 2 1 grains was prohibited, and
the single gold standard recognized, proclaimed, and under
stood. It was not until silver was a cheaper dollar that any
one demanded it, and then it was to take advantage of a
creditor. It has always been within the power of Congress to correct
this error, if error was made; but Congress has refused over
and over again to do it. When the controversy arose, in 1878,
on the Bland bill, and the House of Representatives pro
posed the free coinage of silver, the Senate rejected it after a
deliberate contest, and substituted in place of it what is called
the Bland-Allison act, which required the purchase, by the
government, of silver bullion at its raarket value, and its
coinage to a liraited araount. Every effort has been made,
from that time to this, to have the Congress of the United
States pass a free coinage act.
If this is done, it will be to secure a cheaper dollar of less
purchasing power, with the view to enable debtors to pay
debts, contracted on the basis of gold coin, with silver coins,
worth, with free coinage, less than one-half of gold coin.
In reviewing, at this distance of time, the legislation of
1873, in respect to the coinage of silver, 1 am of the opinion
that it was fortunate that the United States then dropped the
coinage of the old silver dollar. No one then conteraplated the
enorraous yield of silver from the mines, and the resulting fall
in the market value of silver, but, acting upon the experience
of the past, that a parity between silver and gold could not be
maintained at any fixed ratio. Congress adopted gold as the
standard of value, and coined silver as a subsidiary coin, to be
received and maintained at a parity with gold, but only a legal

470 RECOLLECTIONS
tender for small sums. This was the principle adopted in the
act of 1853, when silver was more valuable than gold at the
legal ratio. Silver was not then coined into dollars, because
it was then worth more as bullion than as coin. It was needed
for change, and, under the law of 1853, it was furnished in
abundance. Sirailar laws are now in force in all countries
where gold is the sole standard. Under these laws, a larger
araount of silver is eraployed as subsidiary coins than when the
coinage of silver was free.
The same condition of coinage now exists in the United
States. While silver is reduced in market value nearly one-
half, silver coins are maintained at par, with gold at the
old ratio, by the fiat of the government. It is true that the
purchase of silver, under recent laws, involved a heavy loss to
the government, but the free coinage of silver, under the ratio
of sixteen to one, would exclude gold from our currency, detach
the United States from the monetary standard of all the chief
coramercial nations of the world, and change all existing con
tracts between individuals and with the government. In view
of these results, certain to corae frora the free coinage of silver,
I ara convinced that until sorae international arrangement
can be made, the present systera of coinage should continue
in force. This has now become a political, or, rather, a mone
tary question, to be decided sooner or later, by popular opinion,
at the polls. This subject will be further discussed at a later
period, when efforts were made to adopt the free coinage of
silver at the old ratio.
Prior to the meeting of Congress in December, 1870, a con
troversy had arisen between Senator Suraner and Secretary
Fish, which created serious erabarrassraent, and I think had a
very injurious infiuence during that and succeeding sessions of
Congress. Mr. Sumner had long been chairman of the com
mittee on foreign relations, and no doubt exercised a domineer
ing power in this branch of the public service. Mr. Fish and
Mr. Sumner had differed widely in respect to the annexation of
San Domingo and certain diplomatic appointments and former
treaties, among them the highly important English negotiation
for the settlement of claims growing out of the war. On these

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 471
topics the President and Mr. Sumner could not agree. Mr.
Sumner insisted that the hasty proclamation by Great Britain
of neutrality between the United States and the Southern Con
federacy was the gravamen of the Alabama claims. The Presi
dent and Mr. Fish contended that this proclamation was an
act of which we could not complain, except as an indication of
an unfriendly spirit by Great Britain, and that the true basis of
the Alabama claims was that Great Britain, after proclaiming
neutrality, did not enforce it, but allowed her subjects to build
cruisers, and man, arm and use them, under cover of the rebel
flag, to the destruction of our commercial navy.
This difference of opinion between the President and Mr.
Sumner led to the removal of John L. Motley, our minister to
England, who sided with Sumner, and unquestionably intensi
fied the feeling that had arisen from the San Domingo treaty.
As to that treaty it was a conceded fact that before the
President had become publicly comraitted to it he had, waiving
his official rank, sought the advice and counsel of Mr. Sumner,
and was evidently misled as to Mr. Sumner's views on this sub
ject. The subsequent debating, in both open and executive
session, led to Mr. Sumner's taking the most extreme and active
opposition to the treaty, in which he arrayed with great severity
the conduct of the naval officers, the Secretary of the Navy,
Mr. Fish and the President. This was aggravated by alleged
public conversations with Mr. Sumner by "interviewers," in
which the motives of the President and others were impugned.
In the meantime, social relations between the Secretary of
State and Mr. Sumner had become impossible ; and— consider
ing human passion, prejudice and feeling— anything like frank
and confidential communication between the President and Mr.
Sumner was out of the question.
A majority of the Republican Senators sided with the Presi
dent. We generally agreed that it was a false-pretended
neutrality, and not a too hasty proclamation of neutrality,
that gave us an unquestionable right to demand indemnity
from Great Britain for the depredations of the Alabama and
other English cruisers. And as for the San Domingo treaty, a
large majority of Republican Senators had voted for it— though

472 REOOLLECTIONS
I did not ; and nearly all of us had voted for the commission of
inquiry of which Mr. Wade was the chief meraber.
When we raet in March, it was known that both these im
portant subjects would necessarily be referred to the committee
on foreign relations, and that, aside from the hostile personal
relations of Mr. Sumner and the Secretary of State, he did not,
and could not, and would not, represent the views of a majority
of his Republican colleagues in the Senate, and that a majority
of his coraraittee agreed with him. Committees are and
ought to be organized to represent the body, giving a majority
of the members to the prevailing opinion, but fairly represent
ing the views of the minority. It has been the custom in the
Senate to allow each party to choose its own representatives
in each comraittee, and in proportion to its nurabers.
In the Republican conference the first question that arose
was as to Mr. Sumner. He was the oldest Senator in consecu
tive service. He was erainent not only as a faithful representa
tive of Republican principles, but as especially qualified to be
chairman of our foreign relations. He had long held that
position, and it was not usual in the Senate to change the com
mittees, but to follow the rule of seniority, placing Senators
of the majority party in the order of their coming into the
Senate and those of the minority at the foot of the list.
In deciding Mr. Sumner's case, in view of the facts I have
stated, two plans were urged :
First — To place him at the head of the new and important
comraittee of privileges and elections, leaving the rest of the
coraraittee on foreign relations to stand in the precise order
it had been, with one vacancy to be filled in harmony with the
majority. Second — To leave Mr. Sumner to stand in his old place as
chairman, and to make a change in the body of the commit
tee by transferring one of its merabers to another committee,
and fill the vacancy by a Senator in harmony with the raa
jority. My own opinion was that the latter course was the most
polite and just; but the raajority decided, after full considera
tion and debate, upon the first alternative.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 473
Simon Cameron was next to Mr. Sumner on the list of
Repuldican members of the committee, and, by uniform usage,
became its chairman.
This affair created feeling in the Senate which it is diffi
cult now to realize, but it was decided in a Republican caucus,
in which there was an honest difference of opinion. We fore
saw, whichever way it should be decided, that it would create
— and it did create — bad feeling among Senators, which ex
isted as long as Mr. Sumner lived. I think it proper to make
this statement of my own views at the time, though by the
happening of great events this incident has almost passed out
of memory. Mr. Sumner died in Washington, March 11, 1874. He was
distinguished for his literary attainments, and his strong oppo
sition to the institution of slavery and his severe arraignment
of it. The brutal attack made upon him by Preston S. Brooks
created profound sympathy for hiin.

CHAPTER XXIII.
Some Events in My Private Life.
Feuds and Jealousies During Grant's Administration — Attacli on Me by the Cin
cinnati " Enquirer " — Reply and Statement Regarding My Worldly Posaea-
sions — I Am Elected to the Senate for the Third Terra — Trip to the
Pacific with Colonel Scott and Party — Visit to ttie Yosemite Val
ley — San Diego in 1872 — Return Via Carson City and Salt
Lake — We Call on Brigham Young — Arrival Home
to Enter Into tlie Greeley-Grant Canvass — Elec
tion ot General Grant for the Second Term.
IHAVE purposely followed the legislation of Congress on
financial questions until the passage of the act of 1873,
passing over other events in ray personal history and that
of President Grant.
It can hardly be said that we had a strictly Republican
adrainistration, during his two terms. While Republicans
were selected to fill the leading offices, the policy adopted and
the controlling influence around him were purely personal.
He consulted but few of the Senators or Members, and they
were known as his personal friends. Mr. Conkling, by his im
perious will, soon gained a strong influence over the President,
and from this came feuds, jealousies and enmities, that greatly
weakened the Republican party and threatened its ascendency.
This was a period of bitter accusations, extending from the
President to almost everyone in public life. During the entire
period of Grant's administration, I was chairman of the com
mittee on finance of the Senate, and had to act upon all ques
tions of taxation, debt, banking or finance, and had occasion to
talk with the President upon such measures, but he rarely
expressed any opinion or took any interest in them. His veto
of the bill to increase the amount of United States notes, ou
the 22nd of April, 1874, was an exception, but on this he changed
his mind, as he had expressed his approval of the bill when pend
ing. He was charged with being in a whisky ring and with
other offensive imputations, all of which were without the
(474)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 475
slightest foundation. General Grant was, in every sense of
the word, an honest man. He was so honest that he did not
suspect others, and no doubt confided in, and was friendly
with, those who abused his confidence. It was a period of
slander and scandal.
I did not escape the general crimination. I usually met
accusations with silence, as my accusers were answered by
others. In March, 1871, the Cincinnati "Enquirer" contained
the following imputation:
" We are informed that a gentleman who lately filled a responsible
office in this city, who has recently returned from Washington, says that the
Southern Railroad bill would have passed the United States Senate if it
had not, unfortunately, happened that Senator Sherman had no direct pe
cuniary interest in it. In these days, and with such Congresses, it takes
grease to oil the wheels of legislation."
On the 12th of March I wrote to the editors of the "En
quirer " the following note, after quoting the editorial :
United States Senate Chamber, )
• Washington, March 12, 1871. \
To THE Editors op the 'Enquirer : '
Gentlemen: — Sorae one, perhaps in your office, sends rae the follow
ing editorial, cut from your paper :
*********
All I can say in reply is that it contains a falsehood and a calumny.
I introduced the bill for the Southern Railroad ; am strongly in favor
of it, and pressed it at every stage as rapidly as the rules of the Sen
ate and the strong opposition to it would allow. This is known by every
Senator, and I am quite sure Judge Thurman and Mr. Davis would say so.
I alone took an active interest in the bill, and at the very moment your edi
torial was received I was pressing a Republican caucus to make it an excep
tion to a resolution not to take up general legislation at this session. Every
one familiar with our rules knew that it was the sheerest folly to try to pass
the bill on the last day of the session, especially as against our appropria
tion bills. When it does pass it will take days of debate, and will not re
ceive support from any of your political associates, who think Kentucky
can block up all intercourse between the north and south. Still I yielded
to the earnest desire of the trustees to try to get a vote, but failed to get
the floor at 3 o'clock in the morning, the only moment it was possible to
subrait even the raotion to take it up. The bill to abolish the duty on coal
was taken up and was not acted on, nor would the railroad bill, or any other
contested bill, have passed at that stage of the session.

476 RECOLLECTIONS
As to the base imputation you attribute to ' a gentleman who lately
filled a responsible office in this city,' I can only say that, whether it orig
inates with you or anyone else, it is utterly false. Neither in this nor in
any measure that has passed Congress, or is pending, have I had any direct
pecuniary interest. I respectfully ask that you print this, and also the
name of the ' gentleman ' you refer to.
I intend, in the interests of the city of Cincinnati and of the whole
country, to press the Southern Railroad bill, and to secure its passage as
soon as possible, but it is rather poor encouragement to read such libels in
a prominent paper in your city. Yours etc., John Sherman.
This was followed by an article in the " Enquirer " erabod-
ied in ray reply, as follows : Wasiiington, March 20, 1871.
Gentlemen : — In your editorial in the ' Enquirer' of March 17, in com
menting on my card to you as to my action on the Cincinnati Southern
Railroad bill, you repeat my statement that ' neither in this nor in any meas
ure that has passed Congress, or is pending, have I had any pecuniary interest,'
and you say :
'If this is true, he has certainly been a very badly slandered gentleman.
Somehow or other there is a popular impression that Mr. Sherraan has con
trived to make his connection with politics a highly lucrative business, and
that he has exhibited, since he has been in Congress, a worldly thrift that is
remarkable. There is a further impression that he is now a very rich man,
whereas, a few years ago, before he was in public affairs, his circumstances were
decidedly moderate. Perhaps our senatorial friend may not be aware of
the existence of these derogatory reports, and will thank us for giving hira
an opportunity, now that he knows of their existence, to disprove them.'
I have not been ignorant that there has been a studied effort — ascribed
by me to the comraon tactics of political warfare — to create the impression,
by vague innuendo, that I have used ray oflicial position to make money for
myself. I know that this charge or imputation is without the slightest
foundation, and I now repeat that I never was pecuniarily interested in any
question, bill or matter before Congress ; that I never received anything in
money, or property, or promise, directly or indirectly, for ray vote or influ
ence in Congress or in the departments ; that I have studiously avoided
engaging in any business depending upon legislation in Congress. The
only enterprise in which I ever engaged, which rests upon an act of Con
gress, is that in 1862, after the bill passed authorizing the construction of a
street railroad in this city, I, with others, openly subscribed stock, and
undertook to build it in pursuance of the act of Congress.
From the position assigned me here, I have had to deal with great ques
tions involving our financial system of currency, taxes and debt, and I can
appeal to all my associates in Congress, to each of the eminent men with
whom, as Secretaries of the Treasury, I have been intimate, and to every man

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 477
of the multitude with whom I have been brought into contact, to say
whether I have ever been influenced in my course by pecuniary interest.
But you say that the impression is that I am a very rich man, whereas,
before I was in public affairs, ray circumstances were decidedly moderate.
This allegation contains two gross exaggerations. When I entered publio
life, I was largely engaged in my profession and other lucrative business.
If I had not engaged in politics, I might have been the rich man you
suppose. I am not this day relatively richer, considering the changed value
of property, than I was when I entered the Senate. Sorae tirae ago it was
stated in your paper that I was worth millions. A very small fraction, in
deed, of one million dollars will cover all I am worth. My property con
sists mainly of real estate, palpable to the eye, and the rest of it is chiefly in
a railroad with which I was connected before I entered public life.
I have managed my business affairs with reasonable care, prudence,
economy and success. What I have ia tho result of this.
You kindly offer me an opportunity to disprove to you these reports.
Well, how can I? What charge is made against me? How can I fight
shadows? How can a man prove himself innocent against an innuendo ?
But as you offer me the opportunity, I now invite Mr. Faran to come
to my home at Mansfield, and I will show him all I possess there, and ren
der hira a full account of all I have elsewhere, and if I can't fairly account
for it without being suspected of receiving bribes, or gifts, or stealing, then
he can repeat these baseless accusations with an easy conscience.
You may ask why I have not met these derogatory reports before.
Perhaps I ought, but I feel the humiliation of such a controversy, and
thouglit it time enough when a specific charge was made. And I am told
by Mr. Hedges, ray forraer law partner, that in my absence, last summer,
he corrected sorae gross misstateraents in your paper about rae, and that
you refused or neglected to publish it — even to notice it. As, however,
you now, in a courteous way, invite this letter, I take great pleasure in
accepting your offer. Very truly yours, John Sherman.
Messrs. Faran & McLean, editors of the 'Enquirer.'
I doubted the policy of ray publishing such a letter, or of
taking any notice of so indefinite a charge, but the response
from the press Avas fair, especially from the "Shield and
Banner," a Democnitic paper printed in Mansfield, as follows :
" We T)ublish a letter of Hon. John Sherman to the editors of the Cin
cinnati ' Enquiror.' It is hardly necessary that we should say that we have
no sympathy with the polirical creed of John Sherman. Between him and
us there is a vast and wide difference ; but we are not, we trust, so much of
the parrisan that we cannot do jusrice to a neighbor, if that neighbor differs
with us. We have known John Sherman, not only during all his public life,
but from the time we became a resident of Mansfield, now covering a period

478 RECOLLECTIONS
of thirty years, and we have always known hira as industrious, prudent and
careful in his profession, and economical and thrifty in his business. We
placed very little credence in the rumors that he was a man of immense
wealth. His property is mostly in real estate. He was fortunate in get
ting hold of very desirable property in and around our city, and the advance
in that has doubtless given him a competence ; but it is folly to charge him
with being a millionaire. We have, in comraon with our neighbors, enjoyed
his hospitality, and his style of living is neither extravagant nor ostentatious.
" Mr. Sherman is one of our townsmen, and although all wrong as a poli
tician and statesman, and holding to a creed we utterly disapprove, he is a
highminded and honorable man, and we are bound to accept his statement
about his pecuniary affairs as true. "
I have often since been accused of the crime of "being rich,"
but as nearly all my possessions are visible to the naked eye,
and their history and acquisition are known to so many, I
think I am not required to prove that I have not raade them
as the result of legislation or ray holding public trusts.
My second term in the Senate expired on the 4th of March,
1873. The election of my successor devolved upon the legisla
ture that convened on the first Monday of January, 1872.
The canvass in Ohio, in the sumraer and fall of 1871, was an
active and exciting one and attracted great interest in other
states. The result would indicate the strength or weakness of
Grant's adrainistration. I felt it was necessary, not only for
my re-election, but for the success of the Republican party, that
every effort should be made to elect a Republican majority in
the legislature, and I, therefore, at the state convention and
in most of the congressional districts of Ohio, made earnest
speeches in behalf of the state ticket and members of the leg
islature. I received many letters of encouragement, one of
which, from Senator Carpenter in reference to my speech in the
convention, I insert :
Washington, D. C, July 20, 1871.
Hon. John Sherman.
Dear Sir : — I have just read your speech to the state convention of
Ohio. It is splendid. The only fault I have to find with it is, that you
have covered the whole ground and reduced us ' lesser lights ' to the neces
sity of repeating and elaborating. This is ve7-y mea7i of' you; you might
have left some topic of the next campaign untouched, for us to dwell upon.
But you have pre-empted everything and we must follow after.
Very truly yours. Matt H. Carpenter.

W\t$b Bkt$M S$mt$ (Ehmv&n.
'Bmh^^n.jMc-..^...^ /sd/
/$ftL^ Xi\
e/ O. i-</-t. f/*^ <• f ^ />-< «. c? '^ trzyt>0
dsJ^A^ ft^ /^ di^ cf/a^ C-7t,.t^-e-,t-ty^i^ »f d^t O '
*'' A^d <V/ /j:^ fc^ ^ /^(yf '^d^ A^^i^ t:<n^^t-ui
/K.A- cj A y Ct. *-7-«»-t<--*c</ t,^ f-t^^d.i,^- t-tJD ,^1^ 'deft^ dj'^^\
l« X> 'X^ ti/^y^ e>f- <'->^#t^^-.--^*^ /- d/^„^d^t^ '"^^ -
¦^?MA-t ^Zi/fd di/-^>^.<. ~^iQi--i e., 'd >^U- "^yji-,^^ <i5<-.--^U— ^^<-
Ji >^ / '2 ^"^ ''i- *-*<-*- f?''>^^ - V-«-m.^/t..-^^ Jt.-v-f-^ydd^
<d>->-yiif'^^2y^-^^

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 479
The legislature was elected in October, 1871, but the major
ity for the Ropublicau.s was so small that the election of a Re
publican Senator wiis in doubt.
I received many hearty letters of congratulation on our
success in Ohio from my colleagues in the Senate, among them
one from Senator Conkling as follows :
Utica, N. Y., October 13, 1871.
Hon. John Shicrman, Mansfield, Ohio.
My Dear Sir : — Having waited for certainties touching your election
and the legislature, and having watched the canvass with sincere solicitude,
I congratulate you most heartily upon the result.
Your own speeches have been araong the best you ever made, and your
canvass has been full of the pluck without which no canvass and no political
contest is thorough or truthful.
This state is ours unless the people are discouraged from voting in the
country by the belief that with Tammany to count, it matters not what
majority roll up above the Highlands.
Notwithstanding the grievous stateraent of the ' Tribune ' and inspired by
the 'Tribune,' we have done nothing harsh to the anti-adrainistration minor
ity, but the least and mildest thing which would prevent a split in our or
ganization with trouble for the future, and probably a double delegation in
the next national convention. Yours sincerely, Roscoe Conkling.
It was conceded that ;t decided majority of the Republican
members of the legislature were in favor of my re-election,
but it was believed that an effort would be made by five
Republican members to combine with the Democratic members
and thus secure the election of ex-Governor Jacob D. Cox.
A Republican legislative caucus was convened on the even
ing of January 4th, to nominate a candidate. The first and in
formal ballot gave me 61 votes to 14 scattering and the second
ballot 71 votes to 4 scattering. This settled the raatter unless
the few dissenting votes could combine with the solid Demo
cratic vote upon some other candidate. It was soon found
that this attempt would be abortive, as several Democrats,
aud especially those from Richland and Fairfield counties,
would vote for me if the choice came between Cox and my-.
self. Every effort was raade by General Ashley and the few
others who were opposed to my nomination to combine upon
anyone who could defeat me. They offered their support to
Governor Hayes, but this was promptiy refused by him. The
S.— SI

480 RECOLLECTIONS
same effort was made with Governor Dennison, General Gar
field and General Schenck, and failed.
The joint convention for the election of a Senator was held
on the second Tuesday of January. It was an open raeeting.
The voting was soon over on roll call, and the result was as
follows : Sherman 73 ; Morgan 64 ; Cox 1 ; Schenck 1 ; Perry 1.
Thus I was elected by six majority over all. When this result
was known five Democrats changed from Morgan to Cox, and
others were preparing to do so when Lieutenant Governor Muel
ler announced the result of the vote. He was an educated Ger
man of high standing, but his English was very iniperfect. His
decision that I, having received a majority of the votes cast, was
duly elected, was clearly right, and this was conceded, but his
imperfect English created great noise and merriment. It was
printed in the " Ohio Statesman," on the sarae day, as follows :
" John Sherman, having received seventy-three votes for President in
Congress [laughter], I mean for Senator in Congress, which being a
majority over all thera others, I declares John Sherman duly elected Sen
ator in Congress from Ohio."
If the changing of the minority vote had proceeded, some of
the Democratic votes would have been cast for me, and my ma
jority would have been increased, but I preferred the election as
it occurred. My election for the third term was after a hot
political contest, but it left no wounds unhealed. Most of the
gentlemen opposed to me becarae afterwards ray warm friends.
In July, 1872, two months after the close of the session of
Congress, I received the following letter from Thomas A.
Scott, President of the Texas and Pacific Railroad Company :
Philadelphia, July 19, 1872.
Hon. John Sherman, Mansfield, Ohio.
My Dear Sir : — A few gentlemen connected with the Texas and Pa
cific road, and myself, propose to go to the Pacific coast, leaving Philadelphia
about the 12th to the 15th of August.
If your engagements will permit, I shall be very glad indeed to have
you go with us.
I am going frora San Francisco to" San Diego, and shall return by way
of San Francisco ; the trip will occupy about thirty days.
Please let me hear from you, and, if possil)le, let iiie have the pleasure
of your company. Very truly yours,
Thomas A. Scott, President.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 481
1 accepted tho invitjition, and with a very agreeable party
oC ladies and genl lemon, among whom were Mr. W. T. Walters,
of Baltimore, and his daughter, made my first voyage to the
Pacific coast. Mr. Scott, as president of the Pennsylvania Rail
road Company, had command, by courtesy, of every conven
ience of travel. We had a dining car which we could attach
to any train, with ample room for beds, and a full supply of
provisions. The journey to San Francisco was broken by sev
eral stops on the way at places that we thought interesting.
Great changes had occurred in the brief period since my trip
in an ambulance with General Sherman. The Indians and buf
faloes had disappeared from the plains, the former placed on res
ervations distant from the railroad, and the latter by gradual
extinction. When we crossed the Laramie plains I was in, to
me, a "terra incognita." The great basin of Salt Lake, with
the varied and picturesque scenery to the east and west of it,
attracted our attention, but the want of water, the dry air, the
dust and the absence of trees and vegetation of any kind, con
demn all that country to waste and desolation, except in a
few cases where irrigation can be had. The Nevada range of
mountains was crossed at night, but we were to explore them
on our return. When the broad valley of the Sacramento
opened to our view, we could hardly express our delight. Here,
indeed, was the land of gold, with its clear air, its grand moun
tains, its rich plains.
Aside from the wonderful variety of its scenery, the history
of California has always excited poetic interest — its long set
tleraent by mixed races living in quiet peaceful harmony,
mainly as herdsmen and shepherds, suddenly disturbed and
conquered without firing a gun, by an aggressive race who soon
revolutionized the habits of the natives, and planted a new civ
ilization, with all the bad as well as the good elements of our
race. Then the discovery of gold, immediately following the con
quest of California, drew to it, from all parts of the United
States, the most restless and adventurous of our population, sorae
of the worst and many of the best. The rapid admixture of
these diverse elements threatened for a tirae hostile confiicts,
in which criminals, under cover of law, committed murder and

482 RECOLLECTIONS
other crimes, and peaceful, law-abiding citizens were compelled
to appeal to force and mob law to preserve civilization.
The railway soon brought us through Sacramento to San
Francisco, where we remained several days. We were kindly
received and entertained. The enterprise of Scott was not
then favored in San Francisco, but this did not prevent our
hearty welcorae. Here I met Mr. liollister, whom I had known
in Ohio. He was the great shepherd of California. I was in
forraed that he owned 100,000 sheep, divided into flocks of
about 3,000 each. These flocks were wintered at a large ranch
near the Pacific coast belonging to hira. The climate was
mild, and the sheep could live without shelter during the win
ter. The fiocks would start eastwardly over the great valley,
each flock cared for by a shepherd, a boy and a dog, feeding in
the open country, some of the flocks reaching the Mariposa
valley, one hundred miles away. When the grass failed they
were turned to the west to their home. Whether this tale is
an exaggeration I cannot say, but certain it is that at that time
sheep raising and the production of wool was one of the chief
industries of California. Hollister was also interested iu woolen
manufacture, especially of blankets, equal to any in the world.
When I knew him in Ohio, he and his brother were the own
ers, by inheritance, of a large and valuable farm in Licking
county. When gold was discovered in California, Hollister
sold to his brother one-half of the farm, and with the proceeds
purchased a large flock of the best Ohio sheep, and drove them
to California, taking two years for the journey. He was fond of
telling his adventures, and proud of his success. He died a few
years since in California, but whether his good fortune fol
lowed him to the close of his life I do not know. He was very
kind to our party and accompanied us to San Diego.
From San Francisco we made a trip to the Mariposa Grove,
and the Yosemite valley. We traveled by rail to a small station
nearest the grove. Then by stage we rode to the terminus of
the line. From there we went but a short distance to the
grove. This raajestic survivor of the forest has been so often
described that details are not necessary. We measured the
trees, and rode on horseback nearly one hundred feet through

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 488
one of the fallen monsters. We also attempted to form a ring
with hands and arms extended around one of these trees, but our
party was not numerous enough to encircle it. I felt a sense
of insignificance when I realized the long life of some of these
trees, estimated to span forty generations of men, and still in
health and strength. We 'returned to the stage station and
again mounted our horses and mules for the perilous adventure
of a descent into the Yosemite valley. It so happened that
Mr. Bell, the keeper of the station, was a former resident of Bell-
ville, in Richland county, Ohio, in which I live. He knew me
well, and his wife I knew as the daughter of a leading farmer
of that county. I thought I might utilize this acquaintance
by asking him to see that I was well mounted to descend to
the valley. Much to my surprise a spirited horse, well ac
coutred, was brought out for Colonel Scott, and a shaggy short-
legged mule, with a California saddle and a common but stout
bridle, was brought out for me. I felt that Bell had disregarded
the obligation of " auld acquaintance," but said nothing.
My mount started at the heels of the cavalcade in a steady
walk, but I noticed he was sure-footed, and that, at the end of
two or three weary hours, he had passed most of the party and
soon after was close in the wake of Colonel Scott. In the
meantime, I had noticed that I was the subject of merriment.
My feet were in close proximity to the ground. The length of
my legs was out of proportion to that of the legs of the mule.
When we came to descend the mountain, however, at an angle
of nearly forty-five degrees, on a very narrow path, I found that
my mule could turn the bends of the track, and, by a peculiar
gathering of his feet, could slide down difficult places, while
Colonel Scott, on his already jaded horse, was troubled and
worried. He dismounted when the path widened and asked
me to go ahead. He then followed me, leading his horse.
After that, I made up my mind that my Richland county friend
had not failed me in my hour of need.
As for the scenery through which we were passing, no lan
guage can describe it. We saw, four thousand feet below, a
beautiful little valley about half a mile wide at the widest
part, with what appeared to be a very small stream dancing

484 RECOLLECTIONS
along from side to side of the valley, and surrounded by pre
cipitous mountains in every direction. The eye and mind can
now vividly recall the picture of the scenes then around me.
My mule had ray confidence, but I feared lest some fatal mis
hap might befall sorae of ray companions, and especially I
feared for a lady who ventured the journey, but she fortunately
displayed pluck and coolness, and at the end of the day we all
arrived at the hut in the valley safe and sound, but very weary.
Since that time, I understand that a good road has been made
up the valley, by which tourists can enjoy the grandest scen
ery in nature, without the risk we took.
We enjoyed a hearty supper of plain food, and a sound .sleep
on corn-husk mattresses. The next day we explored the val
ley, and enjoyed the changing views of near and distant moun
tains. These have often been described, but they can only be
appreciated by a personal visit. We left the valley by another
route to the north, and reached the railroad by a different line
of stages. Returning to San Francisco, we took the boat for San
Diego, stopping, on the way, at Santa Barbara and San Pedro.
Frora this place we drove to Los Angeles, then a typical Mex
ican town of great interest. The good people hoped for the
railroad, but Colonel Scott expected the road of which he was
president would be able to reach San Diego.
Our arrival at San Diego was an event of interest to the
few people of that town. We inspected the remarkable harbor
and the surrounding country. It was apparently a good site for
a great city. Fresh water was the great want and rain-falls were
rare, but it was clairaed that an ample supply of water could
be had frora the hills. The real obstacle to that site, as a ter
minus for the railroad, was the mountains east of San Diego,
which, upon a survey, were found to be extremely difficult, and
this turned the route to Los Angeles, over natural passes and
through the beautiful region of San Bernardino.
We returned, by boat, to San Francisco, and soon after
turned our way eastward. We stopped at Reno, and went by
rail to Carson City, the capital of Nevada. It was then an em
bryo town. From there we went to Lake Tahoe, one of the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 485
finest bodies of water on the earth. Its clear, cold waters filled
a natural basin in the midst of the Nevada range of mountains,
which was supplied by the melting snows. We then returned
to Carson City, ascended, by rail, an inclined plain of high
grade, to Virginia City. Most of the party descended into the
mines, but I was prevented from doing so by an attack of neu
ralgia, a complaint from which I never suffered before or since,
caused, as it was said, by the high altitude and thin air. Here
I met several natives of Ohio, who had sought their fortunes
in the far west. They were very kind to the party and to
myself. It got to be a common remark, that Ohio had every
thing good in the west. I could answer that they all seemed
to deserve what they had. I was disposed to be proud of them
and of my native state, but soon after, on the way east, we
heard of an atrocious murder committed by two Ohio men.
This turned the tables on my native state, and I was com
pelled to confess that bad men came frora Ohio as well as from
other states; but, if so, Ohio people excelled in the atrocity of
their crimes as well as in the excellence of their merits !
Our next stopping place was at Salt Lake City. Whatever
opinion we may have of the religious creed and dogmas of the
Mormons, we cannot deny the industry and courage of that
sect in building up a city in a wilderness where natural condi
tions seemed to forbid all hope of success in such an enterprise.
And yet there it was, a well-ordered city laid out with squares,
avenues, streets, and reservations for schools, churches and
other public uses, with water introduced in great abundance.
All the needs of city life were provided, such as stores, markets
and shops. We were invited by the delegate in Congress, from
Utah, to call on Brigham Young, and we did so. He was a
large, well-built man, then about sixty years old. He took
great interest in the enterprise of Colonel Scott and seemed
familiar with all the railways built or projected in the western
country. There was nothing in his conversation or manner
that indicated the "crank," nor did he exhibit any of the signs
of a zealot or fanatic. He made no allusions to his creed or
the habits of his followers aud betrayed no egotism or pride.
He has died since biit the organi^fition H left bohind him is

486 RECOLLECTIONS
still in existence, and the Mormon faith is still the creed and
guide of the great body of those who followed Brigham Young
into the wilderness, and of their numerous descendants. It is
to be hoped that the government and people of the United
States will let the Mormons severely alone, allowing them to
believe what they will, and to do in the way of worship what
they choose. In this way only can their confidence in alleged
revelations be shaken, and Mormonism will disappear among
the many vain attempts of humanity to explore the mysteries
of life and death. Persecution never weakens delusions, nor
disturbs faith, however ignorant and groundless.
Frora Salt Lake our party went to Cheyenne and thence to
Denver. This city was growing rapidly and was plainly des
tined to be the principal center of the mineral development of
several states. I had, on a previous trip, visited the interest
ing region of the "Garden of the Gods," Colorado Springs and
Pike's Peak. Our party left Denver for home. On the long
stretch via Kansas City, St. Louis and Indianapolis we saw
nothing' new, as we were traveling over familiar ground. It
was early in September, when corn, the great western staple,
was approaching maturity, and the eartli was giving forth its
increase. We were crossing the largest and perhaps most fer
tile valley of the world. All of it had been redeemed from na
ture and the Indians, within one hundred years. During our
trip we had passed through great cities, prosperous towns and
amidst wonderful scenery. All of the route except through
the Yosemite valley was passed over in a palace car. The
ocean voyage was in a steamboat even more luxurious than the
palace car. All this rapid development did not satisfy the
desire of Colonel Scott and Mr. Walters. Tlieir minds were
occupied with vast railroad projects, sorae of which were ac
coraplished before their death. I also had ray dreams but
they related to public policies rather than internal iniprove-
raents and some of these have been realized.
I was awakened one bright morning in Septeraber and told
that the car was in Ohio. This was enough to drive sleep from
my eyelids. I looked out upon the rich lands of the Miami
valley, the comfortable homesteads on every farm, the fat

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 487
cattle and herds of sheep, the broad fields of yellow corn, and
every sign ot fertility. All these, a,nd perhaps a little admix
ture of state pride, led me to say that, alter all, the people of
Ohio need not go beyond the bounds of that state with any
hope to improve their condition or to secure a better oppor
tunity for a happy life. I soon parted with my friends with
sincere regrets, for in our journeyings we were in truth a
happy family.
The canvass in Ohio was then progressing for the election of
a President and Members of Congress, in which I was expected,
as usual, to take a part. The strange anomaly of Horace
Greeley running on a Democratic ticket was enough in itself
to excite opposition, especially in the southern states. The re
sult was that General Grant, in November, 1872, was elected
President by 31 states with 286 electoral votes. Greeley died
after the election, and before the electors voted, so that no
electoral vote was counted for him. If he had lived he would
probably have received 60 electoral votes.

CHAPTER XXIV.
The Panio of 1873 and Its Results.
Failure of Jay Cooke and Co. — Wild Schemes "for the Relief of the Peoitle" —
Congress Called Upon for Help — Finance Committee's Report for the Redemp
tion of United States Notes in Coin — Extracts from my Speech in Favor
of the Report — Bill to fix the Amount ot United States Notes —
Finally I'assed by the Senate and House — Vetoed fjy Presi
dent Grant and Failure to Pass Over His Objections —
General Effect Throughout the Country of the
Struggle for Resumption — Imperative Neces
sity of Providing Some Measure of Relief.
DURING the first four years of General Grant's admin
istration the financial condition of the United States
was eminently prosperous. The total reduction of
the national debt, from the 1st of March, 1869, to the
1st of Noveraber, 1873, was $383,629,783, the annual saving of
interest resulting therefrora being $27,432,932. During this
period the value of United States notes compared with coin
steadily increased. The funding of the six per cent, bonds into
five per cent, bonds, under the refunding act, continued at the
rate of about $85,000,000 a year. The credit of the United
States steadily advanced during this period, so that the Secre
tary of the Treasury, in his report of 1873, stated that it had not
stood higher since the close of the Rebellion than it did at that
tirae. This iraprovement of the public credit was accompanied
with a large reduction of internal taxes and duties on imported
goods. The business of the country was prosperous, the in
crease and extension of railroads and the development of new
industries was raarked, indicating great prosperity.
All this was subsequently changed by the happening of a
panic in Septeraber, 1873. The cause of this was attributed to
over-trading, to the expansion of credits, and to rash invest
ments made in advance of public needs. This panic com
menced by the failnre of Jay Cooke <fe Co., of Philadelphia, an
(48§)

U. S. SENATORS^

Taken Thursday. February I2th, 18 ,:,
^„ , ^l'^'?.!'1^^;tT\°°"'"'"'"- ^'"^^'"- J- l^- P''-^". Serjeant-at-.-lrm,.
W.J. McDonald, Ch.ef Clerk. MitcheU. Harvey. In^alls. Kelly Da.is
Goldthwaite. Flanagan. Dennis. Wadlei^h. Sce»-.,rt ' Alcorn ' '
Gordon. Windom. Bo^y. Cameron. Fenton. ' Car-J
Redincton ,¦(.- Shaffer, Landscajx.

W|»l*'=««!ft-t/i*~»"'*<ft*'^>*6''*- ¦

-¥JWWflllW«W»*'

;, 4:3d CONORESS.
+, at East Senate Porcicu of the Capiial.
I. Bassett. Ass't Doorkeeper. H.-it'-^r, Anthony.
Stevenson. Ransom. Sherman. Hamilton, of Md.
Vri^ht. Robertson. Clayton. Tipton.
enter. Pratt. Chandler. Scott.
Pliotogr.iphcrs. Box =53- ^\^lshlngton. D. C.

Bayard. Pease.
Boreman. I-og^n. Conover.
Patterson. Cragin. Thurman.
Hitchcock. Ramsey.

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 489
enterprising firm of high standing, then engaged in selling
the bonds of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. I was
engaged at that time, with a committee of the Senate, of which
William Windom was chairman, in examining many plans
of public improvements, especially in the increase of facili
ties for water transportation at the mouth of the Mississippi
river, and at the great lakes on our northern boundary,
improvements since then made with great benefit to the cora
raerce of the United States. Roscoe Conkling, of New York,
was a member of that comraittee. We were at Buffalo when
the failure of Cooke & Co. was announced. We all felt that
for the present, at least, our duties as a committee were at
an end. The panic spread so that in a month all industries
were in a measure suspended. The wildest schemes for relief
were proposed, in and out of Congress. The panic spread to
the banks, which were compelled in self-defense to call in their
loans, to withhold their circulating notes, and contract their
business. As usual on the happening of such a panic, an
appeal was made to the treasury for relief, a demand was raade
for an increase of the volume of the United States notes, and
that the Secretary of the Treasury should use the money of the
government to buy exchange.
The New York Produce Exchange applied to the Secretary
of the Treasury on the 29th of September, 1873, in resolutions,
as follows :
" WiiBKEAS, The critical condition of the commercial interests of the
country requires immediate relief by the removal of the block in negotiat
ing foreign exchange ; therefore be it
" Resolved, That we respectfully suggest to the Secretary of the Treas
ury the following plans for relief in this extraordinary emergency :
" First, That currency be iramediately issued to banks or bankers, upon
satisfactory evidence that gold has been placed upon special deposit in the
Bank of England, by thoir correspondents in London, to the credit of the
United States, to be used solely in purchasing commercial bills of exchange.
" Second, That the President of the United States and the Secretary of
the Treasury are respectfully requested to order the immediate prepayment
of the outstanding loan of the United States due January 1, 1874.
This request had, as a matter of course, to be denied. But
the secretary did purchase $13,000,000 of bonds for the sinking
fund, to the full extent the condition of the treasury aUowed,

490 RECOLLECTIONS
It is difficult to realize or to convey by description the wild
ideas developed by such a panic. The governraent for the time
being is expected to provide a remedy for a condition it did not
create, but, instead of aiding, the governraent is most likely to
need aid. The revenues from importations fell off and the
value of United States notes declined.
When Congress convened in Deceraber, 1873, the wildest
scheraes for relief to the people were proposed. A large in
crease of United States notes was demanded. More than sixty
bills, resolutions and propositions were introduced in the Sen
ate in respect to the currency, the public debt and natioual
banks, all bearing upon the financial condition of the country,
expressing every variety of opinion, from immediate coin pay
raents to the wildest inflation of irredeemable paper money.
All these were referred to the committee on finance, then com
posed as follows : Messrs. Sherman (chairman), Morrill, of Ver
mont, Scott, Wright, Ferry, of Michigan, Fenton and Bayard.
The several measures referred to the committee were taken
up and considered, but the same wide divergence of opinion
was developed in the committee as existed outside of Congress
among the people.
The raajority of the committee reported to the Senate the
following resolution :
"Resolved, That it is the duty of Congress during its present session to
adopt definite measures to redeem the pledge made in the act a])proved
March 18, 1869, entitled 'An act to strengthen the public credit,' as follows :
'And the United States also pledges its faith to make provision, at the ear
liest practicable period, for the redemption of the United States notes in
coin ; ' and the committee on finance is directed to report to the Senate, at
as early a day as practicable, such measures as will not only redeem this
pledge of the public faith, but will also furnish a currency of uniform value,
always redeemable in gold or its equivalent, and so adjusted as to meet the
changing wants of trade and commerce."
Mr. Ferry, of Michigan, a raeraber of the committee, offered
the following substitute for the pending resolution :
" That the committee on finance is directed to report to the Senate, at
as early a day as practicable, such measures as will restore commercial con
fidence and give stability and elasticity to the circulating medium through
a moderate increase of currency."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 491
Upon these adverse propositions a long debate followed
without practical results. I made a long speech on the 16th
day of January, 1874, in favor of the resolution of the commit
tee. I then said :
" At the outset of my remarks I wish f o state some general propositions
established by experience, and the concurring opinions of all writers on po
litical economy. They may not be disputed, but are constantly overlooked.
They ought to bo ever present in this discussion as axioms, the truth of
which has been so often proven that proof is no longer requisite.
" Tho most obvious of these axioms, which lies at the foundation of the
argument I wish to make to-day, is that a specie standard is the best and the
only true standard of all values, recognized as such by all civilized nations
of our generation, and established as such by the experience of all commer
cial nations that have existed from the earliest period of recorded time.
While the United States, as well as all other nations, have for a time, under
the pressure of war or other calamity, been driven to establish other stand
ards of value, yet they have all been impelled to return to the true stand
ard ; and even while other standards of value have been legalized for the
time, specie has measured their value as it now measures the value of our
legal tender notes.
" This axiom is as immutable as the law of gravitation or the laws of
the planetary system, and every device to evade it or avoid it has, by its
failure, only demonstrated the universal law that specie measures all values
as certainly as the surface of the ocean measures the level of the earth.
"It is idle for us to try to discuss with intelligence the currency ques
tion until we are impressed with the truth, the universality, and the immuta
bility, of this axiom. Many of the crude ideas now advanced spring from
ignoring it. The most ingenious sophistries are answered by it. It is the
governing principle of flnance. It is proved by experience, is stated clearly
by every leading writer on political economy, and is now here, in our own
country, proving its truth by measuring daily the value of our currency
and of all we have or produce. I might, to establish this axiom, repeat
the history of finance, from the shekels of silver, ' current money with the
merchant,' paid by Abraham, to the last sale of stock in New York. I
might quote Aristotle and Pliny, as well as all the writers on political
economy of our own time, and trace the failure of the innumerable efforts
to establish some other standard of value, from the oxen that measured the
value of the armor of Homeric heroes to the beautifully engraved promise of
our day ; but this would only be the hundred-times-told tale which every
student may find recorded, not only in schoolbooks, but in the writings of
Humboldt, Chevalier, Adam Smith, and others of the most advanced scien
tific authorities. They all recognize the precious metals as the universal
standard of value. Neither governments, nor parliaments, nor congresses

492 RECOLLECTIONS
can change this law. It defies every form of authority, but silently and surely
asserts itself as a law of necessity, beyond the jurisdiction of municipal law.
*********
" Of late years much difficulty has grown out of the slightly varying
value of silver and gold, as compared with each other, and the tendency of
opinion has been to adopt gold alone as the standard of value. The United
States has twice changed the relative value of these metals, and other modern
nations have been driven to similar expedients. At the Paris monetary con
ference, held in 1867, which I had the honor to attend, the delegates of
twenty nations represented agreed to recommend gold alone as the standard
of value. The United States, and nearly all the commercial nations, have
adopted this standard, and reduced the use of silver to a mere token coinage
of less intrinsic value than gold, but maintained at par with gold by the
right to be converted into gold at the will of the holder. So that for all
practical purposes we may regard gold as the only true standard, the truo
money of the world, by whioh the value of all property, of all productions,
of all credits, and of every medium of exchange, and especially of all paper
money, is tested.
" Specie, in former times, was not only the universal standard of value,
but it was the general medium of all exchanges. In modern times this is
greatly changed. Specie is still the universal standard of value, but it has
ceased to be even the usual medium of exchange. The failure to distinguish
between the standard of value and the medium of exchanges occasions many
of the errors into which so many fall, and nearly every Senator who has
spoken on one side of the question has fallen into this error. Specie has
lost a portion of its sovereign power, for with the enormous increase of ex
changes it was found that, valuable as it is, it is too heavy to transport from
place to place as a medium of exchange. The perils of the sea, the dangers
of theft and robbery, led to devices to substitute promises to pay gold in
place of the actual gold.
*********
" Mr. president, thus far my remarks are founded upon the experience
of ages, applicable to all countries and to all commercial nations of our
time. I present them now as axioms of universal recognition. And yet
I have heard these axioms denounced in this debate as 'platitudes,' useless
for this discussion in the Senate of tho United States. The wisdom of ajres,
the experience of three thousand years, the writings of political econo
mists, are whistled down the wind as if we in the Senate were wiser than all
who have reasoned and thought and legislated upon financial problems —
that all this accumulated wisdom consists of ' platitudes ' unworthy to influ
ence an American Senate in the consideration of the affairs of our day and
generation. " Sir, I do not think so. If we disregard these ' platitudes,' we only
demonstrate our own ignorance and punish our constituents with evils that

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 493
we ought to avoid. I purpose now to pursue the argument further, and to
prove that we are bound, both by public faith and good policy, to bring our
currency to the gold standard ; that such a result was provided for by the
financial policy adopted when the currency was authorized ; that a departure
from this policy was adopted after the war was over, and after the necessity
for a depreciated currency ceased ; and that we have only to restore the old
policy to bring us safely, surely, and easily to a specie standard.
" First, I present to you the pledge of the United States to pay these
notes in coin 'at the earliest practicable period.' In the ' act to strength
en the public credit,' passed on the 18th day of March, 1869, I find this
obligation :
" 'And the United States also solemnly pledges its public faith to make
provision, at the earliest practicable period, for the redemption of the United
States notes in coin.'
* -x- * * * * * * *
" The Congress of the United States, in order to put into form its sense
of this obligation, passed the act ' to strengthen the public credit,' and the
last and most important clause of this act is the promise which I have just
read, that these notes should be paid, ' at the earliest practicable period,' in
coin. -»****** -X- *
"On the day we made that promise, the 18th of March," 1869, the green
backs, the notes of the United States, were worth 75| cents in gold ; or in
other words, gold was at a premium of thirty-two ppr cent. . . . What
was the result ? After you enacted that law — the faith of the people of the
United States that you would redeem this pledge — the value of your green
backs advanced, not rapidly, but gradually, and in one year, to within
twelve per cent, of par in gold.
*********
" Mr. president, we see, then, the effect of this promise. And I here
come to what I regard as a painful feature to discuss — how have we re-
deoniod our promise ? It was Congress that made it, in obedience to the
public voice ; and no act of Congress ever met with a more hearty and gen
erous approbation. But I say to you, with sorrow, that Congress- has done
no single act the tendency of which has been to advance the value of these
notes to a gold standard ; and I shall make that clearer before I get through.
Cono-ress made this promise five years ago. The people believed it and
business men believed it. Four years have passed away since then, and
your dollar in greenbacks is worth no more to-day than it was on the 18th of
March, 1870 ; and no act of yours has even tended to advance the value of
that greenback to par in gold, while every affirmative act of yours since
that time has tended to depreciate its value and to violate your promise.
*********
" Every bond that was issued was issued only upon the sacred pledge
contained in this act, that the interest of that bond should be paid in coin ;

494 RECOLLECTIONS
and the principal should be paid, when due, in coin. The fifth section of
the act provides that all duties on imported goods shall be paid in coin ;
and that this money shall be set aside as a special fund to pay tho interest
on the bonded debt in coin. Then, in order to secure the greenbacks, it author
ized any holder of greenbacks to pay any government debt with them ; it
authorized the holder of greenbacks to pay any debt, public or private,
with them ; and every citizen of the United States was bound to take them.
Then it authorized them to be converted into six jier cent, bonds of the
United States — those bonds paysdtle, juiiicipal and interest, in gold. If
the policy provided for by this act had been maintained, we would long
since have been at specie payments, without any serious disturbance of our
monetary affairs.
*********
"Now, Mr. president, I come to show the Semite how this provision,
the convertible clause of the act of February 25, 1862, was repealed. On
the 3rd of March, 1863, Congress passed 'An act to provide ways and means
for the support of the government.' This act was passed during the dark
hours of the war. The currency of the country did not flow into the treas
ury rapidly enough to pay our army. I remember that at about the time
this act was passed there were very large unpaid requisitions. The Secre
tary of the Treasury, instead of issuing any more six per cent, bonds, desired
to float a 10-40 five per cent, bond ; in other words, to reduce the bur
den of interest upon the public debt. At this time there were three hun
dred millions of circulation outstanding, and with all the rights, and all the
privileges, conferred upon the greenbacks, they did not flow into the
treasury fast enough to furnish means to carry on the operations of the
war. *********
"In other words, the suspension of this convertibility clause was p.asscd
with a view to promote conversion ; to encourage conversion ; to induce
conversion ; and, if possible, to induce a conversion into a five per cent.
gold bond instead of into a six per cent. bond. When the Secretary of the
Treasury presented this view to Congress he was at once met with the
pledge of the public faith ; with the promise printed upon the back of
the greenbacks that they could be converted into six per cent, bonds at the
pleasure of the holder ; and that we could not take away that right. This
' difliculty was met by the ingenuity of the then Senator from Vermont (Mr.
Collamer). He said that no man ever exercised a right which could not
properly be barred by a statute of limitations ; and if this right was injuri
ous to the peojile of the United States, and prevented the conversion of
these notes into bonds, we might require the holder of these notes to con
vert them within a given time ; tiiat we coulil give them a reasonable time
within which thoy could convert them into six por cont. bonds, and after
that take away the right.

OF JOHN SHERMAN, 495
" The act of March 8, ] 863, was amended by inserting this clause :
" 'And tho holders of United States notes, issued under or by vir
tue of said acts, shall jtresont the same for tho purpose of exchanging the
same for bonds, as therein provided, on or before the 1st day of July, 1863 ;
and thereafter the right so to exchange the same shall cease and deter
mine.'

"Now, Mr. president, I have shown you that the greenbacks were
based upon coin bonds ; that they had the right to be converted into coin
bonds ; that that right was taken away as to the 5-20 bonds ; but that, in
practice and in effect, the greenback was convertible into an interest-bear
ing bond of the United States up to 1860, and until the passage of the law
to which I will now refer.
*********
"If this act had contained a simple provision restoring to the holder of
the greenback the right to convert his note into bonds there would have
been no trouble. Why should it not have been done ? Simply because the
then Secretary of the Treasury believed that the only way to advance the
greenbacks was by reducing the amount of them ; that the only way to get
back to specie payments was by the system of contraction. If the legal
tender notes could have been wedded to any form of gold bond by being
made convertible into it, they would have been lifted, by the gradual ad
vance of our publio credit, to par in gold, leaving the question of contrac
tion to depend upon the amount of notes needed for currency. Sir, it was
the separation of our greenbacks from the funding system that created the
difficulty we have upon our hands to-day ; and I say now that, in my judg
ment, the only true way to approach specie payments is to restore this prin
ciple, and give to the holder of the greenback, who is your creditor, the
same right that you give to any other creditor. If he has a note which you
promised to p.ay and cannot, and he desires interest on that note by surren
dering it, why should you not give it to him ? No man can answer that. It
is just as much a debt as any other portion of the debt of the United
States." Finally, after more than three months study and debate, a
majority of the committee agreed upon a measure and directed
rae to report it to the Senate. It fixed the maxiraura limit of
the United States notes at $382,000,000. It provided for a
gradual payment of these notes in coin or in five per cent.
bonds, at the option of the Secretary of the Treasury, from the
1st of January, 1876. It was entitled "An act to provide for
the rederaption and reissue of United States notes and for free
banking." S.— 35

496 RECOLLECTIONS
In obedience to the instructions of the coraraittee, on the
28rd of March, 1874, 1 reported the bill as an original raeasure,
and said:
"It is due to the members of the committee on finance that I should say
that the bill which I have just reported, as it appears on its face, is in the
nature of a compromise measure, which is more or less acceptable all around,
but at the same time there are certain features of the bill which members of
the committee on finance will feel at liberty to express their opposition to,
and also to propose amendments to. It is due to them that I should make
this statement. The bill itself, as appears on its face, is the result of great
labor, long consideration, and the consequence of compromise. In many
cases we were not able, however, to reconcile conflicting opinions ; and on
those points, of course, members of the committee will feel themselves at
liberty to oppose certain features of the bill."
Mr. Thurraan said :
" I should like to inquire of my colleague wliether he proposes to-day or
to-morrow, when he makes the motion that he indicated, to state what, in the
opinion of the committee reporting this bill, will be its practical efl^ect, so
that we may have the views of the committee as to the workings of the bill
should it become a law. I am sure I, for one, should like very much to
know what the committee, who have devoted so much time to this subject,
think will be the practical working of the measure, at any time that it suits
the convenience of the chairman of the committee to make such statement."
I replied:
"When the subject is introduced, if it be convenient, to-morrow, I pro
pose to make a very brief statement of the effect of each section, as we un
derstand it; but I do not intend, by any long speeches or any remarks, to
prolong this matter unnecessarily. I have expressed my own individual
views, and each member of the committee, I suppose, stands to the opinions
expressed by him in the speeches he has made in the Senate — speeches that
were carefully considered, and by which the position of eacli Senator was
stated ; but undoubtedly I shall feel it my duty, when the bill is called
up, to state what I regard as the actual practical effect of these different
propositions ; and some of them, I will now say, I assented to with great
reluctance." On the next day the bill was taken up in the Senate, and I
then stated the general provisions of the bill. I insert extracts
frora ray speech, which indicate the difficulties we encountered:
" Mr. president, some complaint has boon made in tho Senate and in the
country at the delay iu the presentation, by the cominitlco on finance, of soiiio
bill covering the financial question ; but a moment's reflection will, I am
sure, convince every Senator that there has been no fault on the part of that

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 497
committoo. From the beginning of tho session to this hour that committee,
under tho direction of tho Ronalo, has been studying and discussinc- the
various plans and propositions which were referred to the committee ; and
I may say that over sixty different propositions, either coming in the form of
petitions or in the form of bills, have been sent to the committee, all of them
suggesting different plans and ideas. It was impossible to consider all these
and to agree upon any comprehensive measure until within a day or two.
" There was another consideration. The committee found itself divided
in opinion, precisely as the country is, and precisely as the Senate is, into as
many as three different classes of opinion. There were, first, those who
desired to take a definite and positive step toward the resumption of specie
payments. There were, second, those who desired an enlargement of the cur
rency, or what we commonly call an inflation of the currency. There were,
third, those who, while willing to see tlie amount of bank notes increased
and the question of the legal tenders settled in some form, were also de
sirous that some definite step should be taken toward a specie standard.
There were these differences of opinion.
" For the purpose of ascertaining the views of the Senate, and not
involving ourselves in reporting a bill that would be defeated as the bill of
the last session was, we presented, early in the session, resolutions of a gen
eral character which stated these three ideas : First, the resolution of the
majority of the committee that some definite step should be taken toward
specie payments. Then there was the amendment offered by the gentleman
who now oconpios the chair [Mr. Ferry, of Michigan], that there ought to
be an increase of the currency without reference to any plan of redemption.
Third, there was the proposition made by the Senator from Delaware [Mr.
Bayard], that measures should be taken at once looking to the resumption
of specie payments.
" These propositions were discussed, and the committee were enlight
ened by that discussion ; at least they obtained the opinions of Members of
the Senate. Subsequently, in the course of our investigation, a question
about the $25,000,000 section (section 6 of the act of July 12, 1870) came
up, and the committee deemed it right, by a unanimous vote, to ascertain
the sense of the Senate as to whether they wished this section carried into
execution. As it stood upon the statute book it was a law without force.
It was a law so expressed that the comptroller said he could not execute it.
Therefore the committee reported a bill which would have provided the
necessary details to carry into execution that section of the existing law.
But in the present temper of the public mind, in the Senate and in the coun
try, that bill was discussed, and has been discussed day after day, without
approaching the question at all. During all this time the committee have
been pursuing their inquiries, and finally they have reported the bill which
is now before us.
" The measure that is reported is not a satisfactory one to any of us in
all its details. Probably it is not such as the mind of any single Member

498 RECOLLECTIONS
of the Senate would propose. It is in the nature of a compromise bill, and
therefore, while it has the strength of a compromise bill, it has also the weak
ness of a compromise bill. There are ideas in it which, while meeting the
views of a majority, taken separately will be opposed by others. I am quite
sure that I say nothing new to the Senate when I say it does not in all re
spects meet my own views. But there is a necessity for us to yield some of
our opinions. We cannot reconcile or pass any measure that will be satis
factory to the country unless we do so. Any positive victory by either ex
treme of this controversy will be an absolute injury to the business of the
country. Therefore, any measure that is adopted ouglit to be so moderate,
pursuing such a middle course, such a middle ground, that it will give satis
faction to the country. It must be taken as a whole ; and therefore the
effect of amending this proposition will be simply to destroy it. If an
amendment in the direction of expansion is inserted, it will drive away some
who would be willing to support it as it is. If an amendment in the way of
contraction is proposed and carried by a majority of tlie Senate, it will drive
away those who might be willing to take this measure as a compromise.
The only question before the Senate now is, whether this is a fair compro
mise between the ideas that have divided the people of this country and the
Members of the Senate ; whether it will surely improve our currency while
giving the relief that is hoped for by a moderate increase of the currency.
Now I ask the secretary to read the first section of the bill."
The chief clerk read section 1, as follows :
" Re it enacted by the Senate a7id House of Representatives of tlie
United States of America in Co7ig7'ess assembled. That the maximum limit
of United States notes is hereby fixed at $382,000,000, at which amount it
shall remain until reduced as hereinafter provided."
I then continued :
" It is manifest to every Senator that the initial step in this controversy
is to fix the aggregate limit of United States notes. The United States
notes, although they are very popular, and justly so, in this country, are at
this moment inconvertible ; they are irredeemable, and they are depreciated.
These are facts admitted on all hands. In making that statement I do not
intend at all to deny that the United States notes have served a great and
useful purpose ; and though I was here at the birth of them and advocated
them in all stages of their history, yet I am compelled to say at this mo
ment, twelve years after their issue, that they are inconvertible ; they are
irredeemable; and they are depreciated this day at the rate of twelve per cent.
They have been legally inconvertible since July 1, 1863, and practically
inconvertible since the close of the war ; that is, the govorniiient refuses to
receive them, either in payment of customs or in payniont at par of any
bond of the United States offered by it. They are irredeemable on their

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 499
very face. Thoy have depreciated almost from tho date of their issue, at
one timo boing worth only forty oonts in gold, and to-day only worth ninety
cents. That is the condition of the United States notes.
" Now, there is another thing admitted by all Senators. I do not tres
pass on any disputed ground when I say that every addition to the volume
of these notes, while they thus stand depreciated, irredeemable, and incon
vertible, is as certain to further depreciate them, as it is that to pour water
into an overflowing bucket will cause it still more to overflow ; as certain as
the law of gravitation ; as certain as anything human or divine. It is
equally true that any contraction of this currency, any withdrawal of the
amount of it, is undoubtedly an appreciation of its value, making it nearer
and nearer to the standard of gold.
" This is so plain a proposition that it is not necessary to discuss it ; and
the whole people of the country understand it ; the plainest and simplest
people understand it as well as the wisest. Those who desire to increase
prices, to start and put in operation new enterprises, desire an increase of
the currency without any plan of redemption. Those, on the other hand,
who want to get back to the specie standard, to appreciate the value of
these notes, desire to withdraw them, get them out of the way, or give new
uses and new values to them so as to advance them nearer and nearer to the
standard of gold. Therefore it is that I say the very first step at the outset
of this controversy is to settle what is the legal limit of these notes ; how
many are there now authorized by law ; how many are there outstanding.
And here it is a strange thing that on this very point, a purely legal ques
tion, tho most important ono in our flnancial discussion, there is a great dif
ference of opinion. There ought not to be uncertainty or room for a
difference of opinion upon a question of this kind. It ought to be settled.
On the one hand it is insisted by Senators who compose the majority of the
committee on finance that the legal limit of United States notes is |356,-
000,000 ; that the amount which has been already issued, of what is
known as tho $44,000,000 reserve, was unlawfully issued, although under
great press of circumstances and without any intention on the part of the
secretary to do more than he thought he had a lawful right to do. On the
other hand it is insisted by other Senators that the legal limit of United
States notes is 1400,000,000; and here is a margin of 144,000,000 upon
whioh there is a dispute of law as to the power of the secretary to issue it.
That dispute ought to be settled at once. It is a question that ought not
to be in doubt a moment, because the power to issue that $44,000,000 places
it in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury either to advance or
to lower the value of all property in the United States, of all debts in the
United States, of everything that is measured by United States notes.
" Should we undertake to say that the secretary did wrong in exceeding
the limit at $356,000,000 ? A majority of the committee believe that that
is now the legal limit, and believe it conscientiously. But should we un
dertake to fix that as the legal limit ? Twenty-six million dollars of the

500 RECOLLECTIONS
$44,000,000 are outstanding. They are now issued ; they are now a part of
the currency of the country. They are just as much the currency as that
which was issued before. You cannot distinguish between them. You can
not say which of the $382,000,000 now outstanding is legal and which is
illegal. So far as the United States are concerned, they are all debts of the
United States which we are bound to pay, whether they have been issued
legally or illegally. I do not understand even my friend from Delaware to
dispute the duty and obligation of the United States to pay these notes,
even if they have been illegally issued. There can be no question about it.
It is impossible to distinguish between them. The only question is whether
our agent exceeded his authority or not. Therefore, without raising the ques
tion as to the legality of this issue, reserving to each Senator his own opin
ion on the subject, we have adopted as the status quo $382,000,000, the
amount now outstanding ; and we recognize that amount as the maximum
legal obligation of the United States in the form of notes, and we propose
upon that basis to erect our superstructure. We therefore say that we will
raise no question as to the mode of retiring the $26,000,000 ; we will simply
say that the amount now outstanding shall never be exceeded. That is a rec
ognition, at least, that they are outstanding lawfully and properly ; at any
rate, so far as the obligation of the United States to pay them is concerned.
" Mr. president, a limit ought to bo fixed. But there is a difference of
opinion as to what should be the limit. If I had the power to fix this limit
I should say that the limit which was fixed by the old law should remain at
$356,000,000 ; and I would provide a mode and manner of issuing United
States bonds to retire the $26,000,000 slowly and gradually, without dis
turbing the ordinary business of the country. I would thereby seek to re
cover the ground we have lost by what has occurred since the panic, and go
back to the standard prior to that time. But I know that would be very
difficult ; that would involve an increase of the bonded debt. Our revenues
are not sufficient to call in this $26,000,000. We have no surplus revenue
now as we had a year or two ago. We could only do it by the issue of
bonds, and the process itself would be a very hard one. Besides, it is prob
able that public opinion and the judgment of Congress would not sustain
such a proposition ; and therefore it is hardly worth while to recommend it.
We assume, therefore, that the $382,000,000 is the present limit, and we
say that shall be the maximum limit.
***-»*****
" I said it was a compromise by the committee. I speak of a majority
of the committee. As a matter of course my friend is at liberty to dissent
from any of its propositions. On questions of this kind committees are very
rarely unanimous ; but I will say that on this point a very decided majority
of the committee concurred in the section.
"To tho second soction 1 wish to invite the careful and oarnost attention
of the Senate. This section is an honest effort to deal with tho great prob
lem of redemption. Every Senator who has spoken contemplates that a time

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 501
ninst (•<inin when all tho United States notes raust be redeemed in coin.
The publio faith of tho United Stales ia so pledgod. The notes wore issued
with the understanding that they should be paid in coin. No man could
survive politically in this country who would declare that it was his purpose
never to pay those notes in coin. My friend who now presides [Mr. Ferry,
of Michigan], speaks always of his measure of inflation as a means of bring
ing about at some time specie payments ; and I will say that in the Senate
I have not heard any Senator deny that it is the duty of the United States
at some time to pay these notes in coin. In all this discussion there is at
least that one point agreed upon. If I state this too strongly I hope I will
be here corrected.
" Now, Mr. president, how shall it be done, and when shall it be done ?
I say that now, nine years after the close of our Civil War, twelve years after
these notes have been authorized and issued, five years after the dominant
party has declared its purpose to pay them at the earliest day practicable,
there should be no longer delay. The United States ought to do something
toward the fulfillment of that pledge and the performance of that duty.
There must be something very peculiar in the condition of our country that
will justify a longer delay, a longer procrastination in the performance of
this solemn pledge, this publio policy — our own political obligation.
" Mr. president, this section is the result of the patient consideration of
the committee on finance as to how this result is to be brought about ; and
upon this very section there is most likely to be a contrariety and difference
of opinion among Senators, because the mode and manner of redemption is
the thing which has excited the public mind and upon which men all over
the country differ. I wish, therefore, to deal with this question. We have
got to pay these notes in coin. The time when is not defined by the law.
Are we prepared now to fix a day when we will pay these notes in coin ?
If the condition of our country was such as to justify it, I would greatly pre
fer fixing the time when these notes should be paid in coin ; but I am dis
posed to .igreo with what has been stated by the Senator from Indiana, and
by other Senators, that in the present condition of our coinage, the present
condition of our foreign trade, we are not prepared to fix a definite day
when we will pay in coin. Why ? I find, by reference to official documents,
that we now have in gold and silver coin in this country about $140,000,000.
This statement of Dr. I^inderman does not include the bullion on hand.
How much that is I am not prepared to state. The whole amount of gold
and silver coin in the country, however, is about $140,000,000. Some of
that is in circulation in the Pacific states, but the bulk of it is in the treasury
of tho United States, the property of individuals and the property of the
United States. The total annual production of gold and silver in this coun
try cannot be estimated at over $70,000,000 ; and heretofore, at least
$50,000,000 of this has been exported over and above the amount that has
been imported. The balance of trade has been against us ; and although I
do not regard that as entering much into the calculation, yet it is a fact that

502 RECOLLECTIONS
until recently, perhaps, the balance of trade has been against us. The an
nual coinage of the United States for the last year or two has been largely
increasing, and last year the coinage of the United States was $38,689,183,
besides a stamping into fine bars, which operates as a kind of coinage, of
$27,517,000. So that there has been in fact converted, of gold and silver,
into coin, or bars stamped by the United States, $66,000,000 during the last
year, showing a use and employment of gold in this country that is now
rapidly increasing.
" But still this state of affairs would not justify us in saying that we are
prepared to declare a resumption of specie payments absolutely upon the
basis of $800,000,000 of paper money, including our fractional currency. I
am, therefore, not prepared to say that the United States can, on a fixed day,
within a reasonable time — within such a time as would give confidence in our
ability to perform it — say that we will absolutely rodoein our notes in coin.
" I know that Senators here, for whose opinion I have tho highest respect,
who are probably more sanguine of our ability and capacity to do this than
I am — many of those who have agreed with me and cooperated with me —
think we are able and strong enough to fix the time for the absolute resump
tion of specie payments ; but I have always doubted it. Indeed I have
thought there was a better way to reach the great result. But if we cannot
fix the time when we will redeem in coin, can we not give additional value
to our United States notes, so as to gradually appreciate them to the coin
standard, and thus advance toward specie payments if we cannot reach the
goal ? Because we cannot accomplish all that we have agreed to do in a
given time, does that relieve us from the necessity of progressing in that
direction ? When we have before us a long Journey that will take months
to pass, perhaps years, shall we delay starting on that journey because we
cannot reach the end of it in a year or two ? Not at all. I therefore say
that the time has arrived this moment when the United States ought to do
something to advance its notes to the specie standard.
" Now what is that something ? Tliere are two propositions, and only
two propositions, that have been made, aside from absolute coin redemption,
that have had any strength whatever. One is to allow the United States
notes to be received in payment of customs duties, the other is to allow
United States notes to be converted into bonds. In regard to the first, I
agree entirely that if the matter was open now to our choice and selection,
one of the best methods we could adopt to advance our notes to par in gold
would be by repealing that restriction which prevents the receiving
of them for customs duties ; but we are met there by the sacred pledge of
the United States ; we are met there by the fact that customs duties are,
by the law of 1862, agreed to be collected in coin."
Mr. Bayard inquired :
" Does not the law provide that the customs duties shall be paid in coin
or in notes of the United States ? Is not the alternative given by the law ? "

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 503
I replied :
"O, no. If the Senator will look at section 5 of the act of February
25, 1862 — my friend from Vermont can turn to it in a moment — he will
find that there is an express stipulation that the customs duties shall
bo collected in coin, and that this coin shall be set aside as a pledge —
legal language is used — and shall only be applied, first, to the payment
of the interest on the publio debt, and, secondly, to the establishment of
a sinking fund of one per cont. That was the basis of the obligation of
the United States to pay in coin, and but for the fact that we collected
our customs duties in coin during the war we could not have paid the inter
est on our public debt in coin, and therefore our bonds would have sunk out
of sight. That pledge we cannot now violate ; and I never have yet been
able to bring my mind to the consideration of any proposition whatever
which would even shock or excite the fear of the public creditors in that
respect. The safety of the public creditors consists in having a speciflc
fund for the payment of their interest ; the principal will take care of itself ;
and that fund has always been maintained in the darkest hours of the war.
Except the propositions that have been made here and there to impair that
fund by allowing a portion of the customs duties to be paid in currency, it
has never been either invaded or threatened ; but all such propositions have
been voted down. I, therefore, while I see the policy and the expediency
of allowing these notes to be used in payment of customs duties, siraply say
we are precluded from that remedy because we have mortgaged that fund,
and we have no jiower to take them for any purpose except that which the
mortgage stipulates.
*********
" We then come to the redemption in bonds. There is the moral obli
gation, on the part of the United States, which has issued its notes payable
in coin, but for reasons of public policy does not jiay in coin, to give to its
creditors its notes bearing iiitorost in place of coin. The United States
cannot plead inability to pay interest on its notes if it will not or cannot pay
the principal. Why should not the United States give its obligation bear
ing interest just as any individual would have to do? There is a moral
obligation which rests upon the United States every day of the year to every
holder of these notes, because, although the United States has not said
when it will redeem these notes in coin, yet it is bound to do what it can to
give them additional value. Although it may not receive these notes for
customs duties, why can it not receive these notes in payment of bonds?
Why discriminate against these notes in the sale of bonds? The answer is,
that during the war we were compelled to do it ; and so we were. I very
reluotantly^'yieldod to that necessity. We were compelled to do it ; but,
sir, it was only expected that that would continue to the close of the war ;
and, practically, during the whole of the war these notes were received at
par for bonds at par.

504 RECOLLECTIONS
" If, therefore, we are to take any step toward specie payments, why
not give to the holder of United States notes who demands it, a bond
of the United States bearing a reasonable rate of interest in exchange
for his notes? This should only be done after a reasonable time, so
as to prevent any injury to the private contracts between debtor and
creditor. When we cannot pay the coin, we are honorably and sacredly
bound to pay in a bond of the United States, which in ordinary times
would approximate to par in gold. In other words, this is a qualified re
demption. The Senator from Indiana calls it a ' half-way measure.' It
is a half-way measure in the right direction, and indeed it is practical specie
payment." The bill led to a long continuous debate which extended to
the 6th of April, 1874. Several amendments were offered and
adopted which enlarged the maximum of notes to $400,000,000,
and greatly weakened the bill as a measure of resumption of
specie payraents. By reason of these araendinents many of
those who would have supported the bill as introduced
voted against it on its passage, I among the number. The
bill, however, passed the Senate by a vote of yeas 29 and
nays 24. The title of the bill was changed to "A bill to fix
the amount of United States notes and the circulation of
national banks, and for other purposes." This change of title
indicates the radical change in the provisions of the bill. In
stead of a return to specie payments, it provided for an expan
sion of an irredeemable currency.
The bill, as it passed the Senate, was as follows:
"Re it e7iacted, etc.. That the maximum amount of United States notes
is hereby fixed at $400,000,000.
" Sec. 2. That forty-six millions in notes for circulation, in addition to
such circulation now allowed by law, shall be issued to national banking
associations now organized and which may be organized hereafter, and such
increased circulation shall be distributed among the several states as jiro-
vided in section 1 of the act entitled 'An act to jirovide for the redemption of
the three per cent, temporary loan certificates and for an iucrease of national
bank notes,' approved July 12, 1870. And each national banking associa
tion, now organized or hereafter to be organized, shall keep and maintain,
as a part of its reserve required by law, one-fourth part of the coin received
by it as interest on bonds of the United States deposited as security for cir
culating notes or government deposits; and that hereafter only one-fourth of
the reserve now prescribed by law for national banking associations shall

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 505
consist of balances due to an association available for the rederaption of its
circulating notes from associations in cities of redemption, and upon which
balances no interest shall be paid."
The bill was taken up in the House of Representatives on
the 14th of April, 1874, and, without any debate on its merits,
was passed by the vote of 140 yeas and 102 nays.
On the 22nd of April, President Grant returned the bill to
the Senate with his veto, and the Senate, upon the question,
"Shall the bill pass notwithstanding the objections of the
President of the United States," voted 34 yeas and 30 nays. I
voted nay. The president of the Senate declared " that two-
thirds of the Senators present not having voted in the affirma
tive the Senate refuses to pass the bill."
Thus, for that session, the struggle for resumption ended ;
but the debate in both Houses attracted popular discussion, and
tended in the right direction. The evil effects of the stringency
in monetary affairs, the want of confidence, the reduction of
the national revenue, the decline of domestic productions, all
these contributed to impress Congress with the imperative
necessity of providing some measure of relief. Instead of infia
tion, of large issues of paper money by the United States and
the national banks, there grew up a conviction that the bet
ter policy was to limit and reduce the volume of such raoney
to an amount that could be maintained at par with coin.
During the canvass that followed I spoke in many parts of
Ohio, confining myself chiefly to financial questions. The
stringency of the money market which occurred the preceding
year still continued, and great interest was manifested in the
measures proposed during the preceding session, especially in
the defeat of the bill to prevent the contraction of the currency.
At the request of General Garfield I spoke in Warren in his
Congressional district, where he met, for the first time, a de
cided opposition. I insert his autograph letter, the original
being in his familiar hand writing :
Hiram, Ohio, September 25, 1874.
Deab Senator : — In accordance with the arrangement which I made
with you and with the central committee, we have posted you for a mass
meeting at Warren, on Saturday afternoon, October 10. I hope I shall

506 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
not embarrass you by suggesting that in your speech you take occasion to
say a few words in reference to my standing and public service as a repre
sentative. It will do much to counteract the prejudice that a small knob of
persistent assailants have created against me. I write also to inquire if you
will be willing to speak at another place the same evening. If so, we are
very anxious to have you do so. Please telegraph me to Garrettsville, Ohio,
and oblige, Very truly yours,
J. A. Garfield.

CHAPTER XXV.
Bill for the Resumption of Specie Payments.
Decline iu Value of Paper Money — Meeting of Congress in December, 1874— Senate
Committee of Eleven to Formulate a Bill to Advance United States Notes to
far in Coin — Widely Differing Views of the MeiiiberH— Iledeinption of Frac-
tionaf Currency Readily Agreed to — Other Sections Finally Adopted —
Means to Prepare for and Maintain Resumption —Report of tlie Bill
by the Comniittee ou Finance— Its Passage by the Senate by a
Vot(> of .12 to 14 — Full Text ot the Measure and an Ex
planation ot What It Was Expected to Accomplish —
Approval by the House and the President.
WHEN Congress met in Deceraber, 1874, the amount
of United States notes outstanding was $382,000,-
000. The fractional notes outstanding convertible
into legal tenders amounted to $44,000,000, and the
amount of national bank notes redeemable in lawful money was
$354,000,000, in all .$780,000,000. Each dollar was worth a frac
tion less than 89 cents in coin. While these notes were at a
discount coin did not and could not circulate as money. The
government exacted coin for customs duties and paid coin for
interest on its bonds. If there was an excess of coin received
from customs to pay interest then the excess was sold at a pre
mium. If the receipts from customs were insufficient to pay
the interest on bonds, the government had to buy the coin and
pay the premium. The people who were demanding more
money to relieve the stringency did not see that the best way to
get more money into circulation was to adopt measures that
would make United States notes and bank notes equal to coin,
when all three forms of raoney would enter into circulation
and thus give them more money and all kinds of equal value.
While our paper money was depreciated the gold and silver
bullion from our mines went abroad and was converted into
foreign coin, while a large portion and perhaps a majority of
our people demanded more paper money, which declined in
(607)

508 RECOLLECTIONS
value in exact proportion to its increase. During the war vast
expenditures compelled us to use paper money; the return of
peace and the excess of revenue over expenditures should have
been promptly followed by coin payments or notes payable in
coin. We delayed this process so long that the popular mind
rested content with depreciated money, but the panic of 1873,
and the feverish speculation which preceded it, convinced the
great body of our business men that there was no remedy for
existing evils but a return to sjoecie payments.
Another bill concerning currency and free banking was re
ported by Horace Maynard, of Tennessee, on the 29tli of Janu
ary, 1874, from the committee on banking and currency of
the House of Representatives, which provided for free bank
ing and a gradual reduction and cancellation of United
States notes by the issue of notes payable in gold in two
years frora the passage of the bill. This was fully debated
in the House of Representatives and amended and passed.
In the Senate it was reported by me from tlie committee
on finance, with a substitute which provided for free bank
ing and that on and after the 1st of January, 1877, any
holder of United States notes might present thera for pay
ment either in coin or five per cent, bonds of the United States,
at the suggestion of the Secretary of the Treasury. This
substitute was araended in the Senate by striking out all pro
visions for the rederaption of United States notes, leaving the
measure one for free banking alone. The House disagreed to
the amendraents and a comraittee of conference was appointed
which resulted in a measure fixing the amount of United
States notes outstanding at $382,000,000, and making no provi
sion for their redemption. It was a crude and imperfect meas
ure., I voted for it because it provided for a redistributiun of
national banks among the states. 1 said: "Because 1 cannot
get a majority of both Houses of Congress to agree to specie
resumption I ought not therefore to refuse to vote for a bill on
the subject of banking and currency." The bill was approved
by the President on the 20th of June, 1874. This long struggle
prepared the way for the result accomplished at the next
session.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 509
When Congress met in December, 1874, the feeling that the
remedy for existing evils was the return to specie payments,
was general among Republican Senators and Members. The
abortive efforts of the previous session and the veto of Presi
dent Grant of one of the bills referred to contributed to it. At
the first Republican conference 1 called attention to the neces
sity of our uniting, if possible, on some measure that would
advance United States notes to par in coin and moved that a
committee of eleven Senators be created to formulate a bill for
that purpose. It was agreed to, and, as the names of the Sen
ators coraposing the committee have already been published, I
feel justified in repeating them: The committee consisted of
Senators John Sherman (chairman), William B. Allison, George
S. Boutwell, Roscoe Conkling, George F. Edmunds, Thomas W.
Ferry, F. T. Frelinghuysen, Timothy 0. Howe, John A. Logan,
Oliver P. Morton, and Aaron A. Sargent.
When the committee met it was agreed that each member
should state how far he would go in the direction of specie re
sumption. When these statements were made it was manifest
that the divergence of opinion was so great that an agreement
was almost impossible. Yet, the necessity of an agreement
was so absolute that a failure to agree was a disruption of the
Republican party.
The first section of the act to provide for the resumption
of specie payments, which related to the coinage and issue
of fractional silver under the act of February 21, 1853, and
the redemption of an equal amount of fractional currency
until the whole amount of such fractional currency out
standing should be redeemed, was readily agreed to. This frac
tional currency was so Worn and filtiiy, and it cost so much to
reissue, that by general consent its destruction was agreed to,
and its replacement by bright new silver coin, which followed,
was heartily welcomed.
The second section was an unjust concession to the miners
of gold. It repealed the coinage charge for converting standard
gold bullion into coin. This charge had been maintained, not
only to cover the cost of coining, but to prevent the exporta
tion of American coins. If the coins were of less value than
S.-3G

510 RECOLLECTIONS
the bullion of which they were made, however small the differ
ence, they would not be exported while bullion could be had
for exportation. The concession was made and the charge for
coinage of gold was prohibited.
The free banking provisions in the third section were
not seriously contested. The contraction of the volume of
United States notes as national bank notes increased, was one
of the chief subjects of disagreement. It was finally agreed
that this contraction should extend only to the retirement of
United States notes in excess of $300,000,000.
The raost serious dispute was upon the question whether
United . States notes presented for rederaption and redeemed
could be reissued. On the one side it was urged that, being
redeemed, they could not be reissued without an express pro
vision of law. The infiationists, as all those who favored
United States notes as part of our permanent currency were
called, refused to vote for the bill if any such provison was
inserted, while those who favored coin payments were equally
positive that they would vote for no bill that permitted notes
once redeemed to be reissued. This appeared to be the rock
upon which the party in power was to split. I had no doubt
under existing law, without any further provision, but that
United States notes could be reissued. It was finally agreed that
no mention should be made by me for or again,st the reissue of
notes, and that I must not commit either side in presenting the
bill. The date for general resuinption of specie payments on all
United States notes was fixed on the first of January, 1879, four
years frora the framing of this bill. The important and closing
clause of the bill was referred to Mr. Edmunds and myself. It
provided the means to prepare for and to maintain resumption.
It placed under the control of the Secretary of the Treasury all
the surplus revenue in the treasury, and gave him full power to
issue, sell and dispose of, at not less than par in coin, any of
the bonds described in the refunding act. We were careful to
select phraseology so comprehensive that all the resonices and
credit of the government were pledged to redeem the notes of
the United States, as fully and completely as our Revolutionary

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 511
fathers pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and
their sacred honor, in support of the declaration of American
independence. After every sentence aud word of this bill had been care
fully scrutinized, I was authorized by every member of the
committee to submit it to the committee on finance, and to
report it from that committee as the unanimous act of the
Republican Senators. We naturally expected some support
from Mr. Bayard and other Democratic Senators, who, no doubt,
were in favor of specie payments, but they perhaps thought it
best not to share the risk of the measure.
I reported the bill from the committee on finance on the
21st of December, 1874, and gave notice that on the next day
I would call it up with a view to immediate action. On the
22nd, after the morning business, I moved to proceed to the
consideration of the bill, and gave notice that I intended to
press it to its passage, from that hour forward, at the earliest
moment practicable. It was well understood that the bill was
the result of a Republican conference. It was taken up by the
decisive vote of 39 yeas to 18 nays.
It was not my purpose to do more than to present the pro
visions of the bill. My brief statement led to a desultory
debate, participated in almost exclusively by Democratic Sena
tors, the Republican Senators remaining silent. Several votes
were taken, each showing a majority of more than two-thirds
in favor of the bill and against all amendments. It passed the
Senate without change by the vote of 32 yeas to 14 nays.
I here insert the bill as introduced and passed, with my
statement in support of its provisions :
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR TIIE RERUJII'TION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS.
"Be it e7iacted by the Se7\ate and Hoxise of Re2'>resentatives qf the
U7iited States of America i7i Congress asse7nbled, That the Secretary of the
Treasury is hereby authorized and required, as rapidly as practicable, to
cause to be coined, at the mints of the United States, silver coins of the de
nominations of ten, twenty-five, and fifty cents, of standard value, and to
issue them in redemption of an equal number and amount of fractional cur
rency of similar denominations, or, at his discretion, he may issue such silver
coins through the mints, the sub-treasuries, public depositaries, and post
offices of the United States ; and, upon such issue, he is hereby authorized

512 RECOLLECTIONS
and required to redeem an equal amount of such fractional currency, until
the whole amount of such fractional currency outstanding shall be redeemed.
" Sec. 2. That so much of section three thousand five hundred and
twenty-four of the Revised Statutes of the United States as provides for a
charge of one-fifth of one per centum for converting standard gold bullion
into coin is hereby repealed ; and hereafter no charge shall be made for
that service.
" Sec. 3. That section five thousand one hundred and seventy-seven of
the Revised Statutes, limiting the aggregate amount of circulating notes of
national banking associations, be, and is hereby, rejiealed ; and each existing
banking association may increase its circulating notes in accordance with
existing law, without respect to said aggregate limit ; and new banking
associations may be organized in accordance with existing law, without re
spect to said aggregate limit ; and the provisions of law for the withdrawal
and redistribution of national bank currency among the several states and
territories are hereby repealed. And whenever, and so often, as circulating
notes shall be issued to any such banking association, so increasing its capi
tal or circulating notes, or so newly organized as aforesaid, it shall be the
duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem the legal tender United
States notes in excess only of three hundred millions of dollars, to the
amount of eighty per centum of the sum of national bank notes so issued to
any such banking association as aforesaid, and to continue such redemption
as such circulating notes are issued until there shall be outstanding the sum
of three hundred million dollars of such legal tender United States notes,
and no more. And on and after the first day of .lannary, anno Domini
eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, the Secretary of the Treasury shall re
deem in coin the United States legal tender notes then outstanding, on
their presentation for redemption at the office of the assistant treasurer of
the United States in the city of New York, in sums of not less than fifty
dollars. And to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to jirepare and pro
vide for the redemption in this act authorized or required, he is authorized
to use any surplus revenues from time to time in the treasury not otherwise
appropriated, and to issue, sell, and dispose of, at not less than par in coin,
either of the descriptions of bonds of the United States described in the act
of Congress approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy, enti
tled 'An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt,' with like
qualities, privileges, and exemptions, to the extent necessary to carry this
act into full effect, and to use the proceeds thereof for the purposes afore
said. And all provisions of law inconsistent with the provisions of this act
are hereby repealed."
I said :
" Mr. jiresident, I do not intend to reopen tho debate on financial topics
of the last session. That debate was carried to such great length that it was
not only exhaustive, but it was exhausting, not only mentally but physically.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 513
The Senate is composed of the same persons who shared in that debate, and
it is utterly idle for us, in this short session, to reopen it and to invite the dis
cussion of the various topics presented in that debate. The Senate is now
within less than three months, a little more than two months, of its adjourn
ment, and there is a general feeling throughout the country, shared by all
classes of people, that this Congress ought to give some definite notice to the
people of this country as to their purpose in the important topics embraced in
this bill ; and 1 say to Senators on all sides of tho House that this bill contains
enough to accomplish the hnportant object declared by the title of the bill,
and this without reviving all the troublesome and difBcult questions which
were discussed at the last session. It contains a few simple propositions
which may be separated from the mass of financial topics discussed
at the last session. Its purpose is declared upon the title of the bill,
' An act to provide for the resumjition of specie payments.' Every
word, every line, and every provision, of this bill is in harmony with that
title. It will tend to promote the resumption of specie payments. It may
fall short in many particulars of the desire of some Senators ; and it does go
further in that direction than some Senators were willing to support at the
last session. It is a bill which demands reasonable concession from every
Member of the Senate. If we undertake now to seek to carry out the indi
vidual views of any Senator, we cannot accomplish the passage of any bill to
promote this object, and therefore this bill has demanded of everyone who
lias consented to it thus far a surrender of some portions of his opinions as to
measures and moans to accomplish the great purpose. I will consider my
duty done, so far as this bill is concerned, by simply stating its provisions and
calling attention to the character of these provisions, without entering into
a single topic that gave rise to the long discussion at the last session.
" The bill is intended to provide for the resumption of specie payments.
The first section of the bill provides for the resumption of specie payments
on the fractional currency. It is confined to that subject alone. It so
happens that at this particular period of time the state of the money market,
the state of the demand for silver bullion, and more especially the recent
action of the German Empire, which has demonetized silver and thus cheap
ened that product, enables us now, without any loss of revenue, without any
sacrifice, to enter the market for the purchase of bullion and resume specie
payments on our fractional currency. The market price of bullion to-day
will justify the government of the United States, without any sacrifice, at a
price about equivalent to, or perhaps a trifle above, our fractional currency —
scarcely a shadow above our fractional currency — to purchase silver bullion
in the money markets of the world, mostly of our own production, perhaps
entirely of our own production. This bill simply directs that the Secretary
of the Treasury shall purchase this bullion and shall coin silver coin and
substitute that in the place of fractional currency. To that extent it is a
resumption of specie payments upon the silver standard for the fractional
currency. This section is recommended not only by the Secretary of the

514 RECOLLECTIONS
Treasury and the President of the United States, but I believe will meet the
general concurrence of every Member of the Senate, and we fortunately are
enabled to embrace the present time to commence this operation without any
loss to the government, except perhaps the cost of the coinage of this silver
may have to be paid out of the treasury of the United States. That coinage
may be done in the ordinary course of business without any increase of ex-
iienditures. The mints of the United States are now prepared, immediately
npon the passage of this bill, to resume the coinage of silver coins of all tho
legal denominations. Therefore the committee has jjrovided that the Secre
tary of the Treasury shall proceed to coin the silver coins, and in one of
several ways to issue them in the ])lace of fractional currency.
" I need not dwell further upon this section, because I believe it will meet
with the general assent of the Senate. It provides for the immediate re
sumption of specie payments upon the fractional curroiuiy, or at least as
immediate as possible ; that is, as soon as the goveinnient of the United
States can, in the mints of the United States, coin the silver coin. That proc
ess may continue one, two, or three years, how long we cannot tell, depend
ing entirely upon the force that may be employed in that direction. It
takes a much longer time to coin these small coins than gold coins, and the
operation will probably take more time than it would to coin any consider
able amount of gold coin."
Mr. Hamilton, of Maryland, inquired :
" I would ask the Senator if there is authority to reissue that fractional
currency ? "
I said :
" I will come to that in a moment. The second section of this bill
simply removes an inducement that now exists to export our gold bullion
from the United States to Great Britain, where, by the long established
laws of that country, they coin money free of charge. This section in
volved the surrender of about $85,000 a year of revenue ; that is, the
government of the United States received last year for coining gold coin,
$85,000, or one-fifth of one per cent, on forty-five millions of gold coined.
The only sacrifice of revenue, therefore, by the second section of the bill, is
the sacrifice or surrender of $85,000, which heretofore has been levied upon
those who produce gold bullion in order to convert it into coin. In the
opinion of many men, among them the Secretary of the Treasury, the direct
or of the mint, and perhaps a large number of Senators heretofore, this will
tend, in a slight degree at any rate, to prevent the exportation of the gold
of our own country into foreign parts, because when the governraent of the
United States undertakes to put gold bullion in the form of gold coin with
out additional charge the tendency will inevitably be for the gold bullion to
flow into the mints for coinage, and being put into the form of American
coin, it is thought by a great many people that this will tend to prevent its

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 515
exportation. To the extent it does so it prepares us for specie payments.
That is the whole of tho second soction.
"The third soction of tho bill contains only two or three affirmative
propositions. The flrst is that after the passage of this act banking shall be
free. Perhaps there is no idea stronger in the minds of the Araerican peo
ple than a feeling of hostility against a monopoly — a privilege that one
man or set of men can enjoy which is denied to another man or set of men.
Under the law as it now stands banking is substantially free in the southern
and some of the western states ; but banking is not free in the great com
mercial states, in the older states, where wealth has accumulated for ages.
This may be a mere sentimental point, but it is well enough to meet it ; and
by the operation of this bill banking is made free, so that there will be no
difficulty hereafter for any corporation organized as a national bank either to
increase its circulation or for banks, to be organized under the provisions of
existing law, to issue circulating notes to any extent within the limits and
upon the terms and provisions of the banking law. This section, therefore,
by making banking free, provides for an enlargeraent of the currency in
case the business of the coraraunity demands it, and in case any bank in the
United States may think it advisable or profitable to issue circulating
medium in the form of bank notes, under the conditions and limitations of
the banking law. Coupled with that is a provision, an undertaking, on the
part of the United States, that as banks are organized or as circulating notes
are issued, either by old or new banks, the government of the United States
undertakes to retire eighty per cent, of that amount of United States notes.
In other words, it proposes to redeem the United States notes to the extent
of eighty per cent, on the amount of bank notes that may be issued ; and
here is the first controverted question that arises on this bill and the first
that is settled.
" It may be asked if we provide for the issue of circulating notes to
banks, why not provide for the retirement of an equal amount of United
States notes. The answer is that under the provisions of the banking act,
by the law as it now stands, a bank cannot be organized and raaintained in
existence unless the reserve which is in that bank, or required for that bank
in the ordinary course of business, either on its deposits or circulation, is at
least equal to twenty per cent, of the amount of its circulating notes, so
that it was believed, according to the judgment of the best business men of
the country, and I may say with the comptroller of the currency, that the
retirement of eighty per cent, of the amount of bank notes is fully equiva
lent to keeping the amount of circulating medium in actual circulation on
the same footing, so that this provision of the bill neither provides for a
contraction nor expansion of the currency, but leaves the amount to be
regulated by the business wants of the community, so that when notes are
issued to a bank eighty per cent, of the amount in United States notes is
redeemed, and this process continues until United States notes are reduced
to three hundred millions."

510) RECOLLECTIONS
Mr. Schurz asked:
" Will the Senator permit me to ask him a question in reference to
this section ? When the eighty per cent, of greenbacks are retired will
they be destroyed and never issued again ? "
I replied:
" I will speak of that in a moment in connection with other sections.
Now, Mr. president, that is all there is in regard to banking in this bill
and also in regard to tho retirement of the United States notes until the
time for the resumption of specie payments comes, when this bill provides
for actual redemption in coin of all notes presented. It has always been
a question in the minds of many people as to whether it is wise to fix a
day for specie payments. That matter was discussed at the last session of
Congress by many Senators, and the general opinion seemed to be that if
we would provide the means by which specie payments would be resumed it
might not be necessary to fix the day ; but, on the other hand, it is important
to have our laws in regard to the currency fix a probable time, or a certain
time, when everybody may know that his contracts will be measured by the
coin standard. We also know, by the example of other nations whicli
have found themselves in the condition in which we are now placed, and by
some of the states when specie payments were suspended, that they have
adopted a specific day for the resumption of sjiecie payments. In England,
by the bank act of 1819, they provided for the resumption of specie payments
in 1823, making four years. In our own state — in New York, in Ohio, in
nearly all the states — when there has been a temporary suspension of specie
payments a time has been fixed when the banks were conijielled to resume,
and this bill simply follows the example that has been set by the states, by
England, and by other nations, when they have been involved in a like
condition. " This bill also provides ample means to prejiarc for and to maintain
resumption. I may say the whole credit and money of the United States is
placed by this bill under the direction of the proper executive officers, not
only to prepare for but to maintain resumption, and no man can doubt that
if this bill stands the law of tho land from this timo until the 1st day of Jan
uary, 1879, specie payments will be resumed, and that our United States
notes will be converted at the will of the holder into gold and silver coin.
" These are all the provisions contained in this bill. Thoy are simple and
easily understood, and every Senatiu- can pass his judgment ujion them
readily. " Now I desire to ajiproach a class of questions that are not embraced in
this bill. Many such, and I could name fifty, are not included in this bill ;
and J may say this : that if there should bo a successful (ill'oit, by the Senuti)
of tiio United Stales, to iiigiaft any of tiiis iiiullitiido of doubtful oi' contostud
questions upon the face of this bill it would inevitably tend to its defeat. 1
uni free to say that if 1 were called upon to fiaiuc a bill to accomplish tho

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 5I7
purpose declared in the title of this bill, I would have provided sorae raeans
of gradual redonijition botwoon this and tho time fixed for final specie pay
raents. All these means are open to objection.
"There have been three different plans yiroposed to prepare for specie
payments, and only three. Tliey are all grou]>ed in three classes. One is
what is called the contraction jtlan. Tho simplest and most direct way to
specie payments is, undoubtedly, the gradual withdrawal of United States
notes or the contraction of the currency. Now, wo know very well the
feeling with which that idea is regarded, not only in this Senate, but all
through tho country. It is believed to operate as a disturbing element in
all the business relations of life ; to add to the burden of tlie debtor by
making scarce that article in which he is bound to jiay his debts ; and there
has been an honest, sincere ojiposition to this theory of contraction. There
fore, although it may bo the simplest and tho best way to reach specie pay
ments, it is entirely omitted from this bill.
"The second plan, that 1 have favored myself often, and would favor
now, if I had my own way, and had no opinion to consult but my own, is the
yilan of converting United States notes into a bond that would gradually
appreciate our notes to par in gold. That has always been a favorite idea of
mine. There is nothing of that kind in this bill, except those provisions
which authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue bonds to retire the
greenbacks as bank notes are issued ; and it also authorizes the Secretary of
the Treasury to issue bonds to jirovide for and to maintain resumption. I
therefore have boon comjiolled to surrender my ideas on this bill in order to
acoonijilish a good object without using these means that have been held
objectionable by many Senators.
"The third plan of resumption has been favored very extensively in
this country, which is the plan of a graduated scale for resumption in coin
or bullion ; what I call the English plan. That is, that we provide now for
the redemption, at a fixed rate or scale of rates, of so much gold for a spe
cific sum of United States notes. At present rates we would give about
$90 of gold for .f 100 of greenbacks, and then provide for a graduated scale
by which wo would approach specie jiay ments constantly, and reach it at a
fixed day. This may be called a gradual redemption. This, also, is objec
tionable to many persons, from the idea that it compels us to enter the
money markets of the world to disccnint our own paper. It is an ideal ob
jection, but a very strong objection ; an objection that has force with a
great many people. We have undertaken to redeem those notes in coin,
and it is at least a question of doubtful ethics whether we ought to enter
into the markets of the world and buy our own notes at a discount.
Although that plan has been adopted in England and successfully carried
into execution, yet there is a strong objection to it in this country, and
therefore that mode is abandoned.
" Either of these plans T ( ould readily support ; but they have met and
will meet with such opposition that we cannot hope to carry them or

518 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
ingraft them in this bill without defeating it. We have then fallen back
on these gradual steps : First, to retire the fractional currency ; second, to
reduce United States notes as bank notes are increased ; and then to rest
our plan of redemption upon the declaration, made on the faith of the
United States, that at the time fixed by the bill we will resume the payment
of the United States notes in coin at par. That is the whole of this bill."
On the 7th of January, 1875, the bill was considered in the
House of Representatives and, after a very brief conversational
debate, passed by the vote of yeas 136, nays 98.
On the 14th of January, 1875, the President sent a message
to the Senate approving the bill but also containing recommen
dations of further legislation upon matters that had been care
fully excluded from the bill. He added at the close of the
message this paragraph :
" I have ventured upon this subject with great diffidence, because it is
so unusual to approve a measure — as I most heartily do this, even if no
further legislation is attainable at this time — and to announce the fact by
message. But I do so, because I feel that it is a subject of such vital im
portance to the whole country, that it should receive the attention of, and be
discussed by, Congress and the people, through the press and in every way,
to the end that the best and most satisfactory course may be reached of
executing what I deem most beneficial legislation on a most vital question to
the interests and prosperity of the nation."
Thus, after a memorable debate, extending through two ses
sions of Congress, a measure of vital importance became a law,
and when executed completely accomplished the great object
proposed by its authors. The narrative of the steps leading to
resumption under this act will be more appropriate hereafter.

CHAPTER XXVI.
Resumption Act Received with Disfavor.
ft Is Not Well Received by Those Who Wished Immediate Resumption ot Specie Pay
ments - Letter to " The Financier " in Reply to a Charge That It Was a " Politi
cal Trick," etc. — The Ohio Canvass of 1875 — Finance Resolutions in the
Democratic n.iid IJepublica.n riatfornis — R. B. Hayes and Myself Talk
in Favor of llesnmptioii — My Recommendation of flini for Pres
ident— A Democrat Elected as Speaker of the House— The
Senate Still Republican — My Speech in Support of Spe
cie Payments, Made March 6, 187G — What the
Financial Policy of the Government Should Be.
THE resumption act was generally received with disfavor
by those who wished the immediate resumption of spe
cie payments. It was the subject of much criticism in
the financial journals, among others "The Financier,"
which described it as a political trick, an evasion of a public
duty, and as totally inadequate for the purpose sought to be
accomplished. I took occasion to reply to this article in the
following letter : United States Senate Chamber, )
Washington, .lanuary 10, 1875. )
Dear Sir: — As I am a subscriber to 'The Financier' you will
probably allow me to express my surprise at the course you have pursued
in respect to the finance bill recently passed by Congress. Claiming as
you do to be a ' monetary and business ' journal, you might be expected
to treat fairly a measure affecting so greatly the interests you represent ;
but you have not done so. You have treated it as a political trick, an
evasion, a disgrace to Congress. You complained that it was passed with
out debate and that its inception and passage were shameful. But as you
say in j'our last nuraber 'that it is well to examine it hopefully, to find
ichat good may have bee7i do7ie, if a7iy, although from a bad motive,'' I
take the liberty to correct errors even in your 'hopeful' view of the law,
so that you may be more hopeful still. You assume that the Secretary of
the Treasury is not authorized to issue flve per cent, gold bonds to prepare
for and to maintain resumption, because the amount of flve per cent, bonds
authorized in the act of 1870 is nearly exhausted. This is an error. The
secretary can issue either four and a half or flve per cent, gold bonds to
an amount sufficient to execute the law. The act of 1870 is only referred
(519)

520 RECOLLECTIONS
to for the ' description ' of the bonds to be issued, and the only limit to the
amount is the sura necessary, and the only limit to their sale is that they
must not be sold at loss than par in coin.
You say that 07ie trick of the bill is ' that there is no provision for
carrying on the withdrawal of legal tenders after their maximum reaches
$300,000,000.' Now this ' trick ' was advocated by you one year ago ; it
was voted for by every specie paying Member of Cimgrcss at the last ses
sion, and nearly every writer on the subject has conlondcd that if tho legal
tenders were reduced to $300,000,000, ami tho treasury was supported by a
reasonable reserve, specie jiayments could be resumed and maintained.
Besides, no one believes that $100,000,000 of bank notes will be issued
under this act, and this provision only relieves some people from an idle
fear of an improbable event. You must have noticed that when banks
retire their notes, as they have done and will do rapidly, this is a reduction
of the currency, while every issue of notes to new or old banks involves a
retirement of a ratable amount of United States notes. What you say about
playing with a movable ' reserve ' is equally wrong. Neither the fractional
currency nor the ' eighty-two million ' redeemed can be reissued, and 1
stated so when the bill was pending under debate, and no lawyer could put
a different construction upon the bill. As to United States notes, a part of
the $300,000,000 redeemed after resumption of specie payments, we did
refuse to provide whether they could be reissued or not, and we acted
wisely. When the question is hereafter determined by Congress, the con
troversy will be whether the notes when reissued shall have the legal ten
der quality, or be simple treasury notes receivable for public dues.
Last session the public press scolded at our long and fruitless debate on
finances, and I agreed with the jircss. This session the same Senators, on-
lightened by the long debate and heeding the call of the press, gave to the
subject the most careful and deliberate cousiderution, and agreed upon this
bill without much debate, and yet the jiress is not luqipy. The act docs
not go so far as I wished, but everything in it is right in itself, and is in the
right direction. Its chief merit is that it establishes a public policy which
no political Jiarty or faction will be strong enough to overthrow, and which,
if it had not been adopted now, the Democratic party in the next Congress
would have defeated. The pretense that the Democratic party, as repre
sented in the next House, would have favored any bill for specie payments
is utterly false. Therefore the measure grants to the Secretary of the
Treasury powers enough to execute it, but if we can secure the aid of a
Democratic House we can make it more certain and effective.
Very truly yours, John Sherman.
Editor of 'Financier.'
In the Ohio canvass of 1875 the resumption act became
the chief subject of controversy. R. B. Hayes, after having
previously served for four years as governor of the state, was

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 521
again noiiiinatiMl for iliat ollico. William Allen, then gov-
oriior, was i-oiiomiiiiiti-d upon tiio Democratic ticket, in opposi
tion to the resuinption act and in favor of fiat money, upon
which issue the election mainly turned.
The eighth resolution of the Democratii! platform was as
follows :
"That tho contraction of the currency heretofore made by the Repub
lican party, and the further contraction proposed by it, with a view to the
forced resumption of specie payment, have already brought disaster to the
business of tho country, and threaten it with general bankruptcy and ruin.
We demand that this policy be abandoned, and that the volume of currency
be made and kept equal to the wants of trade, leaving the restoration of
legal tenders to par with gold, to be brought about by promoting the indus
tries of the people and not by destroying tliein."
The Republican convention in their second resolution
declared :
"That a policy of flnance be steadily ymrsued, which, without unneces
sary shook to business or trade, will ultimately equalize the purchasing
capacity of the coin and paper dollar."
Ex-Governor Hayes and I opened the state canvass in the
county of Lawrence on July 31, 1875, and took strong ground
in favor of the resumption act. At the beginning it appeared
that the people were not quite prepared for any measure look
ing to resumption, but as the contest progressed and the sub
ject was fully and boldly presented by Mr. Hayes and myself,
the tide of opinion ran in our favor and Hayes was elected by
a small majority. The ex-governor did not evade the issue,
but in every .speech supported and urged the policy of resump
tion as a matter of the highest interest.
In the approaching nomination for President, Governor
Hayes was fretiuently sjioken of as a candidate to succeed
General Grant, stud 1 stlso was montioned in the same connec
tion, but, feeling confident that Mr. Hayes would be a stronger
candidate than myself, and fully determined not to stand in
his way, on the 21st of January, 1876, I wrote a letter to a per
sonal friend, and the Member of the Senate from the district in
which I live, in which I urged the nomination of Governor
Hayes as the most available candidate in the approaching
presidential canvass. This letter no doubt contributed to his

522 RECOLLECTIONS
strength and prevented any possibility of the division of the
vote of Ohio in the convention. The letter I give in full :
Washington, D. C, January 21, 1876.
Dear Sir : — Your letters of tho 2nd and lOtli inst. were duly received,
and I delayed answering the first sooner partly from personal reasons, but
mainly that I might fully consider the questions raised by you as to the
approaching presidential contest, the importance of which cannot be over
stated. The election of a Democratic President means a restoration to full
power in the government of the worst elements of the rebel Confederacy.
The southern states are to be organized, by violence and intimidation, into
a compact political power only needing a small fragment of the northern
states to give it absolute control where, by a majority rule of the party, it
will govern the country as it did in the time of Pierce and Buchanan.
If it should elect a President and both Houses of Congress, the con
stitutional amendments would be disregarded, the freedmen would be
nominally citizens but really slaves ; innumerable claims, swollen by perjury,
would be saddled upon the treasury, the power of the general government
would be crippled, and the honors won by our people in subduing rebellion
would be a subject of reproach rather than of pride. The only safeguard
from these evils is the election of a Republican President, and the adoption
of a liberal Republican policy which should be fair and even generous to
the south, but firm in the maintenance of all the rights won by the war.
Our election in Ohio last fall shows that even under the most adverse
circumstances we can win on this basis.
Every movement made by this Democratic House of Representatives is
an appeal to every man who ever voted with the Republican party to rally
to its support again, and to every man who fought in the Union army to
vote with us to preserve the results of his victory.
All we need is such a presidential ticket as will give assurance that we
mean to stand by our principles, and that will administer the government
honestly and economically.
As to candidates, the drift of public opinion is rapidly reducing the list
and has already settled adversely the chances of many of them. Above all,
it has positively closed the question of a third term. The conviction that it
is not safe to continue in one man for too long a period the vast powers of a
President, is based upon the strongest reasons, and this conviction is sup
ported by so many precedents set by the voluntary retirement at the end of
a second term of so many Presidents that it would be criminal folly to dis
regard it. I do not believe that General Grant ever seriously entertained
the thought of a third term, but oven if he did, the established usage against
it would make his nomination an act of suicide.
It would disrupt our party in every Republican state.
Happily for us we do not need to look for the contingency of his
nomination.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 523
Among tho candidates now generally named, I have no such preference
that I could not heartily support either of them. They are men of marked
ability, who have rendered important public services, but, considering all
things, I believe the nomination of Governor Hayes would give us tho more
strength, taking the whole country at large, than any other raan. He is
better known in Ohio than elsewhere, and is stronger there than elsewhere,
but tho qualities that have made him strong in Ohio will, as the canvass
progross((s, make him stronger in every state. He was a good soldier, and,
though not gn^atly distinguished as such, he pojformed his full duty, and I
noticed, when traveling with him in Ohio, that the soldiers who served under
hira loved and respected him. As a Member of Congress he was not a lead
ing debater, or manager in party tactics, but he was always sensible,
industrious, and true to his convictions and the principles and tendencies of
his party, and commanded the sincere respect of his colleagues. As a
governor, thrice elected, he has shown good executive abilities and
gained great popularity, not only with Republicans but with our adver
saries. On the currency question, which is likely to enter largely into the
canvass, he is thoroughly sound, but is not committed to any particular
measure, so as to be disabled from cooperating with any plan that may
proiniso success. On the main questions, protection for all in equal
rights, and the observance of the public faith, he is as trustworthy as any
one named. He is fortunately free from the personal enmities and antago
nisms that would weaken some of his competitors, and he is unblemished
ill iiamo, charai-tor or conduct, and a native citizen of our state.
I have thus, as you reipiesled, given you my view of the presidential
(luestion. taken as dis])assionately as if I was examining a proposition in
creometry, and the result drawn from these facts, not too strongly stated, is
that the Republican party in Ohio ought, in their state convention, to give
Governor Hayes a united delegation instructed to support him in the national
convention, not that we have any special claim to have the candidate taken
from Ohio, but that in General Hayes we honestly believe the Republican
party of the United States will have a candidate for President who can com
bine greater popular strength and greater assurance of success. than other
candidates, and with equal ability to discharge the duties of President of the
United States in case of election. Let this nomination be thus presented,
without any wire pulling or depreciation of others and as a conviction upon
established facts, and I believe Governor Hayes can be and ought to be nom
inated. But if our state is divided or is not in earnest in this matter it is far
better for Governor Hayes and the state that his name be not presented at all.
We havo never suffic-ieiitly cultivated our state pride, with every reason for
indulging it, and thus our proper influence has been wasted and lost. Now
we have a good opportunity to gratify it, and at the same time contribute to
the common good. Remember me kindly to personal friends in the Senate.
Very truly yours, John Sherman.
Hon. A. M. Burns.

524 RK(T)LL10CTlONS
The election of Members of Congress in 1874 resulted in the
choice of a large majority of Democrats in the House of Repre
sentatives of the 44th Congress, the term of which commenced
on the 4th of March, 1875. A majority of the Senate being
still largely Republican, it became difiicult to pass any measure
of a political character during that Congress. President Grant,
on the 17th of February, 1875, issued his proclamation conven
ing the Senate at 12 o'clock on the 5tli of March following, to
receive and act upon such communications as might be made
to it on the part of the Executive. The session continued until
the 24th of March. It was largely engaged in questions a,fl'ect-
ing the State of Louisiana, which had been the scene of violent
tumult and almost civil war. As these events are a part of the
public history of the country I do not deem it necessary to
refer to them at length. These disturbances continued during
the whole of that Congress, and, in 1876, approached the con
dition of civil war.
The regular meeting occurred on the 6th of December,
1875, when Thomas W. Ferry, of Michigan, was elected presi
dent pro tempore of the Senate, and Michael C. Kerr, a Demo
cratic Representative from the State of Indiana, was elected
by a large majority as speaker of the House.
This political revolution was no doubt caused largely by the
financial panic of 1873, and by the severe stringency in mone
tary affairs that followed and continued for several years.
Many financial measures of the highest importance in respect
to the public credit were acted upon, but were generally lost
by a disagreeraent between the two Houses. 1 do not deem it
necessary to refer to the political questions that greatly
excited the public mind during that session. Congress was
largely occupied in political debate on questions in respect to
the reconstruction of the st;i,tes lately in lelielHon, iqion whicli
the two Houses disagreed. Among other measures which
failed was the act amendatory of the acts authorizing the
refunding of the national debt, which passed the Senate but
was not considered by the House.
During this session of (Jinigress all sorts of financial plans
were presented in each House, but all were aimed, directly or

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 525
indirectly, at the rosumption ,i,ct, although that act itself was
adopted as a remedy for existing financial evils, and especially
to deal with and prevent the recurrence of such a panic as that
of 1873. I took occasion, on the presentation of the resolutions
of the New York Chamber of Commerce in favor of the
resumption of specie payments, at the time provided by the
resumption act, to discuss the policy of that measure more
fully than I thought it expedient to do when, as a bill, it was
pending in the previous Congress. This speech was raade in
the Senate on the 6th of March, 1876. It was the result of
great labor and care, and was intended by me to be, and I
believe is now, the best presentation I have ever been able to
offer in sujiport of the financial policy of the government, and
especially in support of the resumption of specie payments.
I said :
" Mr. president, I have taken the unusual course of arresting the refer
ence to the committee of finance of the memorial of the Chamber of Commerce
of New York, in order to discuss, in an impersonal and nonpartisan way, one
of the questions presented by that memorial, and one which now fills the
public mind and must necessarily soon occupy our attention. That question
is, 'Ought the resumption act of 1875 be repealed ? ' The memorial strongly
opposes such repeal, while other memorials, and notably those from the
boards of trade of New York and Toledo, advocate it. These opposing
views are supported in each House of Congress, and will, when our tirae
is more occupied than now, demand our vote.
" And, sir, we are forced to consider this question when the law it is pro
posed to repeal is only commencing to ojierate, now, three years before it
can liave full effect — during all which time its operation will be under your
eye and within your power — and while the passions of men are heated by a
presidential combat, when a grave question, affecting the interests of every
citizen of the United States, will be influenced by motives entirely foreign
to the merits of the proposition. And the question presented is not as to
the best raeans of securing the resumption of a specie standard, but solely
whether the only measure that promises that result shall be repealed. We
know there is a wide and honest diversity of opinion as to the agency and
means to secure a specie standard.
" When any practicable scheme to that end is proposed I am ready to
examine it on its merits ; but we are not considering the best mode of doing
the thing, but whether we will recede from the promise raade by the law as
it stands, as well as refuse all means to execute that promise. If the law is
deficient in any respect it is open to amendment. If the powers vested in the
secretary are not sufficient, or you wish to limit or enlarge them, he is your
S.-:!7

526 RECOLLECTIONS
servant, and you have but to speak and he obeys. It is not whether we will
accumulate gold or greenbacks or convert our notes into bonds, nor whether
the time to resume is too early or too late. All these are subjects of legis
lation. But the question now is whether we will repudiate the legislative
declaration, made in the act of 1875, to redeem the promise made and printed
on the face of every United States note, a promise made in the midst of war,
when our nation was struggling for existence, a promise renewed in March,
1869, in the most unequivocal language, and finally made specific as to time
by the act of 1875.
" And let us not deceive ourselves by supposing that those who oppose
this repeal are in favor of a purely metallic currency, to the exclusion of
paper currency, for all intelligent men agree that every great commercial
nation must have both ; the one as the standard of value by which all things
are measured, which daily measures your bonds and notes as it measures
wheat, cotton, and land ; and also a paper or credit currency, which, from
its convenience of handling or transfer, must be the medium of exchanges in
the great body of the business of life. Statistics show that in commercial
countries a very large proportion of all transfers is by book accounts and
notes, and more than nine-tenths of all the residue of payments is by checks,
drafts, and such jiaper tools of exchange.
" Of the vast business done in New York and London not flve per cent.
is done with either paper money or gold or silver, but by the mere balancing
of accounts or exchange of credits. And this will be so whether your paper
money is worth forty per cent, or one hundred per cent, in gold. The only
question is whether, in using paper money, we will have that which is as good
as it promises, as good as that of Great Britain, France, or Germany ; as
good as coin issued from your mints ; or whether we will content ourselves
with depreciated paper money, worth ten per cent, less than it promises,
every dollar of which daily tells your constituents that the United States is
not rich enough to pay more than ninety per cent, on the dollar for its three
hundred and seventy millions of promises to pay, or that you have not
courage enough to stand by your promise to do it.
" Nor are we to decide whether our jiaper money shall be issued directly
by the government or by banks created by the government ; nor whether at
a future tirae the legal tender quality of United States notes shall continue.
I ara one of those who believe that a United States note issued directly by
the government, and convertible on demand into gold coin, or a government
bond equal in value to gold, is the best currency we can adopt ; that it is to
be the currency of the future, not only in the United States, but in Great
Britain as well; and that such a currency might properly continue to be a
legal tender, except when coin is specifically stipulated for.
" But these are not the questions we are to deal with. It is whether the
promise of the law shall be fulfilled, that the United States shall jiay such of
its notes as are presented on and after the Ist day of .January, 1879, in coin;
and whether the national banks will, at the same time, redeem their notes

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 527
either in coin or United States notes mado equal to coin; or whether the
United States shall revoke its promise and (rontiiuic, for an indefinite period,
to still longer force upon tho people a dejireciated currency, always below
the legal standard of gold, and fluctuating daily in its depreciation as Con
gress may threaten or jironiise, or speculators raay hoard, or corner, or throw
out your broken promises. It is the turning point in our financial history,
which will greatly affect the life of individuals and the fate of parties, but,
more than all, the honor and good faith of our country.
"At the beginning of our national existence, our ancestors boldly and
hopefully assumed the bnrden of a great national debt, formed of the debts
of the old confederation and of the states that composed it; and, with a scat
tered population and feeble resources, honestly met and paid, in good solid
coin, every obligation. After the War of 1812, which exhausted our re
sources, destroyed our commerce, and gieatly increased our debt, a Repub
lican administration boldly funded our debt, placed its currency upon the
coin basis, promptly paid its interest, and reduced the principal; and within
twenty years after that war was over, under the first Democratic President,
paid in coin the last dollar, both principal and interest, of the debt. And
now, eleven years after a greater war, of grander proportions, in which, not
merely foreign domination threatened us, but the very existence of our nation
was at stake, and after our cause has been blessed with unexampled success,
with a country teoming with wealth, with cmr credit equal to that of any na
tion, we are debating whether we will redeem our promises, according to
their legal tenor and effect, or whether we will refuse to do so and repeal and
cancel tlioni.
"I would invoke, in the consideration of this question, the example of
those who won our indojieiidence and preserved it to us, to inspire us so to
decide this question that those who come after us may point to our example
of standing by the publio faith now solemnly pledged, even though to do so
may not run current with the temporary pressure of the hour, or may entail
some sacrifice and hardship.
"What then is the law it is proposed to repeal? I will state its provi
sions fully in detail, but tho main proposition — the essential core of the
whole  is the yn-oniise, to which tho public faith is yiledged, that the
United States will redeem in gold coin any of its notes that may bo yiro-
soiited to the treasury on and after thi; Ist day of January, 1879. This is the
vital object of flic law. It does not undertake to settle the nature of our
paper money after that, whether it shall be reissued again, whether it shall
thereafter bo a legal tender, iiorwhotlior it siiall or shall not supersede bank
notes. All this is purposely left to the future. But it does say that on and
after that day the United States note promising to pay one dollar shall be
equal to the gold dollar of the mint.
"Tho questions then arise-
First. Ought this jiromise be performed?
Second. Can we perform it?

528 RECOLLECTIONS
Third. Are the agencies and measures prescribed in the law sufficient for
the purpose? Fourth. If not, what additional measures should be enacted?
" Let us consider these questions in their order, with all the serious delib
eration that their conceded imyiortance demands.
"And first, ought this promise be fulfilled?
" To answer this we must fully understand the legal and moral obligations
contained in the notes of the United States. The ymrport of the note is as
follows :
'The United States promises to i'ay the inoAitEK one doixar.'
"This note is a yiromise to yiay one dollar. The legal effect of this note
has been announced by the unanimous opinion of the Supreme Court of the
United States, the highest and final judicial authority in our government.
" The legal tender attribute given to the note has been the subject of
conflicting decisions in that court, but the nature and puryjort of it is not only
plain on its face, but is concurred in by every judge of that court and by
every judicial tribunal before which that question has been presented,
"In the case of Bank vs. Suyiervisors, 7 M'^allace, 31, Chief .lustice
Chase says :
'But, on the other hand, it is equally clear that these notes are obligations
of the United States. Their name imyiorts obligation. Every one of them
expresses upon its face an engagement of tho nation to pay to the bearer a
certain sum. The dollar note is an engagement to yiay a dollar, and the
dollar intended is the coined dollar of the United States, a certain quantity
in weight and fineness of gold or silver, authenticated as such by the staniyi
of the government. No other dollars had before been recognized by the
legislation of the national government as lawful money.'
"Again, in the case of Bronson vs. Rhodes, 7 Wallace, 251, Chief Jus
tice Chase says:
' Tho note dollar was the promise to pay a coined dollar.'
"In the Legal Tender Cases, 12 Wallace, 500, .lustico Bradley says :
'It is not an attempt to cohi money out of a valueless material, like the
coinage of leather, or ivory, or cowry shells. It is a 2)1 edge of the national
credit. It is a promise by the government to joay dollars ; it is not an
attempt to make dollars. The standard of value is not changed. The gov
ernment simply demands that its credit shall be acccjitcd and received by
public and private creditors during the yjending exigency.
' No one supposes that these government certificates are never to be paid ;
that the day of specie payments is never to return. And it matters not in
what form they are issued. . . . Through whatever changes they pass,
their ultimate destiny is to be paid.'
" In all these legal tender cases there is not a word in conflict with these
opinions. "Thus, then, it is settled that this note is not a dollar, but a debt due ;
a promise to pay a dollar in gold coin. Congress may define the weight and

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 529
flneinoRs of a dollar, and it has done so V)y jiroviding a gold coin weighing
twonly-llvo and oiglit-tcntlis grains of standiird gold nine-tenths fliio. The
Jiromise is specific and exact, and its nature is flxed by the law and
announced by the court. Here I might rest as to the nature of the United
States note ; but it is proper that I state the law under which it was issued
and the subsequent laws relating to it.
"The act of February 25, 1862, gave birth to this note as well as the
whole financial policiy of the war. The flrst section of that act authorizes
the Secretary of the Treasury to issue, upon the credit of the United States,
United States notes to the amount of $150,000,000, jiayable to bearer at the
treasury of the United States. The amount of tlicso notes was subse
quently increased during the war to tho maximum sum of $450,000,000, but
the nature and character of the notes was the same as the first issue. The
enlargement of tho issue did not in tho least affect the obligation of the
United States to yiay them in coin. This obligation was recognized in
every loan law yiassed during the war ; and to secure the note from depre
ciation the amount was carefully liraited, and every quality was given to it
to maintain its value that was possible during the exigencies of the war.
I might show you, from the contenqioraneous debates in Congress, that at
every step of the war the notes were regarded as a temporary loan, in the
nature of a forced loan, but a loan cheerfully borne, and to be redeemed soon
after the war was over.
"It was not until two years after the war, when the advancing value of
the note created an interest to dojireciato it in order to advance jirices for
purposes of syieculation, that there w.as any talk about yiutting off the pay
ment of the note. The jiolicy of a gradual contraction of the currency with
a view to specie ji.ayments was, in December, 1805, concurred in by the
almost unanimous vote of the House of Representatives, and the act of April
12, 1860, authorized $4,000,000 of notes a month to be retired and can
celed. No one then (piostionod eitluM the jiolicy, the duty, or the obliga
tion of the United States to redeem these notes in coin.
" Why has not this obligation been performed? How comes it that four
teen years after these notes were issued, and eleven j'ears after the exigenc^y
was over, we are debating whether they shall be paid, and when they shall
be yiaid? Wo may well pause to examine how this plain and positive obli
gation has so long boon doforred by a nation always sensitive to the public
honor. "The fatal commencement of this long delay was in this provision of the
act, approved March 3, 1863, as follows:
' And the holders of United States notes issued under, and by virtue of,
said acts, shall present the same, for tho purpose of exchanging the same for
bonds as therein provided, on or before the 1st day of July, 18(33, and there
after the right so to exchange the same shall cease and determine.'
" Thus, under the pressure of war, and the plausible yiretext of a statute
of limitations, the most essential legal attribute of the note was taken away.

530 RECOLLECTIONS
This act, though convenient in its tcmy)orary results, was a most fatal step,
and for my part in acquiescing in, and voting for it, I have felt more regret
than for any act of my official life. But it must be remembered that the
object of this provision was not to prevent the conversion of notes into
bonds, but to induce their conversion. It was the policy and need of the
government to induce its citizens to exchange the notes freely for the bonds,
so that the notes might again be yiaid out to meet the yiressing demands of
the war. It v\as believed that if this right to coincrt them was limited, in
time this would cause thera to be more freely funded; and Mr. Chase, then
Secretary of the Treasury, anxious to yjrevent a too large increase of the
interest of the public debt, desired to y»lace in market a five jier cent, bond
instead of a six yier cent. bond. The fatal error was in not changing the
right to convert the note into a five yier cent, bond instead of a six yier cent.
bond. This was, in fact, yiroposed in the coiinnittee on finance, but; it waa
said that a right to convert a note into a bond at any timo, was not so likely
to be exercised as if it could only be exercised at the pleasure of the govern
ment. And this plausible theory to induce the conversion of notes into
bonds was made the- basis, after the war was over, for the refusal of the
United States to allow the conversion of its notes into bonds, and has been
the fruitful cause of the continued depreciation and dishonor of United
States notes for the last five years, during which, our flve yier cent, bonds
have been at par with gold, while our notes rise and fall in the gamut of
depreciation from six to twenty per cent, below gold.
" Notwithstanding that the right to convert notes into bonds was taken
away, yet, in fact, they were, during the war, received par for par for bonds;
and after the war was over all the interest-bearing securities were converted
into bonds; but the notes — the money of the jieoyile — the artificial meas
ure of value, the most sacred obligation, because it was jiast due, was refused
either yiayment or conversion, thus cutting it off from the full benefit of tho
advancing credit of the govcrnnicnl, and leaving to it only the forced
quality of legal tender in payment of debts.
" Shortly after the war was over, and notably during the yiresidential
campaign of 1868, the question arose whether the bonds of the United States
were payable in coin or United States notes. Both notes and bonds were
then below par in coin, the notes ranging from sixty-seven to seventy-five
cents in coin; and five per cent, bonds from seventy-two to eighty cents in
coin. Here again the oyiportunity was lost to secure the easy and natural
ayjpreoiation of our notes to the gold standard. Had Congress then author
ized the conversion of notes into bonds, when both were deyireciated, both
would have advanced to yiar in gold; but, on the one hand, it was urged that
this would cause a rapid contraction, and, on the other, that the right to con
vert the note into a bond was not sjiecic yiayment; it was only tho exchange
of one yiromise for another. It was syiccic yiayment thoy very iiuicli favored,
but did not have the wisdom then to secure. If the advocates for syiecie
payment had then supported a restoration of the right to convert notes into

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 53I
bonds, they would have secured their object with but little opposition. But
all measures to fund the notes at the yileasure of the holder were defeated,
and, instead, there was ingrafted into the act to strengthen the publio
credit —
" First, a declaration ' that the faith of the United States is solemnly
pledged to the yiayment in coin, or its equivalent, of all the obligations of
the United States not bearing interest, known as United States notes, and of
all tho interest-bearing obligations of the United States,' except such as by
the law could bo paid in other currency than gold and silver.
"Second, 'and the United States also solemnly pledges its faith to raake
provision, at the earliest practicable period, for the rederaption of the United
States notes in coin.'
"Here again, the obligation of the government to pay these notes in coin
was recognized, its jiurjiose declared, and the time flxed, 'as early as prac
ticable.' What was the effect of this inijiortant act of Congress? Without
adding one dollar to the public debt, or the burden of the debt, both bonds
and notes rose in value. Within one year, the bonds rose to par in gold,
raaking it practicable to commence the refunding of six per cent, bonds into
flve per cent bonds. The notes rose under the stimulus of this new yiromise,
in one year, from seventy-six cents to eighty-nine cents in gold, but no steps
whatever were made to redeem them.
"The araount of bank notes authorized was increased flfty-four millions.
The executive dejiartment yiursued the yiolicy of redeeming debts not due,
and did, from an overflowing treasury, reduce very largely the public debt,
but no steps whatever were taken to advance the value of our notes. The
effect of the act of 1809 was exhausted on the adjournment of Congress in
March, 1870, when the United States notes were worth eighty-nine cents
in gold; and thereabouts, uji and down, with many fluctuations, they have
romainod to this day. Tlio bondholder, secure in the promise to hira, is
happy in roc.oiving his interest in gold, with his bond above par in gold.
The note holder, tho farmer, the artisan, the laborer, whose labor and jiro-
duotion is measured in greenbacks, still receives your depreciated notes,
worth ten percent, less than gold you yiromised hira 'at the earliest day
practicable.' The one has a proraise performed and the other a promise
postjioned. "Thus we stood when the jianic of 1873 came upon us; with more
paper money afloat than ever circulated before in any country of the world.
Even then, had we stood firmly, the hoarding tendency of the panic
would have advanced our notes toward the gold standard, and, in fact,
did so during the months of September and October, until the premium on
gold had fallen to eight per cent. But, sir, at this critical raoment, the Sec
retary of the Treasury, acting, no doubt, in good faith, but I think without
authority of law, issued twenty-six millions more United States notes —
part of the notes retired and canceled under previous acts. And now, not
withstanding all the talk about contraction of the currency, we have not

532 RECOLLECTIONS
withdrawn one-half of this illegal issue. On the 1st of September, 1873,
we had three hundred and fifty-six million notes outstanding. Three
months afterward, we had three hundred and eighty- two million; and now
we have three hundred and seventy-one million.
" Sir, it was under the light of these events, after the fullest discussion
ever given in Congress, of any question — after debate before the people
during the recess of Congress, and full deliberation last winter — this act was
passed. There was and is now great difference of oyjinion as to the details,
but the vital promise made to the note holder to make his note as good as
gold in January, 1879, was concurred in by a large majority of both Houses,
and by many who opposed the bill as too slow in its operations. This act of
honor and public faitli was applauded by the civilized world and concurred
in by our constituents, the doubts only being as to the machinery to carry it
into effect. The timo was fixed by those who most feared resuinption, and
no one proposed a longer time. My honorable friend from Indiana [Mr.
Morton] truly said (in the recent campaign in Ohio) that he particiyiated in
framing it ; and he and those who agreed with him fixed the time so remote
as to excite the unfounded charge that the bill was a sham, a mere contriv
ance to bridge an election.
" And now, sir, to recapitulate this branch of the question, it is shown
that the holder of these notes has a promise of the United States, made in
February, 1802, to pay him one dollar in gold coin; that the legal yjuryjort
of this promise has been declared by the Supreme Court; that we have taken
away frora this note one of the legal attributes given it, which would long
since have secured its payment in coin — that when the note was authorized
and issued, it was understood as redeemable in coin when the war was over;
that our yiromise to pay it was renewed in 1869 — 'at as early a day as prac
ticable;' that by reason of our failure to provide for its yiayment, it is still
depreciated below yiar more than one-tenth of its nominal value; that we re
newed this yiromise, and made it definite as to time, by act of 1875; that it is
a debt due from the United States, and in law and honor due now in coin.
Yet it is proposed to recall our promise to redeem this note in coin three
years hence. I say, sir, this would be national dishonor. It would destroy
the confidence with which the jiublio creditor rests uyion the yiromises con
tained in your bonds. It would greatly tend to arrest the process by which
the interest on your bonds is reduced. It would accustom our yieoyile to the
substitution of a temyiorary wave of yiopular oyiiiiion for its written contract
or yiromise. It would weaken in the yjublic mind that keen sense of honor
and pride whioh has always distinguished the English-syieaking nations in
dealing with public obligations.
"An old writer thus describes 'public credit: '
'Credit is a consequence, not a cause; the effect of a substance, not a
substance; it is the sunshine, not the sun; the quickening something, call it
what you will, that gives life to trade, gives being to the branches and mois
ture to the root; it is the oil of the wheel, the marrow in the bones, the blood

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 533
in tho veins, and the sjiirits in tho heart of all the negoce, trade, cash, and
commorce in tho world.
'It is jiroduced, and grows insensibly from fair and upright dealing,
punctual compliance, honorable performance of contracts and covenants; in
short, it is the ofFsyiring of universal probity.
' It is apyiarent even by its nature; it is no way dependent upon jiersons,
yiarliament, or any yiarticular men or set of men, as such, in the world, but
npon their conduct and just behavior. Credit never was chained to men's
names, but to tll(^ir actions ; not to families, elans, or collections of men ; no,
not to nations. It is the honor, the justice, the fair dealing, and the ecjual
conduct of men, bodies of raen, nations, and peoyile, that raise the thing
called credit among them. Wheresoever this is found, credit will live and
thrive, grow and increase ; where this is wanting, let all the power
and wit of man join together, they can neither give her being nor preserve
her life.
' Arts have been tried on various occasions in tho world to raise credit ;
art has been found able with more oaso to destroy credit than to raise it. The
force of art, assisted by the yiunctual, fair, and just dealing abovesaid, raay
have done much to form a credit upon the face of things, but we find still the
honor would have done it without the art, but never the art without the
honor. Nor will money itself, which, Solomon says, answers all things,
purchase this thing called credit or restore it when lost. . .
' Our credit in this case is a public thing. It is rightly called by some
of our writers 7nftional credit. The word denominates its original. It is
produced by the nation's probity, the honor and exact performing national
engagements.' " And, sir, yiassing from considerations of public honor, there are many
reasons of public policy which forbid the repeal of the act of 1875. That
act was generally regarded as the settlement of a financial- policy by which
at least the party in yiower is bound, and upon the faith of which business
men have conducted their affairs and made their contracts. Debts have
been contracted and paid with the expectation that at the time flxed the gold
standard would measure all obligations, and a repeal of the act would now
reopen all the wild and dangerous syieculation schemes that feed and fatten
upon depreciated payier money. The influence that secures this repeal will
not stop here. If we can recall our promise to pay our notes outstanding
why should we not issue more? If we can disregard our promise to pay
them, why shall we regard our promise not to issue raore than $400,000,000,
as stipulated for by the act of 1864? If we can reopen the question of the
payment of our notes, why raay we not reopen the question as to the pay
ment of our bonds? Is "the act of 1869 any more sacred than the act of
1875? And if we can reopen these questions, why not reopen the laws
requiring the payment of either interest or principal of the publio debt?
They rest upon acts of Congress which we have the power to repeal. If the
public honor cannot protect our promise to the note holder, how sliall it pro
tect our promise to the bondholder? Already do we see advocated in high
places, by numerous and formidable organizations, all forms of repudiation,

534 RECOLLECTIONS
which, if adopted, would reduce our nation to the credit of a robber chief
— worse than the credit of an Algerine yiirate, who at least would not
plunder his own countrymen. And if the public creditor had no safety,
what chance would the national banks — creations of our own and subject to
our will — have in Congress? It has already been yirojiosed to confiscate
their bonds, premium and all, as a mode of yiaying their notes with green
backs. What expedient so easy if we would make money cheap and
abundant? Or, if so extreme a measure could be arrested, what is to pre
vent the permanent dethronement of gold as a measure of value, and the
substitution of an interconvertible currency bond, bearing three and sixty-
five hundredths yier cent, interest, as a standard of value ; and when it
becomes too exyiensive to yirint the notes to jiay the interest, reduce the
rate. Why not ? Why yiay three and sixty-five hundredths per cont.
when it is easier to jirint three? It is but an act of Congress. And
when the yirocess of rcyiudiation goes so far that your notes will not buy
bread, why then declare against all interest, and then, after passing
through the valley of humiliation, return again to barter, and honor, and
gold again.
" Sir, if you once commence this downward course of repudiation there
is but one ending. You may, like Mirabeau and the Girondists, seek to
stem the torrent, but you will be swept away by the syjirit you have evoked
and the instrument you have created. You comyilain now of a want of con
fidence whioh makes men hoard their money. Will you, then, destroy all
confidence? No, sir, no ; the way to restore confidence is to ioisjyire it by
fulfilling your obligations. You cannot make men lend you ; you cannot
make men sell you anything — either bread, or meat, or wool, or iron, or
anything that is or that can be created — exceyit for that which they choose
to take. You may depreciate the money which you offer, but it will only
take more of it to buy what you want. It is true that the creditor may, by
your laws, be compelled to take your money however much you dcyiruciateit,
but he cannot buy back that which he sold, or its equivalent in other neces
saries of life, and thus he is cheated of yiart of what he sold. During the
war, while money was depreciating, many a simple man gleefully counted
his gains as he sold his goods or crops at advancing prices, but he fouud
out his mistake when, with his swollen yiile, he tried to replace his stock in
trade or laid in his supplies. Sir, this policy exhausts itself in cheating the
man who buys or sells or loans on credit, who jiroduoes something to sell on
credit ; whether that something be food or clothing ; whether it be a neces
sity or a luxury of life. Productive labor, honest toil, whether of the farmer
or the artisan, is deeply interested in credit. It is credit that gives life and
competition to trade ; and credit is destroyed by every scheme that impairs,
delays, or even clouds an obligation.
" Again, sir, an irredeemable and fluctuating currency always raises the
rate of interest on money, while a stable currency or an iniyiroviiig currency
always reduces the rate of interest. This is easily shown by statistics, but

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 535
tho reason is so obvious that yiroof is not iioedod. If a man lends his money
ho wants it liack again with its increase ; but if tho raoney, when it is to be
jiaid back, is like to be worth less than when he thinks of loaning it, he will
not loan it exceyit at such rates as will cover the risk of depreciation. He
will yirefer to buy land or something of stable value. If money is at the
gold standard, or is advancing toward that standard, he will loan it readily
at a moderate interest, for ho knows ho will receive back money of at least
equal value to that ho loaned. Again, sir, with a deyireciated currency
great domestic jiroductions are cut off from the foreign market ; for it is
imjiossible that with such a currency we can corayiete on equal terms with
rival nations, whose industry rests upon a sjiocio standard. As wo apjiroach
such a standard, wo aro now able, as to a few articles, to compete with foreign
industry ; but it is only as to articles in tho manufacture of which we have
yieculiar advantages. J..ct us rest our industries on that standard, and soon
we could coniyicte in the markets of the world in all the articles yiroduced
from iron, wood, leather, and cotton, the raw basis of which are our natural
yiroductions. And it must be remembered that all the countries with which
we compete are specie-paying countries.
" A country that does not rest hor industry uyion specie is necessarily
excluded from the great raanufaoturing industries of modern civilization,
and is self-condemned to produce only the raw basis for advanced Industry.
Clieayi food, climate, soil, or natural advantages, such as cheap land, vast
yilains for yiasturo, or rich mines, may give to a country wealth and yirosper-
ity in syiite of the evils of deyireciated yniper raoney ; but when we corae in
competition with the world in the advanced grades of production which
give employment to the skilled mechanic, we raust rest such industry upon
the gold basis, or we enter the lists like a knight with his armor unbound.
" Again, sir, a depreciated and fluctuating currency is a premiura and
bounty to the broker and money changer. Under his manipulation our
paper standard of value goes up and down, and he gambles and speculates,
with all the advantages in his favor. Good people look on and think that it
is gold that is going up and down ; that their money is a dollar still, and
trade and traffic in that belief. But the shrewd operator calculates daily the
depreciation of our note, the shortening of the yard stick, the shrinkage of
the acre, the lessening of the ton, and thus it is that he daily adds to his
gains frora tho indifference or delusion of our people.
" Sir, it is an old story, often repeated in onr day, and most eloquently
epitomized by Daniel Webster in the often-quoted passage of his speech, in
which he said :
'A disordered currency is one of the greatest of political evils. It under
mines the virtues necessary for the support of the social system and encour
ages yiropensitics destructive of its happiness. It wars against industry,
frugality, and econoray ; and it fosters the evil spirit of extravagance and
specul.ation. Of all contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of man
kind none has been more effectual than that which deluded them with paper

536 RECOLLECTIONS
money. Ordinary tyranny, opyiression, excessive taxation, these bear lightly
on the happiness of the mass of the community, compared with the fraudu
lent currencies and the robberies committed by depreciated payier. Our own
history has recorded for our instruction enough, and more than enough, of
the demoralizing tendency, the injustice, and the intolerable oppression of
the virtuous and well-disposed, of a degraded yiaper currency authorized by
law or in any way countenanced by government.'
" Sir, we must meet this question of sjiccie yiayments, not only because
the public honor is pledged to do so, but also for the lesser reason that it is
our interest to do so. The only questions we should yiermit ourselves to dis
cuss are the means and measures of doing so.
"And now, sir, let us examine the reasons that have been given for
the reyieal of the resumption act by those who, though favoring resumyi-
tion, yet think the act should be reyioaled for one or other of the following
reasons :
First. That it is not advisable to fix a day for resumyition.
Second. Or at least until the balance of trade is in our favor.
Third. That it produces a contraction of the currency.
Fourth. That it injuriously adds to the burden of existing debts.
Let us glance at these objections.
" First. As to fixing a day for resumjition.
" If it was possible to agree ujjon measures that would secure resumption
without fixing a time, I agree it would not be indispensable, though not
unadvisable, to fix a time ; but such agreement is utterly impossible. Of
the multitude of schemes that have been jiresented to me by intelligent men
trying to solve this problem, many could have been selected that in my
opinion would be practicable ; but of all of them not one ever has or is
likely to secure the assent of a majority of a body so numerous as Congress.
One difficulty we have encountered is that the Democratic yiarty, though in
the minority, has never presented in any form, through any loading member,
a plan for resumyition, but with widely differing oyiinions has joined in
opyiosing any and every measure from the other side. I understand from
tho yiayiors that our Democratic friends, through a caucus, and through a
caucus committee of which my colleague is chairman, have been laboring to
agree upon a plan for specie payments. After his frequent speeches to us
about a caucus measure — a great question being submitted to a caucus —
about secret conclaves, about shams and deceyitions, and such like polite and
friendly comments upon the work of the Reyiublican party, I might greet
my colleague with such happy phrases about Ids caucus ; but I will not, but,
on the contrary, I commend his labors, and sincerely hojie that he and his
yiolitical friends may agree upon sorae yilan to reach a syiecie standard, and
not one to avoid it, to yirevent it, to defer it. Under color of intending to
yiroyiaro for it, 1 hoyio thoy will not make I heir measure the yirctcxt for
royiealing the law as it stands, which fixes a day for rcsiiiiijition and will
secure tho end we both aim at.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 537
"T frankly state for tho Ropiililii^an Jiarty that, while we could agree to
flxing the time for specie |myiiieiits and upon (^inferring tho ample and suffi
cient jiowors upon the S(M¦|¦(^l!lry of tho Treasury coiitainod in this law, wo
could not agree in prescribing the yirecise mode in which the process should
be executed. Nor, in niy opinion, was it at all essential that we should.
Much raust be left to the discretion of the officer charged with the execution
of such a law. The yiowers conferred, as I shall show hereafter, are araple ;
and the discretion given will bo exercised under the eye of Congress.
" And, sir, there is strong force in tho fact that in every exarajile we have
of the successful resumyition of sjiecie yiayments, in this and other countries, a
fixed d.ay has boon naiiiod by legislative authority, and the details and jiower
of execution have been left to executive authority. Thus, in Great Britain,
the act of jiarliament of July 2, 1819, fixed the time for full resumyition at
the 1st day of May, 1823, and for a graduated resumption in gold at inter-
nicdiatn da(,(^s ; and for fiacti<inai sniiis under forty shillings to bo jiaid in
silver coin ; and the governor and directors of tho ]3ank of England were
charged with its execution, and authorized at thoir discretion to resume pay
raent in full on the 1st day of JMay, 1822. France is now successfully pass
ing through the same jiroooss of resumption, the time being fixed (two years
ago) for January 1, 1878, and now jiractically attained.
" In our own country many of tho states have presented similar laws in
case of suspended bank yiayments, and in some oases the suspended banks
have, by associated action, fixed a time for general resumption, and each bank
adoyited its own expedient for it. Sir, the light of exyierience is the lamp of
wisdom. I can recall no case of successful resumyition where a fixed future
time has not been presented beforehand, either by law or agreeraent ; while
the historical examjilcs of repudiation of currency have come by the drifting
process, by a gradual decline of value, by increased issues, and a refusal to
provide measures of redemption, until the whole raass disappeared, dishon
ored and repudiated.
" This concurrence in the mode of resumption by so raany governraents
was the strongest possible instruction to Congress when fixing a plan of resump
tion for the IJnited States, and should satisfy reasonable men of its wisdom.
"Besides, it would seom to be but fair that everyone should have plain
notice of so important a fact. If the measures only were presented and no
time fixed it would be a matter of sjieculation, and tho discretionary yiowers
of the Secretary of the Treasury could be exorcised with a view to hasten or
postpone the time to the injury of individuals.
"As to the date selected, I can only repeat it was placed as remote as
any one suggested ; far more so than is necessary to secure the object, and
so that the fluctuations of value will scarcely exceed in four years what they
have frequently been in a single year. Hallows ample time to arrange all
the relations of debtor and creditor, and to enable Congress to provide any
additional measure in aid of resumption, or, if events make it expedient, to
postpone the time."

CHAPTER XXVII.
My Confidence in the Success of Resumption.
Tendency of Democratic Members of Both Houses to Exaggerate the Evil Times —
Dcliate Over the Bill to Provide for Issuing Silver Coin in I'laue of Fractional
Ciirrenc.y — The Coln.age Laws of the United States and Other Coun
tries — Joint Resolution for the Issueof Silver Coin — The " Trade Dol
lar " Declared Not to Be a Legal Tender — My Views on the Free
Coinage of Silver — Bill to Provide for the Conijiletion of
the Washington Monument — Resolution Written by
Me on the lOOtli Aiiniversaiy of the Declaration
of Independence — Unanimously Passed in
a Day by Both Houses — Completion
of the Structure Under the Act.
IT seemed to be the policy of a raajority of the Deraocratic
Members of both the Senate and the House to exaggerate
the evils and discouragements of the times, while in fact
the people were rapidly recovering from ilic results of the
panic of 1873, and all branches of industry were, to a greater
or less extent, starting into life anew, and to prevent the re
sumption of specie payraents, and, if possible, to repeal the act
providing for such resumption. This policy undoubtedly
checked the process of refunding the public debt, which pro
gressed slowly, and was confined to an exchange of bonds bear
ing five per cent, interest for those bearing six per cent.
I took a much more hopeful view of the situation, and in the
many speeches 1 raade in that Congress, I stated ray confidence,
not only in the process of resumption and refunding, but in the
rapid improvement of all branches of industry as we progressed
towards specie payments. In a speech I made in the Senate on
the 6th of January, 1876, on a bill "to further provide for the
redemption of legal tender United States notes in accordance
with existing law," I said :
" Sir, we ought to take a hopeful view of things in this centennial year of
our country. I>ook at the aggregate results. A century ago we were three
million yieople ; now forty million ; then we liad a little border on the
Atlantic ; we are now extended to the Pacific. See what has been accom-
(638)

RECOLLECTIONS OF .TOIIN SHERMAN. 5S9
yiHshod in a hundrod years. During that time there have been periods of
darkness and doubt. Kvory seven or ten or twelve years, jieriodically, there
have been times of (liiaiicial distress. We have lived through them all. I
believe, and I trust in God, that this very year is the beginning of another
jioriocl of jirosjiority, and that all those dark clouds, which gentlemen are
trying to raise uji from the misery of the jiast two or three years and from
their own clouded imaginations, will entirely disappear. I believe that
even now we are in the sunshine of increasing prosperity, and that every
day and every hour will add to our wealth and relieve us frora our distresses.
" Sir, things are not so unhojioful as Senators seera to think. We have
made a yiromise to be executed three years hence, and every stej) of our legis
lation, if any is had, should look in that direction. We may not adopt any
measure or may not deem that any is necessary ; but, if any be adoyited, it
ought to look to the execution of that yiromise, and we ought to enter on the
jierformancn of Ihis duty with hoyioful trust in the continued prosjierity of
our country. All this gloom and doubt, all this arraignment of official
statements, this doubt of our sufficient revenues, this doubt of our ability to
raeet and advance our destiny, always falls uyion ray ear with painful sur
prise. Senators, the task we have before us may be a difficult one, as it has
always proved to be difficult to resume the syieoie standard whenever, for any
reason, a nation has fallen from it, but it is a duty that must be executed, and
it ought to be executed without the syiirit of party warfare, without these
apyieals, directly or indirectly, to party tactics. The jiledges made one year
ago, although not voted for by the Democratic yiarty, are pledges binding
upon their honor and their faith as they are upon mine, and I trust in God
that we shall join together in all the proper steps to carry out those
pledges." This bill was referred to the committee on finance, but no
action was taken upon it, as the committee preferred to await
the action of the House.
The resumption act provided for the payment and destruc
tion of the fractional currency then in circulation, to the
amount of .$40,000,000, and the substitution of silver coins in
all respects, such as were defined by the coinage act of 1853.
This was to be the first step in preparation lor the general
resumption of coin payments in January, 1879. It became
necessary to provide for the coinage of fractional silver coins,
and a bill for this purpose, entitied "A bill to provide for a
deficiency in. the Printing and Engraving Bureau, and for the
issue of the silver coin of the United States, in place of the
fractional currency," was reported by Mr. Randall, on the 2ud
of March, 1876, from the committee on appropriations of

540 RECOLLECTIONS
the House. It was subsequently considered, amended and
passed by the House, after a long debate, participated in by
many of the leading Merabers. Much to my surprise, Mr.
Hewitt and Mr. Ward, prominent Members from New York,
opposed the measure, denounced the resumption act, and
prophesied its failure. Mr. Hewitt, in support of his position,
quoted passages from the reports of Mr. Bristow, then Secre
tary of the Treasury, and predicted the utter failure of resump
tion, unless the United States notes were entirely withdrawn.
He insisted that if silver coin was issued to replace fractional
currency, the coin would disappear from circulation, leaving
the people without any currency for the smaller necessaries of
life. In the progress of the debate, it became manifest that
the larger portion of the Democratic Members would vote
against every measure proposed to aid in the execution of the
resumption act.
The bill passed the House on the 31st of March by the vote
of 123 yeas and 100 nays. In the Senate it was referred to the
coramittee on finance, and reported back with amendraents.
The third section of the bill, as it carae frora the House, pro
vided for the coinage of the silver dollar, of the weight of 412.8
grains troy, standard silver, and made that dollar a legal tender
at its nominal value, to an amount not exceeding twenty dol
lars in any one payment, except for customs duties and inter
est on the public debt, and that the "trade dollar" should not,
thereafter, be a legal coin. This section was stricken out.
In the remarks made by me, upon this bill, on the lOtli day
of April, 1876, I gave, in detail, the history of each of the coin
age laws of the United States, and of the then existing coinage
laws of Great Britain, France, Belgiura, Germany, Switzerland
and Italy. I had taken great pains to collect this information
and to procure translations of the laws of the several countries
named. The then recent changes, made by Germany, and their
effect upon the coinage of other nations, were carefully stated.
The general conclusions which I drew from a reference to these
statutes of various countries, were:
"First. It is impossible, in the nature of things, to fix the precise value of
silver and gold. We have tried it three times and failed.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 541
"Sncond. Whonevor either coin is worth more in the raarket than the
rate fixed by tho law, it (loos from the (iouiilry. That wn have twico yirovod.
That is the adinittod economic law. It is the Gresham law ; a law of cur
rency named from the name of its discoverer. He wrote a book to show that
always the jioorer currency would drive out of circulation a superior cur
rency ; and his book gave name to the theory that is called the law of
Gresham. It is the universal law of political economy that, whenever two
metals or two inonoys aro in circulation, the least valuable will drive out the
most valuable ; tho latter will be oxyiorted.
" The third proposition is that the examyile of several great European
nations, as Well as of the United States, jiroves that to yirevent the deprecia
tion of silver the tendency of modern nations is to issue it as a token coinage
soraewhat loss in intrinsic value than gold, and maintain its value by issuing
it only as needed, at par with the prevailing currency, and to raake it a lim
ited legal tender. I may s.ay that has been acted uyion by every great
Christian nation. Russia and Austria have not yet gold coinage at all, but
still they have their values based uyion gold.
"Fourth. That the demonetizing of silver tends to add to the value of
gold, and that though its relative value ebbs and flows it is raore stable cora-
jiarod to gold than any other metal, grain, or yiroduction. Its limit of vari
ation for a century is between flfteen to seventeen for one in gold.
" Fifth. That both coins are indispensable, one for sraall and the other
for large transactions.
" Sixth. That the causes of the decline of silver are teraporary. It is still
used by a great ra.ajority of mankind as the standard of value. Its use in
France and the United States will, on resumption, more than counteract its
decline in Germany.
" Seventh. The general monetizing of silver now, when it is unnaturally
depreciated, would be to invito to our country, in exchange for gold or
bonds, all the silver of Eurojie, and at last it would leave us with a dejireci
ated currency.
"Eicrhth. Tho decline of silver enables us now to exchange silver coin
of the okl standard for fractional currency, leaving the exchange optional
with the holder, until we have the courage, as we now have the ability, to
redeem it in gold.
" Ninth. More silver can be maintained at par than we have now of
fractional currency.
" Tenth. The redemption of a part of our currency would advance its
purchasing power, while the silver in circulation will counteract the con
traction of tlie currency."
This bill became a law on the 17th of April, 1876. The
second section provided :
" That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to issue silver
coins of the United States of the denoliiination of ten, twenty, twenty-five
S.— 88

542 RECOLLECTIONS
and fifty cents of standard value, in redemption of an equal amount of frac
tional currency, whether the same be now in the treasury awaiting redemp
tion, or whenever it may be presented for redemyjtion ; and the Secretary of
the Treasury may, under regulations of the treasury deyiartment, yjrovide for
such redemption and issue by substitution, at the regular sub-treasuries and
public depositaries of the United States, until the whole amount of fractional
currency outstanding shall be redeemed. And the fractional currency re
deemed under this act shall be held to be a part of the sinking fund yirovided
for by existing law, the interest to be computed thereon as in the case of
bonds redeemed under the act relating to the sinking fund."
A joint resolution for the issue of silver coin was introduced
in the House by Mr. Frost, of Massachusetts, on the 1st of May,
1876. The object of this resolution was to expedite the issue
of minor coin and the retirement of fractional currency. It
was referred to the committee on banking and currency,
reported back and passed the House June 10. In the Senate
it was referred to the coraraittee on finance, reported favorably
and passed with araendraents June 21. The House disagreed
to the araendraents of the Senate, and a coraraittee of confer
ence was appointed composed of John Sherman, George S.
Boutwell, and Louis V. Bogy, managers on the part of the Sen
ate, and H. B. Payne, and Samuel J . Randall, managers on the
part of the House. The report of the conferees was agreed to,
and the bill having passed both Houses it was approved by the
President on the 22nd of July. It provided :
" That the Secretary of the Treasury, under such limits and regulations
as will best secure a just and fair distribution of the same through the
country, may issue the silver coin at any time in the treasury to an amount
not exceeding ten million dollars, in exchange for an equal amount of legal
tender notes ; and the notes so received in exchange shall be kept as a
syiecial fund, separate and apart from all other money in the treasury, and be
reissued only upon the retirement and destruction of a like sum of fractional
currency received at the treasury in yiayment of dues to the United States ;
and said fractional currency, when so substituted, shall be destroyed and
held as part of the sinking fund, as yirovided in the act ayiyiroved Ajiril
seventeen, eighteen hundred and seventy-six."
It also provided : " That the trade dollar shall not here
after be a legal tender, and the Secretary of the Treasury is
hereby authorized to limit, from time to time, the coinage
thereof to such an araount as he raay deera sufficient to meet
the export demand for the same."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. ,543
It also j)rovi<l(Ml tii;i,t tll(^ itmount of subsidiary silver coin
autliorized should not exceed $50,000,000. The silver bul
lion was to be i)urcliased frora tirae to tirae at market rate
by the Secretary of the Treasury, from any money in the
treasury not otherwise appropriated, and any gain or seignior
age arising from the coinage was to be paid into the treasury.
These provisions in respect to subsidiary coin were in a
large measure executed prior to the 4tli of March, 1877, and
tended, in my opinion, to facilitate the progress of the
resumption of specie payments on the 1st of January, 1879.
The debate on these measures occupied a large portion of the
time of Iiotb Houses of Congress, and presented in every pos
sible aspect all the fina.ncial questions involved in coinage,
resumption and refunding. Anyone desiring a full knowledge
of the view then taken of the act revising the laws in respect to
coins and coinage, approved February 12, 1873, will find in the
debate a full history of that act, given at a time when it was
fresh in the memory of the great body of Senators and
Members. I supported tho coinage of the old silver dollar in a speech
in the Senate made ou the Sth of June, 1876, two years before
the appearance of the "Bland bill," or the "Allison bill." Sil
ver bullion was then declining in market value. The resump
tion act provided for the gradual replacement of fractional
currency by silver coins of the character and form provided for
by tiie coinage act of 1853. When that act passed the old sil
ver dollar was not coined or in circulation. It was more valu
able in the market than a dollar in gold, and, if coined, would
have been exported as bullion. In the revision of the coinage
laws of 1878, it was dropped from the list of coins, and its fur
ther coinage was prohibited by a clause providing that no coins
should be made at the mint except those provided for in that
act. The history of tiiis act and the reasons for prohibiting
the coinage of the old dollar have been fully stated in a previous
chapter of this work. In place of the old dollar the trade dol
lar, containing 420 grains of silver, was provided for. This
trade dollar, coined for, and at the expense of, the owner of the
bullion deposited at the mint, was, in the revision of the laws

544 RECOLLECTIONS
of the United States, unintentionally made a legal tender for
five dollars, the same as the minor coins issued by the mint on
government account. As silver declined in value, the trade
dollar became less valuable than a dollar in gold, and the own
ers of bullion deposited it in the mint, and received in exchange
trade dollars costing less than a dollar in gold, but, being a legal
tender for five dollars, it could be forced upon the people of
California, then ujion the gold standard, at a profit to the
owner of the bullion. Mr. Sargent, a Senator from California,
early in the session introduced a bill enlarging the limit of
legal tender of minor coins, and repealing the legal tender
quality of the trade dollar. This bill was referred to the com
mittee on finance, and was reported with an amendment to
strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert :
" That section 3586 of the Revised Statutes of the United States be, and
hereby is, amended to read as follows :
"The silver coins of the United States, exceyit the trade dollar, shall be
a legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding five
dollars in any one payment."
This simple bill was made the text of a long debate in the
Senate that continued during the greater part of that session.
The provision that " the trade dollar shall not hereafter be a
legal tender" was transferred to the joint resolution already
mentioned which became a law on the 22nd of July.
In my speech on Mr. Sargent's bill I said :
" This bill proyioscs to restore the old silver dollar, and with it and the
subsidiary coins of the United States to redeem the United States notes and
fractional currency. The dollar to be restored is the same dollar that had
existed from 1792 to 1873; and the subsidiary coins to be issued are the
same in form and value as have been issued since 1853. I have already
stated in my remarks, made on the 11th of Ayiril last, the history of these
silver coins and tho relation of silver and gold to each other, not only in the
United States, but in the countries with which we have the most extensive
commercial relations.
" The two main questions are :
*********
"First. Shall silver coin lio exchanged for United States notes as well
as for fractional currency? And,
"Second. Is it wise to recoin the old silver dollar with a view to ex
change it for United States notes?"

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 545
In this speech I fi^vored tlie restoration of tho silver dollar
of the precise^ cha,racter and description of tiio dollar that ex
isted from 1792 to 1873, but, as the market value of the silver
in this dollar had greatly fallen, I insisted that the dollar
should be coined from bullion purchased by the government at
market price, so that the people of the United States would
receive the difference between the cost of the bullion and the
face value of the coin, the same principle that was adopted in
Avhat is known as the Bland-Allison act of 1878. I did not,
however, propose the full legal tender quality that was given
to the dollar by the act when adopted, but that it should be
placed a.mong the other silver coins, and be a legal tender only
for twenty dollars.
The jilan proposed liy me was to set aside a portion of the
surplus revenue or sinking fund of each year applicable to the
payment of the public debt, for the purchase of silver bullion
to be coined into silver dollars of the old standard. I said:
" The bill rejiorted by the committee on finance thus provides for an
immediate resumption of syiecie payments in silver coin, and thus completes
the first and most difficult steyi of the yiroblem. It neither disturbs nor
deranges business, nor stirs up the phantom of contraction. It is in exact
accordance with existing law, and leaves the silver coin, as now, a subsidiary
coin, a legal tender only for limited amounts.
" The next question presented by this bill is, shall we return to our silver
coinage the old silver dollar. And here I am met by the objections of the
Senator from Vermont, but his objections are rather to tho amendments
proposed by the Senator from Missouri, than to the report of the committee.
The committoo yiroyiose the silver dollar, not as a legal tender for gold con
tracts, but only as a tender for currency contracts not exceeding twenty dol
lars in any one payment. 1 would prefer to leave the silver dollar and
stand upon its intrinsic value as a legal tender the same as the smaller coin ;
but there is no injustice in eiihirging the limit to twenty dollars, and but for
tho reasons I will state horoaftcr there is no injustice in making it a legal
tender for all currency contracts. The silver dollar has that intrinsic
value which in all periods of our history has made it a favorite coin, not
only for domestic uses but for exportation. It furnishes silver bullion
in a shape and form more convenient for handling than any other form
of coin. *********
" When the old silver dollars are issued at par with the United States
notes, a large amount of them will be taken as a reserve by the people to

546 RECOLLECTIONS
meet future needs, with or without a legal tender quality. As their issue is
not peremptory, and the aggregate cannot exceed the suryilus revenue or
sinking fund, there is no danger of an overissue, while thoir existence
among the people will be the best reserve when gold alone becomes the
full standard of value.
"Every argument already mentioned in favor of subsidiary silver coin
is equally potent in favor of the silver dollar. It will be eagerly taken in
payment of United States notes. It is jiurely a voluntary exchango. It is
the chcayiest mode in which wo can rcdociu United States notes. It is
syiecie resumyition in the old tiinc-honorcd standard of silver dollars of full
weight and fineness. It will accustom our yicople to distinguish between
the real dollar that yiays where it goes and a yiajier dollar which only
promises to yiay. It will yirepare the way for full resumyition in gold. To
the extent yiroposed by the comniittee, and to be used as a yiurely voluntary
approach to a full sjiecie standard, it is oyion to no objection or criticism,
and should be assented to by gentlemen who have differed with each other
on the yiresent resumption law or on the merits and dangers of contraction
and expansion."
The vital difference between the free coinage of silver, and
the limited coinage of that metal on government account, is
that with free coinage the standard of value would be the
cheaper money. With silver at its present price in the raarket
the dollar would be worth but a little over fifty cents. The
coinage being free to the holders of silver bullion no coins
would be made except the cheaper coins of least purchas
ing power. On the other hand, the coinage of silver on govern
ment account enables us to maintain the silver coins at yiar
with gold, without respect to the market value of the silver
bullion. Any nominal profit from this coinage inures to the
benefit of the whole people of the United States and not
merely to the producers of silver bullion. This distinction
has always appeared to rae so marked and clear, aud the
argument so strong in favor of limiting the coinage of silver
to the amount demanded as a convenience of the people for
the smaller transactions of life, that I cannot sympathize
with a policy that aims merely to secure the cheapest raoney
for the discharge of obligations contracted upon more valuable
money. Among the measures that became a law at this session was
a concurrent resolution, introduced by me in the Senate on the

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 547
5th of July, 1876, to provide for the corapletion of the Wash
ington monument.
On the morning of the 4th of July, 1876, the 100th anniver
sary of American independence, I was making some preparation
for the celebration of that day in the vicinity of Washington.
Animated by the patriotic feeling inspired by the day, and
sitting in view of the unfinished monuraent of George Wash
ington, 1 felt that the time had come when this monument
should no longer continue a standing reproach to a patriotic
people. Shortly after the death of Washington, a resolution
providing for the erection of a monument to his memory,
was agreed to by both Houses of Congress. Subsequently, on
January 1, 1801, a bill was yiassed by the House of Represen
tatives appropriating $200,000 for this purpose, but, in the
political excitements of that day, the Senate failed to con
cur. In the absorbing public questions that ensued, resulting
in the War of 1812, the subject was dropped in Congress for
the time.
In 1833 the "Washington Monument Society" was formed,
with Chief Justice John Marshall as its president. This society
proposed to raise the necessary sum to erect such a raonument
by voluntary subscriptions of individuals, and in 1854 it had, by
such means, constructed about one-third of the height of the
monument and then suspended work. Thus it had remained
for years for want of means to complete it, a glaring evidence
of failure. The yiortion of the raonument already reared to the
height of 156 feet stood m rude outline, an abandoned failure
in the midst of a reservation partly covered with water and
broken stone. The society was incorporated by Congress in
1859, but no further progress was made. It was manifest that
the work could not be completed by the existing organization,
and doubts were expressed whether the foundation was suffi
cient to bear the superstructure. Under these conditions, on
the 100th anniversary of the declaration of American inde
pendence, it occurred to me the time had arrived when a
great country' like ours should coraplete this unfinished raon
ument to George Washington. Under the inspiration of this
thought I wrote this resolution on the raorning of the 4th

548 RECOLLECTIONS
of July, and on the next raorning offered it for adoption in the
Senate: "Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to guide the United States
of America safely through one hundred years of national life, and to
crown our nation with the highest blessings of civil and religious liberty.
Therefore, "The Senate and House of Rcjirosentatives in Congress assembled, in the
name of the yieojile of the United States, in revorciit thaiikfulnoss acknowl
edge the fountain and source, the author and giver of all these Vilcssings,
and our deyiendence upon His yirovideiice and will ; and,
"Whereas, We recognize, as our fathers did, that George Washington,
'first in peace, first in war, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,' was
one of the chief instruments of Divine Providence in securing American in-
deyiendence and in laying broad and dcoji tho foundations of our liberties in
the constitution of the United States :
" Therefore, as a mark of our sense of the honor due to his name and to
his coniyiatriots aud associates, our revolutionary fathers,
"We, the Senate and House of Reynesentatives in Congress assembled, in
the name of the people of the United States at this, the beginning of the
second century of national existence, do assume and direct the completion of
the Washington monument in tiie city of Washington, and instruct the com
mittees on appropriation of the respective Houses to propose suitable pro
visions of law to carry this resolution into effect."
In subraitting the resolution I said :
" I desire to offer at this time a concurrent resolution. I wish to say
before it is read that I believe if it were passed to-day it would be a matter
of profound satisfaction to the great body of the yieojjle of tho United States.
I ask that it be road."
After the resolution was read, there was a pause, when Mr.
Edmunds said: "Let us consider this resolution. It will be
agreed to unanimously, I am sure.
The resolution was therefore considered and agreed to
unanimously. It was sent to the House of Representatives the
next morning, when Mr. Hopkins, of Pennsylvania, pending a
motion to adjourn, asked unanimous consent to take from the
speaker's table the concurrent resolution in reference to the
Washington monuraent. Upon the resolution being read, the
House seemed to be impressed, as was the Senate, with the fit
ness of the tirae, and the yiroyiriety of the measure proposed,
and it was unaniraously adopted without debate.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 549
Thus Congress undertook to execute the unfinished work of
the Washington Monuinont Society. The requisite appropria
tions were subsequently made, and the monuraent, as com
pleted, is now the most impressive token of the appreciation,
by the American people, of the name and fame of George
Washington. It is visited daily by iieaxly every American or
stranger who enters the city of Washington. Its dedication
will be hereafter mentioned.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Hates-Tilden Presidential Contest.
Nomination of R. B. Hayes i^>v President — His Fitness for the Respoiisiljle ( Iffiee —
Political Shrewdness of SamuelJ. Tilden, His Oiiponent — I Enter Actively Into
the Canvass in Ohio and Other States — Frauds in the South — Recj nested by
General Grant to Go to Now Orleans and Witness the Canvassing of the
Vote of Louisiana — Departure for the South — Personnel of the
Republican and Democratic " Visitors " — Report of tho Return
ing Board — My Letter to Governor Hayes from New
Orleans — President Grant's Last Message to Con
gress — Letters from President Hayes — Reque.st
to Become his Secretary of the Treasury.
THE Republican national convention of 1876 met at Cin
cinnati on the 14th of June of that year. After the
usual organization the following eight nominations for
President were made : Blaine, Morton, Conkling, Bris
tow, Hayes, Hartranft, Wheeler and Jewell. The total num
ber of delegates was 754. Blaine was greatly in the lead, re
ceiving on the first ballot 285 votes, some from nearly every
state. Morton received 124, Bristow 113, Conkling 99, Hayes
61, Hartranft 58, Jewell 11, and Wheeler 3. There were 7 bal
lots, in which Blaine steadily held his vote and slightly gained,
receiving on the final ballot 361 votes. The vote for Hayes
increased at each ballot until on the seventh ballot he received
384 votes, a raajority over all.
Undoubtedly Blaine was the favorite of the convention,
but the antagonisras that existed between hira and Conkling
probably defeated his noraination. I still believe that the
nomination of Hayes was not only the safest, but the strongest
that could be made. The long possession of power by the Re
publicans naturally produced rivalries that greatly affected the
election of anyone who had been constantly prominent in pub
lic life, like Blaine, Conkling and Morton. Hayes had growing
qualities, and in every respect was worthy of the high position
of President. He had been a soldier, a Member of Congress,
(650)

r£i^-^{xyKj\

Kj^j^

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 551
thrice elected as Governor of Ohio, an admirable executive offi
cer, and his public and private record was beyond question. He
was not an aggressive man, although firm in his opinions and
faithful in his friendships. Among all the public men with
whom I have been brought in contact, I have known none who
was freer from personal objection, whose character was more
stainless, who was better adapted for a high executive office,
than Rutherford B. Hayes.
Governor Hayes wrote me the following letter in recog
nition of my aid in his nomination. Columbus, O., June 19, 1876.
My Dkah Sin:- I trust you will never regret the important action you
took in tho inauguration .and (tarrying out of tho movement which resulted
in my noraination. I write these few words to assure you that I appreciate,
and ara gratified for, what you did.
My kindest regards to Mrs. Sherman. Sincerely,
R. B. Hates.
Hon. John Sherman.
His opponent, "Samuel J. Tilden, was a man of singular po
litical sagacity, of great shrewdness, a money-making man, who
professed to represent, and perhaps did represent, as fairly as
anyone, the ideas of the New York politicians of the school of
Van Buren and Marcy. I knew Mr. Tilden personally and very
favorably, as we were members of a board of railroad directors
which frequently met. He seemed to take pleasure in talking
with me about political events, and especially of famous New
York politicians, of whom Silas Wright and Mr. Van Buren
were his favorites. He had acquired great wealth as the attor
ney of corporations, and was undoubtedly a man of marked
ability and sagacity. He had taken an active part in defeating
the corruption of Tweed in New York politics. He had been
elected governor of the State of New York, as the candidate of
reform and honesty in politics.
The long and important session of Congress adjourned on
the 15th of August. It had been the arena for long debates,
mostly on political topics growing out of reconstruction, and
financial measures heretofore referred to. The pending presi
dential contest also excited much debate in both Houses. The

552 RECOLLECTIONS
administration of General Grant had not been entirely satis
factory, and the long continuance of the Republican party in
power was an element of weakness. The complaints, unavoid
able in the most honest administration, and the disappoint-
raents of office-seekers, placed that party on the defensive.
The south had, by reconstruction, been practically restored
to political power, and the body of the negroes had been sub
stantially disfranchised, though legally entitled to the suffrage.
Riots and criraes of every degree were coramitted in the south,
notably in Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida. Organized
mobs and violence had deterred many from voting, and in
sorae cases had prevented even the semblance of a free
election. I entered actively into this canvass, more so than in any
previous one. Three days before the adjournment, I made my
opening speech at Marietta, Ohio, in which I discussed fully the
dangers of the restoration of the Democratic party to power,
the probability of their failure to enforce the constitutional
araendraents, and the protection of the rights of the freedmen.
I claimed that the election of Mr. Tilden would result in the
virtual nullification of the constitutional amendraents, and
araount to a practical restoration to power of the old Demo
cratic party. The revival of the rebel claims, the refunding of
the cotton tax, and the damages done to rebels, were fully com
mented upon, as were the outrages committed uyion freedmen
during the second administration of General Grant, the organi
zation of Ku-Klux Klaus, and the White League, and the bold
ness with which the laws were disregarded in the south. It is
difficult now to realize the condition of public affairs in all the
states then lately in rebellion. The people of the south are
certainly entitled to the highest credit for the great change
that has recently been made in the government of their states,
but it cannot be denied that during the ten years after the war
their condition bordered on the despotism of mob rule and
violence. Financial questions, no doubt, entered into the
canvass, but in this respect Governor Tilden and Ooveruiu-
Hayes did not materially differ, while public oiiinion in the
southern states was almost a unit in favor of the larger use of

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 553
paper money. Their bankrupt condition made this policy
almost universal there.
I continued until the day of election to make speeches, not
only in Ohio, but in several of the states. I engaged in a
joint debate with Senator Voorhees, of Indiana, at Columbia
City, in that state, in September, which probably had raore
fun and humor in it than argument. It so happened that
appointments were made for each of us at Columbia City
ou the same day, and the managers of the two parties con
cluded that they would have a joint debate, and arranged
for it, to which we both assented. There was a great crowd,
and besides Mr. Voorhees and myself, " Blue Jeans " Williams,
the candidate for governor, was to open the meeting in his
peculiar way, to which, as it would not at all interfere with
our debate, I did not object. The debate was fully reported
in the Chicago " Inter-Ocean," and is a very graphic specimen
of popular debates in which each side clairas to be the vic
tor. I think it would be safe to say that from the close of
Congress until the day of election I spoke on neariy every
week day in some one of the five or six states which I
visited. The result of the presidential election in November, 1876,
was extremely doubtful. It was soon asserted that the major
ity either way would be very small, and that the probabilities
were that Mr. Tilden was elected. Zachariah Chandler, chair
man of the national Republican committee, however, confi
dently telegraphed, on the morning after the election, that
Hayes was elected by a majority of one in the electoral col
lege. Further reports developed that on account of intimida
tion, frauds and violence, committed in the election in Louisi
ana, South Carolina, and Florida, the vote of each of those
states was doubtful, and could only be ascertained by the reports
of the returning boards. All of their electoral votes were
needed to give Hayes the majority of one. Both parties claimed
in each of the states a majority of the popular vote. In the
heated state of political feeling in those states, it was a mat
ter of grave doubt whether the count of the vote raight
not result in violence, turault or war. On the evening of

554 RECOLLECTIONS
November 11, I received from President Grant the following
telegram : Philadelphia, Pa., November 11, 1876.
Received at Mansfield, O., 8:35 p. ni.
Senator John Sherman.
I would be much pleased if you would join other parties, who have
already accepted same invitation, to go to New Orleans to witness the can
vassing of the vote of Louisiana. U. S. Grant.
I replied that I would go as soon as practicable, and re
ceived the following answer :
Washington, D. C, November 12, 1876.
Received at Mansfield, O., 4 p. m.
Hon. John Shbiiman.
Unless you can re}ich there by Friday morning it will be too late.
U. S. Grant.
I at once started for New Orleans, stopping on the way at
Columbus to confer with Governor Hayes, who said he wished
I would go to New Orleans and witness the count, but ex
pressed, in the strongest possible language, his oyiposition to any
raoveraent on the part of anyone to influence the action of the
returning board in his favor. He said if Mr. Tilden was elected
he desired him by all means to have the office. I proceeded to
Cincinnati, where I raet sorae of the gentlemen whom General
Grant had requested to witness the count. When we arrived
in New Orleans I found far less excitement in respect to the
count than in Ohio. I there met the other gentlemen who had
been, like^ myself, invited by General Grant. They were Messrs.
Stanley Matthews, Ohio ; J. A. Garfield, Ohio ; E. W. Stoughton,
New York;, J. H. Van Alen, New York; Wm. D. Kelley, Penn
sylvania- Job E. Stevenson, Ohio; Eugene Hale, Maine; J. M.
Tuttle, Iowa ; J. W. Chapman, Iowa ; W. R. Smith, Iowa ; W. A.
McGrew, Iowa ; Sidney Clarke, Kansas ; C. B. Farwell, Illinois ;
Abner Taylor, Illinois ; S. R. Haven, Illinois ; J. M. Beardsley,
Illinois ; John Coburn, Indiana ; Will Cumback, Indiana ; C. Irv
ing Ditty, Maryland.
At New Orleans I was for the first time introduced to the
raerabers of the returning board, who, under the laws of Lou
isiana, were required to verify the count and whose return was
final. We met also a large number of gentleraen who were

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 555
there at the request of the national Democratic committee to
perforin tho sitmo duty that had been imposed upon us by Gen
eral Grant. These gentlemen were John M. Palmer, Illinois ;
Lyman Trumbull, Illinois ; William R. Morrison, Illinois ; Sam
uel J. Randall, Pennsylvania ; A. G. Curtin, Pennsylvania ; Wil
liara Bigler, Pennsylvania ; J. R. Doolittle, Wisconsin ; George
B. Smith, Wisconsin ; J. E. McDonald, Indiana ; George W. Ju
lian, Indiana ; M. D. Manson, Indiana ; John Love, Indiana ;
Henry Watterson, Kentucky; J. W. Stevenson, Kentucky;
Henry D. McHenry, Kentucky ; Oswald Ottendorfer, New York ;
J. B. Stallo, Ohio ; Lewis V. Bogy, Missouri ; James 0. Brodhead,
Missouri ; C. Gibson, Missouri ; John Lee Carroll, Maryland ; Wil
liam T. Hamilton, Maryland; W. G. Sumner, Connecticut; P.
H. Watson, Ohio ; F. R. Coudert, New York.
Before my arrival a correspondence had occurred between
what was called the Deraocratic visitors and the Republican
visitors in regard to our respective duties. This correspond
ence, all of which was reported to President Grant, resulted in
the attendance of a certain number of each of the bodies of vis
itors at each session of the returning board, and thus a con
stant surveillance of the proceedings of the board was had. At
the same time we received from the returning board the follow
ing letter: State of Louisiana, Office Board op Retubning-Offioers, )
New Orleans, November 18, 1876. \
Sir : — At a meeting of the board of returning-ofBcers, held this day,
the following preamble and resolution, introduced by General Thomas 0.
Anderson, was unanimously adopted, viz.:
' Whereas, This board has learned with satisfaction that distinguished
gentlemen of national reputation frora other states, some at the request of
the President of the United States, and some at the request of the national
executive committee of the Deraocratic party, are present in this city with a
view to witness the proceedings of this board in canvassing and compiling
the returns of the recent election in this state for presidential electors, in
order that the public opinion of the country may be satisfied as to the truth
of the result and the fairness of the raeans by which it may have been
attained ; and whereas, this board recognizes the importance which may at
tach to the result of their proceedings, and that the public mind should be
convinced of its justice by a knowledge of the facts on which it may be
based, therefore, be it
' Resolved, That this board does hereby cordially invite and request five
gentlemen from each of the two bodies named, to be selected by themselves
S.-S9

556 RECOLLECTIONS
respectively, to attend and be present at the meetings of this board while
engaged in the discharge of its duties, under the law, in canvassing and
compiling the returns, and ascertaining and declaring the result of said
election for presidential electors, in their capacity as yirivate citizens of
eminent reputation and high character, and as spectators and witnesses of
the yjroceedings in that behalf of this board.'
J. Madison Wells,
Chairman Board of Returning-Officers.
Hon. John Sherman, St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans.
On the sarae day I answered in behalf of my associates as
follows : St. Charles Hotel, )
New Orleans, November 18, 1876. \
Sir : — I have received your note of to-day, with a coyiy of the resolu
tion of the board of returning-oflicers of the State of Jjouisiana, and have
communicated the invitation contained in it to the gentlemen who are here
at the request of the President of the United States to witness the canvass
ing of the vote at the recent election in this state for presidential electors,
and am instructed by them to inform you of their acceptance of the invita
tion, and that they will designate a committee, of five of their number to
attend the meetings of the board. And I take this occasion to express my
thanks for the courteous terms of this invitation, my deep sense of the im
portance of your proceedings, and my confident hope that they will be so
conducted as to convince the publio mind of the justice of your finding.
John Sherman.
Hon. j. Madison Wells.
A similar invitation was extended to the Democratic vis
itors, and substantially the same reply raade. The returning
board then proceeded to perform its duty uuder the law. At
each session the Republican and Democratic visitors were
present, and I neither know of nor have ever heard of any act
being done or testimony taken by the board except in the pres
ence of coramittees of the two bodies of visitors. The proceed
ings of the returning board were reported for each body of
visitors and for the returning board, and all the evidence
taken was not only delivered in the presence of the two visit
ing bodies, but was reported to the President and was pub
lished by Congress. Whatever opinions may be expressed as to
the correctness of the findings of the returning board, there can
be no doubt that its iiroceedings were oyien, fair and imyiar-
tial. The board arrived at the conclusion that the Republican

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 557
electors received a mnjority of tho votes cast in Louisiana at
that election, and were entitled to cast the vote of the state
for President of the United States.
During the great excitement over this controversy, and
also over that in South Carolina and Florida, exaggerated
statements, without the slightest foundation, of frauds and
improper conduct on the pa.rt of the returning officers were
made and published. As to the action of the returning board
in Louisiana, I feel bound now, after a long lapse of time, to
repeat what was reported to General Grant by the Republi
can visitors, that it made a fair, honest and impartial return
of the result of the election. In concluding our report we
said:
" The proof of violence and intimidation and arraed disturbance in many
other parishes, is of the same general character, although more general and
decisive, as to the five parishes yiarticularly referred to. In the others, these
causes prevailed at particular yiolling yjlaces, at many of which the Repub
lican vote was, to a considerable extent, prevented.
" We hope to be able to furnish full copies of all testimony taken by the
board, that the justice of its conclusions may be apyireciated. It is a tri
bunal, from which there can be no ayiyieal, and, in view of the possible conse
quences of its adjudication, we have closely observed its proceedings and
have carefully weighed the force of a large mass of the testimony upon which
that adjudication has been reached.
"Tlie members of the board, acting under oath, were bound by law, if
convinced by the testimony that riot, tumult, acts of violence, or armed dis
turbance did materially interfere with the purity and freedom of election at
any poll or voting place, or did materially change the result of the election
thereat, to reject the votes thus cast, and exclude them frora their final re
turn. Of the effect of such testimony, the board was sole and final judge,
and if, in reaching a conclusion, it exercised good faith and was guided by
an honest desire to do justice, its determination should be respected, even if,
upon like proof, a different conclusion might have been reached by other
tribunals or persons.
" To guard the purity of the ballot; to yirotect the citizen in the free and
peaceful exercise of his right to vote; to secure him against violence, intimi
dation, outrage, and especially murder, when he attempts to perform this
duty, should be the desire of all men, and the aim of every representative
government. If political success shall be attained by such violent and terri
ble means as were resorted to in many parishes in Louisiana, complaint should
not be made if the votes thus obtained are denounced by judicial tribunals
and all honest men as illegal and void."

558 RECOLLECTIONS
Pending the action of the board I wrote to Governor Hayes
the following letter, giving a general view of the testimony:
State of Louisiana, Executive Department, )
New Orleans, November 23, 1876. \
Mvr Dear Sir : — I have not written you sooner, for tho yirogress of oul
visitation will be known to you through the papers sooner than from my let
ters, and the telegraph office here is more public than a sheriff's sale. We
sometimes hear of private telegrams before they are delivered. The action
of the returning board has thus far been oyien and fair and only confirms the
general result known before. We are now approaching the contested yiar
ishes. To five of them, viz : Baton Rouge, East and West Feliciana, More
house and Ouachita, the evidence of intimidation is so well made out on
payier that no man can doubt as to the just exclusion of their vote. In these
yiarishes alone we ought to have a majority of 7,000, but under the law the
entire return must be excluded of all election districts where intimidation
has affected or changed the result. If this is done the result will give the
Hayes electors majorities aggregating 24,111, and the Tilden electors 22,633,
but in almost every parish the official return varies somewhat from the stated
majorities, and thus far slightly reduces the Republican majority.
The vote of each disputed parish has thus far been laid aside, and among
them are two parishes where a most foolish blunder, or something worse, was
made in omitting from the Republican tickets the names of all the electors
but the two Senatorial and one district elector. The Democrats claim this
will lose over 2,000 votes, but our friends, whose information we have gen
erally found confirmed, say it will lose us at most 1,103 votes. The law
seems conclusive that the defective ballots cannot be counted for any elect
ors but those named on the ticket ; though it is conclusively shown that the
remaining electors were omitted by reason of the mistaken idea that the dis
trict could only vote for one elector. The whole trouble has grown out of
the fact that in these two yiarishes a candidate for district judge was not
named on the ticket printed by the state committee. We undertook to cor
rect this by printing new tickets, which were voted in those parishes. The
result of this blunder will leave the poll so close as to render it probable
that one or more of the Tilden electors would have a majority.
There are other parishes where the organized intimidation was not so
general as in the parishes named, though in single election precincts it was
effective. These parishes, where formal protests have been filed, are Bien
ville, Bossier, Caldwell, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Lincoln, Richland and
Sabine. How far the proof in these parishes will sustain the protests we
cannot judge till the evidence is heard before the returning board.
We are now collecting the testimony as to the bulldozed yiarishes. It
seems more like the history of hell than of civilized and Christian communi
ties. The means adoyited are almost incredible, but were fearfully effective
upon an ignorant and superstitious people. That you would have received

OF JOIIN SHERMAN. 559
at a fair election a largn majority in Louisiana, no honost man can question ;
that you did not rocoivo a majority is ocjually clear. But that intiiiiidaliou
of the very kind and nature yirovidod against by the Louisiana law did enter
into and control the election, in more election polls than would change the
result and give yon the vote, I believe .as firmly as that I write this. The
difficulty of gathering this testimony and yiutting it in the legal form has
been very great, but I believe has been fully met.
The whole case rests upon the action of the returning board. I have
carefully observed them, and have formed a high oyiinion of Governor Wells
and Colonel Anderson. They are firm, judicious, and, as far as I can judge,
thoroughly honest and conscientious. They are personally farailiar with the
nature and degree of intimidation in Louisiana. They can see that the in
timidation, as organized, was with a view of throwing out Republican par
ishes rather than endangering Democratic parishes. Our little party is now
dividing out tho disyiutod yiarishes, with tho view of a careful exaraination of
every yiaper and detail. Many are imyiatient of the delay, and some have
gone home. We will probably be able to keep about ten here. We have
incurred some liabilities for reporting, printing, etc., but hope the Repub
lican national committee will make this good. If not, we must provide for
it ourselves. We are in good hope and spirit. Not wishing the return in
your favor, unless it is clear that it ought to be so, and not willing to be
cheated out of it, or to be 'bulldozed' or intiraidated, the truth is palpable
that you ought to have the vote of Louisiana, and we believe that you will
have it, by an honest and fair return, according to the letter and spirit of the
law of Louisiana. Very truly yours, John Sherman.
To this General Hayes responded as follows:
Columbus, O., Noveraber 27, 1876.
My Dear Sir: — I ara greatly obliged for your letter of the 23rd. You
feel, I am sure, as I do about this whole business. A fair election would
have given us about forty electoral votes at the south — at least that many.
But we are not to allow our friends to defeat one outrage and fraud by an
other. There must be nothing crooked on our part. Let Mr. Tilden have
the yilace by violence, intimidation and fraud, rather than undertake to
prevent it by means that will not bear the severest scrutiny.
I appreciate the work doing by the Republicans who have gone south,
and am especially proud of the acknowledged honorable conduct of those
from Ohio. The Democrats raade a raistake in sending so many ex-Repub
licans. New converts are proverbially bitter and unfair towards those they
have recently left.
I trust you will soon reach the end of the work, and be able to return in
health and safety. Sincerely, R. B. Hates.
I met Goveruor Hayes on my return and his conversation
was to the same effect, that he wished no doubtful votes and

560 RECOLLECTIONS
would greatly prefer to have Mr. Tilden serve as President if
there was any doubt about his (Hayes') election. The Repub
lican visitors did not return until after the meeting of Congress
at its regular session on the 4th of December, 1876.
President Grant, in the beginning of his annual message
of that date, said:
"In submitting my eighth and last message to Congress, it seems
proper that I should refer to, and in some degree recapitulate, the events
and official acts of the past eight years.
" It was my fortune, or misfortune, to be called to the office of Chief
Executive without any previous political training. From the age of seven
teen I had never even witnessed the excitement attending a presidential
campaign but twice antecedent to my own candidacy, and at but one of
them was I eligible as a voter. Under such circumstances it is but reason
able to suppose that errors of judgment must have occurred. Even had
they not, differences of opinion between the Executive, bound by an oath to
the strict performance of his duties, and writers and debaters must have
arisen. It is not necessarily evidence of blunder on the part of the Executive
because there are these differences of views. Mistakes havo been made, as
all can see and I admit, but, it seems to me, oftener in the selections made
of the assistants appointed to aid in carrying out the various duties of admin
istering the government, in nearly every case selected without a personal
acquaintance with the appointee, but upon recommendations of the repre
sentatives chosen directly by the people. It is impossible, where so many
trusts are to be allotted, that the right parties should be chosen in every
instance. History shows that no administration, from the time of Washing
ton to the present, has been free from these mistakes. But I leave com
parison to history, claiming only that I have acted in every instance from a
conscientious desire to do what was right, constitutional within the law, and
for the very best interests of the whole people. Failures have been errors
of judgment, not of intent."
This modest statement by General Grant was appreciated
by Congress and by the country. No one doubted the sincerity
and patriotism of the President. His modest confession of
errors did not in the slightest degree irapair the universal con
fidence in him.
On the 18th of January, 1877, Mr. Edmunds, of the select
comraittee of the Senate on the counting of electoral votes,
submitted a report in writing with an accompanying bill. It
was, with one exception, signed by the members of the com
mittees of the two Houses without distinction of party. The

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 561
bill provided in full detail a prescribed manner for counting
tho electoral vote. It was adopted by both Houses and voted
for by a great majority, but, believing that it was extra consti
tutional, I, with other Republicans, did not vote for it. The
history of the electoral commission provided for in this bill is
part of the history of the country, and it is not necessary to here
enter into it in detail. It is sufficient to say that it resulted in
the counting of the votes of Louisiana, South Carolina and
Florida for Mr. Hayes, electing him President by a majority of
one vote. I took an active part in the debates on the questions
involved and gave in detail my view of the action of the re
turning board in Louisiana.
During this period I received a nuraber of personal letters
from Governor Hayes, some of which may be of interest:
Columbus, O., December 25, 1876.
My Dear Sir : — I have your esteemed favor, and have also met Judge
Taft and Governor Dennison. There will not be the slightest difliculty
growing out of the matter you refer to. You know my general course of
conduct. It has always seemed to me wisest, in case of decided antagonisras
araong friends, not to take sides — to heal by compromise, not to aggravate,
etc., etc. I wish you to feel authorized to speak in pretty decided terms
forme whenever it seems advisable — to do this not by reason of specific
authority to do it, but from your knowledge of my general methods of
action. Sincerely, R. B. Hates.
Hon. John Sherman, etc., etc. Columbus, O., January 5, 1877.
My Dear Sir : — I have your note of the 3rd. I do not wish to influence
the action of our friends, and do not volunteer opinions. But you have a
right to my opinion. I believe the Vice President alone has the constitu
tional power to count the votes and declare the result. Everything in the
nature of a contest as to electoral votes is an affair of the states. The rest is
a mere ministerial duty. Therefore it is not right, in my judgment, for
Congress to interfere. Sincerely, R. B. Hates
Hon. John Sherman, U. S. S. Columbus, O., February 15, 1877.
My Dear Sir : — I have two letters from you since I last wrote. If it
becomes my duty to make a cabinet I want your views fully and specifically.
If possible a personal interview would be extremely desirable. Boynton
writes to Smith that an assurance of my views on the southern question, which
are truly set forth in my letter, with such additions as I could properly raake,
would be useful. I prefer to raake no new declarations. But you may say

562 RECOLI>ECTIONS
if you deem it advisable that you know that I will stand by the friendly and
encouraging words of that letter and by all that they imply. You cannot
express that too strongly. Sincerely, R. B. Hates.
Hon. John Sherman. Columbus, O., February 16, 1877.
Mt Dear Sir ; — If the issue of the contest is in our favor I shall want
to see you at once if it is at all practicable. Don't you want to visit Mans
field? I can meet you there or here — or possibly at a point east of there.
Sincerely, R. B. Hates.
Hon. John Sherman. Columbus, O., February 19, 1877.
Mt Dear Sir : — The more I think of it the more diflScult it seems for
me to get ready to come to Washington before Wednesday or Thursday of
next week. I must fix affairs at Fremont, and cannot begin it until I know
the result. Why can't friends be sent or come here?
It seems to rae proper now to say that I am extremely desirous that you
should take the treasury department. Aside from my own personal prefer
ence, there are many and controlling reasons why I should ask you to do
this. It will satisfy friends here in Ohio. I understand Governor Morton
and our friends in Washington like it. The countiy will ayiprove it. You
are by all odds the best fitted for it of any man in the nation. Your resignation
from the Senate will be a great loss to that body, but it will cause no serious
dissensions or difficulty in Ohio. Do not say no until I have had a full con
ference with you. There is no reason why you should not visit Ohio as
soon as you can be spared from Washington. Of course the public will
know of our meeting. But they will be gratified to know it. No possible
harm can corae of it. I should have said all this before, but I did not want
to erabarrass you in your action on the presidential question.
Sincerely, R. B. Hates.
Hon. John Sherman.
(Telegram.) Columbus, O., February 20, 1877.
Hon. John Sherman.
I will be greatly obliged if you can come to Columbus, but will meet
you at Zanesville if you think it important. R. B. Hates.
Columbus, O., February 28, 1877.
Hon. John Sherman, Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir : — Governor Hayes will be obliged to you if you will be kind
enough to speak to Mr. Evarts with respect to his acceptance of the place in
the cabinet referred to in the interview with you last week. It was the
governor's intention to make this request at that time, and he may have
done so, but not being quite sure of tho fact, desires mo to write you with
reference to it. Yours very rosyiectfully, W. K. Rogers, Secretary.

^

<>--

'^

-^

^

^ .^
^ K

K>

t

1^
^4 >

V

II

-4

nL?
c\, J
/
u
^ <i< ^
^ v/^
OF JOHN SHERMAN. 563
President Hayes frequently, in personal conversation and
in writing, had expressetl a strong desire that I should become
his Secretary of the Treasury. I was disinclined to accept this
position, as I was content to serve my constituents in the Sen
ate. It was not until after his urgent request in his letter of
February 19, 1877, that I seriously considered his desire that I
should accept that office. I went to Columbus to ascertain the
views of the legislature, and whether there would be any diffi
culty in selecting a Republican to my place in the Senate.
Having found that there would not be, I, with reluctance,
accepted his offer. Stanley Matthews was elected on the 21st
of March to serve out my unexpired term, which ended on the
3rd of March, 1879.
President Hayes arrived in Washington a few days before
the 4th of March and was my guest until he was inaugurated
as President. The 4th day of March was on Sunday, and to
avoid any question about an interregnum, he was sworn into
office on that day, but took the formal oath on the next day, the
5th of March, and made his inaugural address. He nominated
the members of his cabinet to the Senate and they were
promptly confirmed.
I received many letters of congratulation and encourage
ment in assuming the duties of Secretary of the Treasury, two
of which I insert : New York, March 6, 1877.
My Dear Mr. Shebiman : — Allow me to congratulate you on having
been selected by President Hayes to administer the financial affairs of the
nation. I deem it a hayipy augury that the President's choice of raerabers of his
cabinet has fallen upon raen who have made their mark as statesmen, and
whose advent to power will, I foel convinced, inaugurate an era of prosperity
for our country.
With yourself at the head of the treasury departraent, there is no fear of
public credit being shaken and commercial interests imper-'led by crude and
experimental legislation.
With great respect, I remain, my dear Mr. Sherman,
Very truly your friend,
Ctrus W. Field.
Hon. John Sherman, Washington.

564 RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.
Consulate General of the United States for Great Britain and Ireland, )
London, E. C, March 12, 1877. \
The Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury.
Mt Dear Sir : — When I begin to write to you, I am reminded of what
General Sherman said, in my hearing, to General Grant, after the latter was
made General in Chief: 'I cannot congratulate you; the resyionsibility is
too great.' You have certainly succeeded to the most difficult post in the
government, one in whose successful administration Americans abroad feel
an especial interest, for no department is more important to foreigners or
more discussed by them.
It may not be unsatisfactory to you to know that Americans — both those
long domiciled here and those in transit — applaud the appointment of the
new Chief of the Treasury.
I beg to offer my best wishes and belief that the reputation he has
already achieved in the Senate will be increased in the cabinet ; and to say
how glad I was that the unanimity of his late comyieers showed that they
were of the same mind.
With great respect, I ara, my dear sir,
Very faithfully yours, Adam Badeau.

CHAPTER XXIX.
I Begin My Duties as Secretary of the Treasury.
ljefj;iHlu.tive TrulniiiK ot (boat Advantngo to Mo in My New Position — Loan Contract
iu Force When I Took the Portfolio — Appointment ot Charles F. Conant as
Funding Agent ot the Treasury Department in London — Redeeming Called
Bonds — Sale ot Four Per Cent. Bonds Instead ot Four and a
Half Per Cents. — Popularity of the New Loan — Great Sav
ing in Interest — On a Tour of Inspection Afong the Northern
Atlantic Coast — Value of Information Received on This
Trip — Effect of the Baltimore and Pittsburg Rail
road Strikes in 1877 Upon Our Public Credit.
WHEN I assumed the office of Secretary of the Treas
ury I had the advantage of sorae of my predeces
sors in that I was acquainted with the organization
and duties of the treasury department. Ever since
1859 my connection with the comraittee of ways and raeans in
the House and with the coraraittee on Finance in the Senate had
brought me into official relations with the head of that depart
ment. This legislative training gave me a full knowledge of
the several laws that were to be executed in relation to public
revenue, to all forms of taxation, to coinage and currency, and
to the public debt. The entire system of national finance then
existing grow out of the Civil War, and I had participated in
the passage of all the laws relating to this subject. My inti
mate association with Secretaries Chase, Fessenden and Mc
Culloch, and my friendly relations with Secretaries Boutwell
and Richardson, led me, as chairman of the Senate committee
on finance, to have free and confidential intercourse with them
as to legislation affecting the treasury. Secretary Bristow had
not had the benefit of experience either in Congress or the
department. He was a good lawyer and an able man. He
doubted whether resumption would be effective without a grad
ual retirement of United States notes, a measure that Congress
would not agree to. Congress repealed even the limited re
tirement of such notes provided for by the resumption act.
(665)

566 RECOLLECTIONS
Secretary Morrill, of Maine, ray immediate predecessor, was in
hearty sympathy with the policy of Congress, of which he had
been a useful Senator, and but for his failing health would
have been an efficient secretary. Upon ray assuming the
duties of secretary, and for some time before, he had been con
fined by illness in his lodgings in Washington. The treasury
department was then well organized. Most of the principal
officers had been long in the service. But few changes were
made by President Hayes or by myself, and only as vacancies
occurred or as incompetency was demonstrated. The follow
ing loaii contract was in force at the beginning of ray adminis
tration of the treasury department :
" This agreement, entered into this 24tli day of August, in the year of
our Lord, 1876, between the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States
of Araerica, of the flrst part, and Messrs. August Belmont & Co., of New
York, in behalf of Messrs. N. M. Rothschild & Sons, of London, England,
and associates, and Messrs. J. & W. Seligman & Co., of New York, for
themselves and associates, and Messrs. Drexel, Morgan & Co., on behalf of
Messrs. J. S. Morgan & Co., of London, England, and Messrs. Morton, Bliss
& Co., of New York, representing the First National Bank of the city of
New York, the American Exchange National Bank of New York, the Mer
chants' National Bank of New York, the Third National Bank of New York,
Messrs. Kuhn, Loeb & Co., of New York, the Bank of New York National
Banking Association, and Messrs. Morton, Rose & Co., of London, and them
selves, of the second part :
" Witnesseth, That the said Messrs. August Belmont & Co., of New York,
on behalf of Messrs. N. M. Rothschild & Sons and associates, hereby agree to
purchase from the Secretary of the Treasury sixteen million five hundred
thousand dollars ($16,500,000) of the United States bonds known as the
four and a half per cent, funded loan of 1891, issued under the acts of
July 14, 1870, and January 20, 1871; and that Messrs. J. & W. Seligman &
Co,, for themselves and their associates, hereby agree to purchase from the
Secretary of the Treasury six million seven hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars (16,750,000) of the bonds hereinbefore described; and that Messrs.
Drexel, Morgan & Co., on behalf of Messrs. J. S. Morgan & Co., of London,
England, hereby agree to purchase from the Secretary of the Treasury six
million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($6,750,000) of the bonds
hereinbefore described; and that Messrs. Morton, Bliss & Co., of New York,
representing the First National Bank of the city of New York, to the extent
of four million dollars ($4,000,000); the American Exchange National Bank
of New York, to the extent of one million and fifty thousand dollars ($1,-
050,000); the Merchants' National Bank of New York, to the extent of six

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 567
hundred thousand dollars ($600,000); tho Third National Bank of the city
of New York, to the extent of seven hundred and flfty thousand, dollars
($750,000); Messrs. Kuhn, Loeb & Co., of New York, to the extent of one
million and fifty thousand dollars ($1,050,000); the Bank of New York
National Banking Association, to the extent of three hundred thousand dol
lars ($300,000); Messrs. Morton, Rose & Co., of London, to the extent of
one million one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars ($1,125,000), and
Messrs. Morton, Bliss & Co., of New York, to the extent of one million one
hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars ($1,125,000), hereby agree, to the
extent severally for each as above stated, to purchase from the Secretary of
the Treasury ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in the aggregate of the bonds
hereinbefore described, making a total aggregate of forty million dollars
($40,000,000), upon the terms and conditions following, to-wit :
" First. Of tho said aggregate amount, not less than ten million dollars
($10,000,000) are hereby subscribed for, the subscription to take effect on
the 1st day of September, 1876, and the remaining araount, namely, thirty
million dollars ($30,000,000), may be divided at the pleasure of the parties of
the second part into several successive subscriptions of not less than five mil
lion dollars ($5,000,000) each, to be raade prior to the 4th day of March, 1877.
" Second. The parties of the second part shall have the exclusive right
to subscribe, in the same proportion to each of the subscribers, for the re
mainder, namely, two hundred and sixty million dollars ($260,000,000), or
any portion of said loan authorized to be issued by the acts of Congress
aforesaid, by giving notice thereof to the Secretary of the Treasury on or
before the 30th day of June, 1877; but the party of the flrst part reserves
the right to terminate this contract at any time after March 4, 1877, by giv
ing ten days' notice thereof to the parties of the second part.
" Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall, when subscriptions
are made by the said parties of the second part, issue calls with even date
with said subscriptions for the redemption of an equivalent amount of six per
cent. 5-20 bonds of the United States, as provided by said act of July
14, 1870. Fourth. Tho parties of the second part agree to pay for said four and a
half per cent, .bonds par and interest accrued to the date of application for de
livery of said bonds, in gold coin, matured United States gold coin coupons,
or any of the six per cent. 5-20 bonds called for rederaption, or in United
States gold certificates of deposit issued under the act of March 3, 1863, with
the understanding that payment to the extent of the amount of any call shall
be made within the time during which such call shall mature : Provided,
That if the parties of tho second part shall elect so to do, they raay have
the privilege of raaking any of said subscriptions payable specifically
in uncalled six per cent. 5-20 bonds of the United States, in which case
the Secretary of the Treasury may, to the extent of such payraents, omit
the calls mentioned in condition No. 3. _ . .
"Fifth. The parties of the second part shall receive in coin a com
mission of one-half of one per cent, on all bonds taken by them, as allowed
by the act of July 14, 1870, and shall assume and defray all expenses which
may be incurred in sending bonds to London upon their request, or by
S.-40

568 RECOLLECTIONS
transmitting bonds, coupons, or coin from there to the treasury depart
ment at Washington, including all cost of making exchange of bonds, and
shall also be charged with the preparation and issuing of the bonds.
" Sixth. No bonds shall be delivered to the parties of the second part,
or either of them, until payment shall have been made in full therefor in
accordance with the terms of this contract.
" Seventh. During the continuance of this contract any sales of bonds
ordered by the Secretary of the Treasury, by authority of law, except those
that it may become necessary to sell to pay judgments of the Court of Com
missioners of Alabaraa Claims, shall be made through the parties of the sec
ond part, who shall be allowed thereon a commission of one per cent, in
gold coin. And it is provided that the amount of bonds so ordered shall
not exceed in the aggregate $25,000,000, unless by mutual agreement of
the parties.
Lot M. Morrill,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Aug. Belmont & Co.,
On behalf of N. M. Rothschild & Sons, London.
J. & W. Seligman & Co.,
On behalf of Seligman Brothers.
Drexel, Morgan & Co.,
On behalf of J. S. Morgan & Co., of London.
Morton, Bliss & Co.,
For themselves and associates, as named above."
By its terras the contract provided for the sale of $40,000,-
000, four and a half per cent, bonds of the United States at
par in gold coin. The contractors had the exclusive right to
subscribe for all or any portion of the reraainder of the four
and a half per cent, bonds, araounting to $260,000,000. The
right to terrainate this contract at any time after March 4,
1877, after ten days' notice, was reserved by the United States.
The proceeds of the bonds sold were to be applied solely to the
payraent of the six per cent. 5-20 bonds of the United States.
No provision was raade in this contract for the accumulation
of coin for the redemption of United States notes. The process
of refunding under it progressed slowly.
I felt it to be important that I should have some personal
representative in London, to protect the interests of the United
States in the execution of this contract, and, therefore, on the
31st of March, 1877, I appointed Charles F. Conant, as the
funding agent of the treasury department, and directed him
to assume the general management and siiyiurvision of all
business in London, arising from the funding of bonds. A

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 569
letter of instructions prescribing his duties was given hiin.
Ho was directed to ymrsue the same general plan under which
former negotiations had been conducted, except as modified
by these instructions, which were based upon the contract
before mentioned. All bonds, money, or coupons received
by hira were to be securely kept in safes, furnished by the
departraent for that purpose, to be deposited in the vaults
of the Messrs. Rothschild. Combination locks were provided
for each safe, and no safe could be unlocked except by
three persons on distinct combinations, each person using
a combination unknown to the others. He was to keep me
fully advised of the course of the market, of the price not
only of American securities, but of foreign securities, and was
to receive the new bonds and deliver them to the Rothschilds
in exchange for the bonds redeemed. He proved to be a very
competent and faithful agent, and furnished me important
financial information, which aided me greatly in refunding
operations. His compensation and allowances, as well as
those of all persons sent to London in connection with the re
funding of the public debt, were paid by the syndicate, so
that no expense whatever was incurred by the treasury on
this account.
1 gave the following notice to the parties to this contract
that I would, on the part of the United States, terminate it.
TllEABURT DicPARTMISNT, )
Washington, D, C, April 6, 1877. \
Gentlemen : — I received your friendly cable message of the 10th
ultimo, and return my thanks and hearty good wishes.
I am very solicitous to yironiote the funding of our six per cent, bonds as
rapidly as practicable, and feel indebted to you for the aid you have given
in yilacing the four and a half per cent, bonds.
I propose no change iit present ; but it is my desire, if practicable, to
withdraw the four and a half per cent, bonds frora the market and substitute
in their place the four yier cent, bonds authorized by the funding act.
These bonds, as you know, are a very desirable investment, running
thirty years from the date of issue, with every guard and security that has
been given to any bond of the United States, and we think as safe and
desirable as the securities of any other nation. It is yirobably the bond into
which all the debt of the United States will in time be converted. I hope
you and your associates will be able to engage with me to place this bond on

570 RECOLLECTIONS
the market when $200,000,000 of the four and a half per cent, bonds have
been sold.
The public policy of the United States to resume specie payments on or
before the 1st of January, 1879, is fully established by the law and by pub
lic oyiinion. It may be that the surplus revenue will be sufficient to enable
rae to carry out this yiolicy without the sale of bonds. I am authorized by
the resumption act to sell five, four and a half, or four yier cent, bonds to
prepare for resumption, and it may be desirable to sell through the syndicate,
under that act, a limited amount of bonds, not exceeding, I hope, $30,000,-
000 a year. I do not wish in the execution of this duty to disturb the ex
changes between Euroyie and this country. For this puryjose I desire to
sell only the four per cent, bonds, and must sell at par in coin, but could
receive in payment coin coupons maturing within a limited time. I invite
from you and your associates such suggestions and offers as you may think
proper to make for the yiurchase of such bonds.
The operations of the syndicate have become so important that I have
deemed it proper to ask Mr. Charles F. Conant, late Assistant Secretary of
the Treasury, to take charge of the business in London in connection with the
gentlemen already there. He is well informed as to our laws, and I trust
his services may be of advantage to the government and agreeable to you.
I will give my personal attention to this business, and will receive with
pleasure any suggestions from you that will promote our common object.
Very truly, John Sherman, Secretary.
Messrs. N. M. Rothschild & Sons, London, England.
I received the following letter: New York, April 12, 1877.
Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington.
Mt Dear Sir : — I had an interview with Messrs. Drexel, Morgan &
Co., and conveyed to them your wishes rosyicctiiig limiting the sale of the
four and a half and taking the four yier cent, bond in hand with tho co
operation of the Messrs. Rothschild.
I told Mr. Drexel that you would be happy to see him and Mr. L. P.
Morton in Washington, whenever convenient for them to go, and that on re-
ceiyit by you of favorable advices from Mr. Conant after his arrival in Lon
don, you desired that Drexel, Morton and I should reyiair to Washington, in
company with other leading members of the syndicate, with a view of enter
ing into a contract with the government, in conformity with your views as ex
pressed to me, or perhaps with some slight modifications, which, if suggested
by the London people, through Mr. Conant, you may deem proper to adoyit.
I shall see Mr. Morton in the course of this day, and have no doubt but
that he, as well as Drexel and myself, will be hapyiy to aid you in raising
the credit of our common country, and assist the President and you in this
patriotic work. I remain, dear Mr. secretary, yours, very faithfully.
Jos. Seligman.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 571
A uionth later I wrote to Mr. Conant as follows:
TkHAHUUV DlCPARTMKNT, )
Washington, May 14, 1877. )
Dear Mr. Conant : — . . . On Friday last I concluded a modifica
tion of the present syndicate contract, which provides for the sale of five
million four and a half per cent, bonds at par in coin for resumption pur
poses. A further negotiation is pending as to the renewal and raodification
of the contract, of which I will give you due notice when completed. In
the meantime I wish to keep steadily in view the sale of the balance of two
hundred million four and a half per cent, bonds, and, if possible, I wish
to make the necessary calls during this month and next.
You can assure Messrs. Rothschild of every disposition on the part of
the governraent to meet their views, and to extend the contract with the
necessary modifications. Their efforts in maintaining the credit of the bonds
and securing this result will be highly apyireciated.
I would like to have you write me at least twice a week as fully as
practicable. Very truly, John Sherman.
Mr. C. F. Conant, London.
As the process of redeeming called bonds required a notice
of ninety days, I postponed the terraination of the existing con
tract until after that period. My purpose in terminating the
contract was to substitute for sale the four per ceut. bonds of the
United States instead of the four and a half per cent, bonds. I
believed that the advancing credit of the United States would
justify this reduction of the rate of interest. Another reason
for this step was that, in addition to refunding at a lower rate
of interest, I wished to commence preparation for the resump
tion of specie payments on January 1, 1879, according to law.
This could only be done by the sale of bonds for gold coin.
I reserved the remainder of the four and a half bonds, amount
ing to $100,000,000, authorized by the refunding act, for re
sumption purposes in case the four per cent, bonds could not
be sold at par in coin.
Another reason for a change in the existing contract was
that it gave to the syndicate a monopoly in the sale of bonds
while I wished to sell the bonds directly to the people. The
new contract was as follows :
" This agreement, entered into this 9th day of June, 1877, between the
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, of the first part, and Messrs.
August Belmont & Co., of New York, on behalf of Messrs. N. M. Rothschild
& Sons, of London, England, and associates and themselves ; Messrs. Drexel,

572 RECOLLECTIONS
Morgan & Co., of New York, on behalf of Messrs. J. S. Morgan & Co., of
London, and themselves ; Messrs. J. & W. Seligman & Co., of New York,
on behalf of Messrs. Seligman Brothers, of London, and themselves ; Messrs.
Morton, Bliss & Co., of New York, on behalf of Messrs. Morton, Rose & Co.,
of London, and themselves ; and the First National Bank of the city of
New York — •
" Witnesseth : That the said Messrs. August Belmont & Co., on behalf of
Messrs. N. M. Rothschild & Sons, and associates and themselves, hereby
agree to purchase from the Secretary of the Treasury $10,312,500 of the
bonds known as the four per cent, consols of the United States, issued under
the acts of July 14, 1870, January 20, 1871, and January 14, 1875, and that
Messrs. Drexel, Morgan & Co., on behalf of Messrs. J. S. Morgan & Co.,
and themselves, agree to purchase $4,062,500 of said bonds, and that Messrs.
J. & W. Seligman & Co., on behalf of Messrs. Seligman Brothers, and them
selves, agree to yiurchase $4,062,500 of said bonds, and that Morton, Bliss
& Co., on behalf of Messrs. Morton, Rose & Co., and themselves, agree to
purchase $4,062,500 of said bonds, and that the First National Bank of the
city of New York agree to yiurchase $2,500,000 of said bonds, making a
total aggregate of $25,OOO,O0O of said bonds, on the terms and conditions
following :
First. Of the said aggregate amount not more than $5,000,000 shall be
sold for resumption purposes, the remaining $20,000,000 to be sold for
funding puryioses, and subscribed for by the parties of the second part dur
ing the months of July and August, 1877.
Second. The yiarties of the second yiart shall have the exclusive right to
subscribe in the same proyiortion to each of the subscribers, for the re
mainder of the four per cent, consols of the United States, or any yiortion of
said consols authorized to be issued by the acts of Congress aforesaid, by
giving notice thereof to the Secretary of the Treasury on or before the 30th
day of June, 1878 ; but the party of the first yiart reserves the right to ter
minate this contract at any time after the 31st day of December, 1877, by
giving ten days' notice thereof to the parties of the second part.
Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall not sell for resumyition
puryioses exceeding five millions per month during the continuance of this
contract, except by mutual agreement of the parties hereto. When subscrip
tions are made for other than resumption purposes by the parties of the sec
ond part, the party of the first yiart shall issue calls of even date with said
subscriyitions for the redemyition of an equal amount of six yier cent. 5-20
bonds of the United States, as yirovided for in said act of .luly 13, 1870.
Fourth. The parties of the second part agree to yiay for said four per
cent, bonds par and interest accrued to the date of ayiyilication for delivery
of said bonds in gold coin, matured United States gold coin couyions, or any
of the six per cent. 5-20 bonds called for redemyition, or in United States
gold certificates of deposit issued under the act of March 3, 1803, with ihe
understanding that yiayment to tho extent of the aiiKiiint nf any call shall be
made within the time tluring which such call shall iiiaturc : I'rooideil,'V\ii\,i if
the parties of the second part shall elect so to do, they may have the yirivilege

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 573
of making any of said subscriyitions yiayable specifically in uncalled six per
cont. 5-2() bciiids <if tho United States, in which case the Secretary of the
Treasury may, to the extent of such payments, omit the calls mentioned in
condition No. 3.
Fifth. The parties of the second part shall receive in coin a commission
of one-half of one per cent, on all bonds taken by them, as allowed by the
act of .Inly 14, 1870, and shall assume and defray all expenses which may
be incurred in sending bonds to London or elsewhere upon their request, or
by transmitting bonds, couyions, or coin to the treasury department at
Washington, including all cost of making the exchange of bonds, and shall
also be charged with tlie cost of the preyiaration and issuing of the bonds.
Sixth. No bonds shall be delivered to the parties of the second yiart, or
either of them, until payment shall have been made in full therefor in
accordance with the terms of this contract.
Seventh. During the continuance of this contract any sales of bonds or
dered by the Secretary of the Treasury, by authority of law, shall be made
through the yiarties of the second part, who shall be allowed thereon a com
mission similar in amount and subject to the sarae deductions as prescribed
in the fifth clause of this contract.
Eighth. It is also agreed that the parties of the second part shall offer to
the yieoyile of the United States, at yiar and accrued interest in coin, the four per
cent, registered consols and four per cent, couyion consols of the denomina
tions of fifty dollars and one hundred dollars, embraced in this contract, for a
yieriod of thirty days from the public notice of such subscriptions, and in such
cities and uyion such notice as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe
yirior to the oyioning of the lists, and further, to offer to the subscribers the
oyition of yiaying in installments extending through three months.
John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury.
August Belmont & Co.,
On behalf of N. M. Rothschild & Sons, of London,
And associates and themselves.
Drexel, Morgan & Co.,
On behalf of J. S. Morgan & Co., of London,
And themselves.
J. & W. Seligman & Co.,
On behalf of Seligman Brothers and themselves.
Morton, Bliss & Co.,
On behalf of Morton, Rose, & Co., of London,
And theraselves.
The First National Bank
OF THE CITT of NeW YoRK.
Bt H. C. Fahnestock.
Witnesses as to all :
R. C. McCormick.
E. J. Babcock.
By this contract the syndicate was to take $25,000,000 of the
four per cent, bonds at par, or in exchange of six per cent. 5-20

574 RECOLLECTIONS
bonds. Of this sura $5,000,000 in gold coin was to be paid to the
treasury for resumption purposes. The eighth section was a
new provision, and required the syndicate to offer to the people
of the United States, at par and accrued interest in coin, the four
per cent, bonds, for a period of thirty days, in such cities and
upon such notice as the Secretary of the Treasury might pre
scribe. The result of this contract was not only to save one-half of
one per cent, on the annual interest of the bonds redeemed, but
to so popularize the loan that within a brief period I was able
to terrainate the contract according to its terras, and to sell
the four per cent, bonds directly to the people at par, without a
commission, or the aid of a syndicate.
I wrote Mr. Conant as follows:

}

Treasurt Department,
Washington, May 31, 1877.
Dear Mr. Conant : — Your letter of the 19th is received. Since its
date matters here have changed greatly for the better, and I have made two
calls for ten millions each.
There is a strong, steady demand for our bonds, and I have now no fear
but the two hundred millions four and a halfs will be exhausted before the
1st of July, when they will be withdrawn. The prospect of placing the four
per cent, bonds, commencing July 1, is very good. I have submitted to the
syndicate a proposition in substance requiring them to take twenty-five mil
lions four per cents, during July and August, of which five millions will be
for resumption purposes, with a stipulation that if they take fifty millions
additional in September and October the contract will be extended to Jan
uary 1, 1878, five millions a month lo be apyilied for resumyition purposes.
I do not propose to vary essentially frora the proposition. I have another
offer almost as good from other parties, but I hope to combine these two
offers into a modified syndicate, and, if possible, reserve the right to sell
bonds at par, in coin or 5-20 bonds, to persons who apply directly to
me for exchange, giving, however, the syndicate the half per cent, com
mission. We will considerably reduce the cost of the bonds, I think, to
one-tenth of one per cent., so that the contracting parties will have a reascn-
ably fair commission. I ara already assured of many sales of the bonds when
ever offered, without the aid of the syndicate, so that I consider myself
strong enough to undertake the placing the bonds even without their aid, if
they will not agree to reasonable terms. If I can secure the active, hearty
cooperation of all the parties who wish to engage in selling the bonds, and
they will be content with a reasonable profit, the oyieration of funding can
go on so rapidly that they ought to be satisfied with the profit they will make.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 575
T havo not <ivcrlookod tho yiosslbility that some movement of coin will
bo mado to meet <^al!<^d b<iiids iu ]i]uropo in excess of bonds sold tlinro, but
hoyio to yiorfoct arrangements by which I will secure American bullion to
meet this deraand, without stopping accumulations of coin in the treasury.
The prospects here are favorable for a good crop in all the states of the
Mississippi valley, but there will probably be a bad crop in California.
What we must do is push the loan so that it will be an established suc
cess before the meeting of Congress. If you can succeed in inspiring the
Rothschilds to aid this puryiose I am sure of success. My proposition has
been sent to them, and I was advised would be answered by telegram about
this tirae ; but by the 1 5tli I lioyie to have the arrangeraents corapleted.
If upon receipt of this letter there is anything of striking interest affect
ing the loan you may cable rae.
All well in the department. Matters are going along quietly and
steadily. Very truly yours, John Sherman.
Hon. Chas. F. Conant, London.
This letter he received about the time the new contract was
executed. I subsequently sent him the following cable telegram:
Washington, June 9, 1877.
Conant, London :
Contract of August 24, 1876, closed new four and a half per cent, bonds
at $200,000,000. New contract twenty-five millions four per cent, bonds
taken firm. Particulars by mail. Sherman.
Two days later I received a reply, as follows:
London, June 11, 1877.
Sherman, Washington :
Congratulations. Rothschilds request me to say that it is important for
this market that the public subscriptions in America for four per cents, should
be a success, and this will make the market for London. N. M. Rothschild &
Sons hope Secretary of the Treasury will advise that banks subscribe imraedi
ately. J. S. Morgan & Co., N. M, Rothschild & Sons, think subscription should
be opened soon, in view of preparing London raarket. Conant.
This new agreement gave at once a great impetus to the
new loan in all parts of the United States, as well as in London.
The following letters received indicate this:
Merchants' National Bank, )
Cleveland, O., June 11, 1877. \
Hon. John Sherman, Secretary Treasury United States.
Dear Sir : — We learn that you propose to offer to the public a certain
portion of the new four per cent, loan for a limited tirae, the araount sub
scribed to be paid in gold at the par value of the bonds.
This bank, being a public depositary of the government of the United
States, shall be glad to further your plans, and act as agent for the sale of

576 RECOLLECTIONS
such portion of the loan as you may suggest, and endeavor to give it such
publicity as would secure the sale of a portion of these bonds in this part
of Ohio. Wishing you success in the effort, I remain, very respectfully and truly,
T. P. Handt, President.
Treasurt Department, June 12, 1877.
John P. Hunt, Esq., Philadelphia, Pa.
Sir : — Your note is received. The department will be hapyiy to receive
your subscriyition in a short time. The bonds are not yireyiared, and the
treasury regulations for the popular subscription cannot be issued for a few
days, when a copy will be sent you.
It is the purpose to give you, and all other citizens of the United States,
an opportunity to subscribe at some convenient place in the city of your res
idence, to be designated in due time, requiring only a small dcyiosit at the
time of subscription, and allowing the yirivilege of yiaying at any time within
ninety days thereafter.
The bonds will bear date the 1st of July, and will be sold at par in coin
and accruing interest to date of payment.
Very respectfully, .Iohn Sherman, Secretary.
Contemporaneous with this contract for selling the four per
cent, bonds for gold coin, there appeared in the New York
"Times" a suggestion that these bonds could be paid in silver.
Henry F. French, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, in a pub
lished letter of the date of June 11, asserted his opinion that the
bonds issued under the act of July 14, 1870, for refunding, were
redeeraable in coin of the standard value at that date, and that
"as it cannot be known what bonds have been transferred
since the act of 1873, all bonds under the act of 1870 raust be
paid in gold coin of the standard value naraed in the act of
1873." I received a letter frora Messrs. Seligraan & Co., inclosing
an extract frora the New York " Tiraes," as follows :
New York, June 12, 1877.
Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington.
Dear Mr. Secretart : — We beg to inclose a short editorial article
which appeared in to-day's New York ' Times,' which, coming from a Repub
lican paper, may frighten investors in our country and abroad. Intelligent
people know that you, sir, as well as President llayes, are sound on the sil
ver question, and yot it may ayiyicar to you yiniyior, and highly advantageous
to the yirompt marketing of the four yier cent, bonds, to disabuse those who
have boon led to believe that the President and you favor tho rcmonctizing

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 577
<i[ silver, with a view of yiaying onr iiati<itiul debt in a metal so fiuctnating
as silv(ir has Ikh-oiiio since the jirincijial natidiis of lOunipo have deni(iiiotizo(i
it. We remain, der^r Mr. secretary, your obedient servants,
J. &. W. Seligman & Co.
The article in the New York "Tiraes," of June 12, 1877, said:
" In a disyiatch received by the Secretary of the Treasury yesterday from
Mr. Conant, the syndicate agent in London, it was stated that the contract
touching the four yier cent, bonds is well received in London, and the new
bond bids fair to be the most yiopular of American securities. There is no
doubt that the bond has raany advantages both for horae and foreign invest
ors. It has only one yioint of weakness, and that is, that if the silver ring
should succeed in getting an unlimited issue of legal tender silver dollars,
this bond would be payable, principal and interest, in that coin. Shrewd
mon, who know what silver has done and is liable to do in the way of ups
and downs, will take this fact into consideration, and the governraent will
ultimately be compelled to do the sarae. At present the strength of the
silver movement is estimated to be small, but if this estimate should yirove
to be mistaken, the new four per cents, would suffer."
Mr. August Belmont wrote me a letter upon this subject of
the date of June 14th, in which he said :
" Permit me t(i add a few words to the letter of ray house of this day, in
order to urge uyion you the vital imyiortance of an official expression of
yours over ijour ou'ii signature, in the sense of the letter of Assistant Secre
tary French, published in this morning's papers.
*********
"You are placed at this moment, by a large portion of your political
friends, in a somewhat similar position as the late Mr. Chase was by the
atterapt of Thad. Stevens to have Congress pass a law to declare the princi
pal of the 5-20 bonds payable in currency.
" Mr. Chase took the bull by the horns by declaring, over his own signa
ture, that the principal as well as the interest of the 5-20 bonds were paya
ble in gold, the faith of the United States being pledged to this by the tacit
understanding of the government and its creditors.
"Nothing h.as reflected more credit and renown upon that great states
man  then as yirominent and favored a son of the noble State of Ohio as
you are to-day — and nothing more effectually paved the way to the great
work of reducing the burden of our people by lowering our interest one-
third than that expression, sanctioned and confirmed by subsequent enact
ment of Congress in 1869.
*********
"You will, in my oyiinion, insure the success of your financial measures,
and add greatly to your high and prominent political position, if you will
unequivocally declare that the funded debt of the government can only be

578 RECOLLECTIONS
redeemed, principal and interest, in gold coin, and that until otherwise
agreed upon by the mutual consent of the great comraercial nations of the
United States, England, France, and Germany, the silver dollar can only be
accepted as an auxiliary standard for the payment of fractional indebtedness."
To this I replied as follows :
Treasurt Department, )
Washington, June 16, 1877. J
Dear Sir : — Your private note, the letter of your firm, and one from
Messrs. Seligman & Co., asking me to make a yiublic statement over my
own signature, similar to that of Mr. French, are received. I have given to
this important suggestion the most serious consideration, and have come to
the firm conclusion that such an act on my part would be inexpedient, and
defeat the very object you have in view. As a purely executive officer, I
have no power to pass upon the question mooted. My attempt to do so
would at once unite all those who are seized with this mania, and those who
oppose executive . encroachment upon legislative power. It would create
excitement, personal and political animosities would mingle with it, and it
would tend more than anything else to defeat the success of the loan. I am
quite sure this would be the result.
As to whether Congress or the people would ever undertake to yiay
either principal or interest of the bonded debt, and especially the bonds sold
since 1873, in silver, I have a firm conviction that the question will never
seriously be raised. These bonds will be paid, principal and interest, in
gold coin. The people of the United States have always been extremely
sensitive as to the publio credit. They never have, for the sake of an appar
ent profit, yielded any question involving the public honor.
The great satisfaction that will arise frora the funding of the loan at a
low rate of interest, together with their strong sense of yiublic honor and
public faith, will always secure the yiayment of these bonds, yirincipal and
interest, in coin.
Parties or factions may, for a time, raise and contest questions, but they
are but bubbles, and will pass away, and, like all other questions involving
the public credit, will be rightfully settled, in due time, by Congress and
the people. Nothing would so tend to disturb this result as unauthorized ' theses,'
or dogmas, by an executive officer, upon a question purely legislative or
judicial. Indeed, it may be that too much has already been said about this
matter by both the President and myself, and I assure you that you will have
no occasion to be disturbed by anything truthfully reported of either of us
hereafter. The better way is to move right along, making your own state
ments, and if, at any time, I see a proper occasion for a strong expression of
my opinion, I will give it.
Ploaso show this to Mr. Seligman, and such of your assciciatcs as you
deem yiroper, as an answer to all. Very truly yours, John Shekman.
Hon. August Belmont, New York.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 579
The new loan was promptly placed on the market on the
14th of -lune by the following circular letter signed by the
members of the syndicate :
Under tho authority of a contract with the Secretary of the Treasury,
the undersigned hereby give notice that from this date until July 16, at 3
p. m., they will receive subscriptions for the four per cent, funded loan of
the United States in denominations as stated below, at par and accrued
interest in gold coin.
The bonds are redeemable after thirty years from July 1, 1877, and
carry interest from that date, payable quarterly, and are exempt frora the
yiayment of taxes or duties to the United States, as well as from taxation in
any forra, by or under state, municipal, or local authority.
The interest on the registered stock will be paid by check, issued by the
treasurer of the United States to the order of the holder, and mailed to his
address. Tho check is yiayable on yirosontation, properly indorsed, at the
offices of the treasurer and assistant treasurers of the United States.
The subscriptions will be for coupon bonds of $50 and $100, and regis
tered stock in denominations of $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000.
The bonds, both coupon and registered, will be ready for delivery July
2, 1877. Forms of application will be furnished by the treasurer at Washington,
the assistant treasurers at Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New Or
leans, New York, Philadelyihia, St. Louis, and San Francisco, and by the
national banks and bankers generally. The applications must specify the
amount and denominations required, and for registered stock the full name
and post ofiice address of the person to whom the bonds shall be made
payable. Two per cent, of the purchase money must accompany the subscription.
The reniaindor may be yiaid, at the yiloasure of the purchaser, either at the
time of the subscription or at any time prior to October 16, 1877, with inter
est added at four per cent, to date of payment.
The payments m.ay be made in gold coin to the treasurer of the United
States at Washington, or assistant treasurers at Baltimore, Boston, Chicago,
Cincinnati, New Orleans, and St. Louis, and to the assistant treasurer at San
Francisco, with exchange on New York, or to either of the undersigned.
To promote the convenience of subscribOrs, the undersigned will also
receive, in lieu of coin. United States notes or drafts on New York, at their
coin value on the day of receipt in the city of New York.
August Belmont & Co., New York.
Drexel, Morgan & Co., New York.
J. & W. Seligman & Co., New York.
June 16, 1877. Morton, Bliss & Co., New York.
First National Bank, New York.
Drexel & Co., Philadelphia.

580 RECOLLECTIONS
A few days later I wrote the following letter :
Treasurt Department, )
Washington, D. C, June 19, 1877. \
Sir : — Your letter of the 18th instant, in which you inquire whether
the four per cent, bonds now being sold by the government are yiayable,
principal and interest, in gold coin, is received. The subject, from its great
importance, has demanded and received careful consideration.
Under laws now in force, there is no coin issued or issuable in which
the principal of the four per cent, bonds is redeemable, or the interest paya
ble, except the gold coins of the United States of the standard value fixed
by laws in force on the 14th of July, 1870, when the bonds were authorized.
The government exacts, in exchange for these bonds, payment at yiar
in such gold coin, and it is not to be anticipated that any future legis
lation of Congress, or any action of any deyiartment of tho government,
would sanction or tolerate the redemption of tho yiriuciyial of those bonds, or
the payraent of the interest thereon, in coin, of less value than the coin
authorized by law at the time of the issue of the bonds, being the coin
exacted by the government in exchange for the same.
The essential eleraent of good faith, in preserving the equality in value
between the coinage in which the governraent receives and that in which it
pays these bonds, will be sacredly observed by the government and the yieo
yile of the United States, whatever may be the system of coinage which the
general policy of the nation may at any time adopt.
This princiyile is imyiressed uyion the text of the law of .Inly 14, 1870,
under which the four yier cent, bonds are issued, and roiyuircs, in the oyiin
ion of the executive department of the government, the redemyition of these
bonds and the payraent of their interest in coin of equal value with that
which the government receives from its issue.
Very respectfully, .Tohn Sherman, Secretary.
Francis O. French, Esq., 94 Broadway, New York.
The subscriptions were taken in every part of the United
States, and within thirty days $67,600,000 were taken in this
country and $10,200,000 in Europe, making $77,800,000 sol^.
This sum, when applied to the payraent of the six jier cent.
bonds, made an annual saving to the people of the United
States of $1,556,000. Since the 1st of March, 1877, there had
been sold under the refunding act $135,000,000 four and a half
per cent, bonds and that amount of six per cent, bonds was
paid off and canceled, thus saving to the people of the United
States $2,025,000 in coin each year. The aggregate reduction
of interest by both classes of bonds, from the 1st of March to

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 581
the close of the popular loan, was $3,581,000 a year in coin.
This was rcgai'ded as a great success.
Early in July I set out on the revenue cutter "U. S. Grant"
on a visit of inspection along the north Atlantic coast, accom
panied by the chief of the coast survey, the secretary of the
lighthouse board, the superintendent of the life-saving service,
and the chief of the revenue marine service, and also by Webb
llayes, the son of the President. We visited the life-saving
stations along the New Jersey coast. I was deeply interested
in this service, which I regard as the most deserving humani
tarian branch of the public service. We also visited some of the
leading lighthouses along the coast and the principal custom
houses between the Chesapeake Bay and Eastport, Maine. We
were everywhere received with great kindness and many social
courtesies were extended to us, especially in New York, Boston
and Portland. This outing was a great relief from the close
confinement I had undergone since the 4tli of March. The in
formation I gathered as to these branches of the service, with
which I had not previously had much acquaintance, was of great
value to me. Such trips are sometiraes treated by the press as
"junketing " at the public expense. This is a great error. Each
of us paid his share of the expenses and the vessel only pursued
its usual course of duty. I was brought into close a,ssocia-
tion with these subordinate officers of the department and be
came informed of tlieir duties, and their fitness for them, and
was enabled to act with intelligence on their recommenda
tions. The only unpleasant incident that occurred on the trip was
the running of the cutter upon a rock upon the coast of Maine.
This happened in the afternoon of a beautiful day. All the
gentlemen with me and the officers of the vessel were on deck.
The various buoys were being pointed out and a map of the
channel was lying before us. Some mention was made of a
buoy that ought to be near the place where we were to mark
the location of a rock, but none was found, and suddenly we
heard the scraping of the vessel upon the rock. The cutter
trembled and careened over. The captain was somewhat
alarmed and turned the vessel toward the beach, where it was

582 RECOLLECTIONS
speedily examined and found to be somewhat injured. We
ascertained afterwards that the buoy had been displaced by a
storm and that a vessel was then on its way to replace it. The
sinking of the revenue cutter "U. S. Grant" was reported in
the morning dispatches and created sorae exciteraent ; but the
vessel did not sustain any substantial injury. We thought it
best to leave it for a tirae to be thoroughly exarained and re
paired, and took another vessel to coraplete our journey to
Eastport, the northeastern port of the United States. From
thence Webb Hayes and myself returned to Portland and
crossed over to Burlington, Vermont, on Lake Charaplain, and
frora thence went to Saratoga, where we reraained a few days,
and then returned to Washington on the 22nd of July. We
passed through Baltimore on the day the riots occurred in that
city, and soon after heard of the rauch raore dangerous out
break in Pittsburg.
On the 6th of August I wrote to Mr. Conant as follows :
" Your letter of the 20th ultimo is received. You can safely say to the
Messrs. Rothschild that the strikes have been totally disconnected with the
government, but grow purely out of a contract between the managers of
leading lines of railway and their employes as to rates of pay.
" The railroad companies have, for several years, comyicted with each
other in a very improvident and reckless way, and are now, and have been
for some time, carrying freight for less than cost. This has caused a large
reduction of the net income of roads, has led to the loss of dividends, and
now to the reduction of wag-es of employes to rates scarcely sufficient to
support life. Hence the strikes.
" The goyernment has been appealed to by both railroads and strikers, by
states and by cities, for relief, and has promptly extended it in every proper
case, and, without shedding blood, has, in every case, suyipressed the riot,
and maintained the peace, so that the government is really stronger by
reason of these unfortunate events than before. I do not observe that any
change has been made by them, either in tho yirice of bonds or in the yirice
of gold, nor in the yiayment of subscriyitions to four yier cent, builds.
" No effort is made to sell the bonds now, nor do I care to press the home
market, until enough bonds are sold abroad to provide for called bonds
abroad. " The month of August must necessarily be a languid one, and I do not
advise any unusual efforts to force sales.
"Your supyilemental ciyiher was received after your telegram, but was
soon found and dispatch made out."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 583
I no doubt was mistaken in the effect of the strikes upon
our public credit. From that time forward for many months
there was scarcely any sale of government bonds at any price.
The contracting parties informed me that no bonds were then
selling in the market and that in New York they were a trifle
below par. Practically, for the remainder of the year, govern
ment securities were greatly affected in price and value.
S.— 41

CHAPTER XXX.
Policy of the Hayes Administration.
Reception at My Home in Mansfield — Given by Friends Irrespective of Party —
Introduced by My Old Friend and Partner Henry C. Hedges— I Reply by Giving
a R^sum^ of the Contests in South Carolina and Louisiana to Decide Wlio
Was Governor — Positions Taken by Presidents Grant and Hayes in These
Coutests — My Plans to Secure the Resumption of Specie Payments-
Effects of a Depreciated Currency — Duties of the Secretary of the
Treasury — Two Modes of Resuming — My Mansfield Speech
Printed Throughout the Country and in England — Let.-
ters to Stanley Matthews and General Robinson — Our
Defeat in Ohio — An Extra Session of Congress —
Bills Introduced to Repeal the Act Providing
for the Resumption of Specie Payments —
They Atl Faii ot Passage — Popular
Subscription of Bonds All Paid for.
ABOUT the 10th of August I made my usual visit to ray
horae at Mansfield. Soon after my arrival I re
ceived the following invitation, signed by a great
number of my neighbors and friends, without respect
to party, expressing a desire to tender me a reception :
Hon. John Sherman.
Dear Sir:- — The undersigned, your townsmen, and fellow-citizens
of Richland county, desire to give you some manifestation of the very
high regard in which we hold your public services. We are glad to know
that you are permitted to again be at your own home, and for a week
or two mingle with us in all the unrestrained freedom of friends and towns
men. Financial and other public questions are, however, of imyiortance to us
always, and especially now. We recognize your great ability and long ex
perience, and cannot but think that an expression of your views on these
questions will be very highly prized by the people of Ohio, irrespective of
party. We therefore desire, with your sanction, on some day during the
next week, to give you a hearty welcome to your old horae, and shall be
glad to have you, on the occasion, give your views on the yiublic questions,
now of such vast importance to all. With onr kindest regards, wo are,
Your friends, etc, etc.
(584)

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN. 585
I replied as follows : MANsriELii, O., August 13, 1877.
Gentlemen : — I received with much yileasure your kindly letter of the
10th inst,, signed by so raany of ray old friends and neighbors in Mansfield,
and assure you of my high appreciation of your generous words of courtesy
and resrard. o
, I always return with satisfaction to my home on the western slopes of
our little city, and always enjoy the fresh air and picturesque country around
us, but, more than all, the cordial greetings of old friends, with whom I
have been acquainted since boyhood. It will give me rauch pleasure, at
any time or place, to meet you, and to speak to you on current public ques
tions, and I venture to name next Friday evening.
Very truly yours, John Sherman.
The gathering was one of the largest that had come together
in Mansfield for years. The evening was delightful, cool and
balmy, a bright moonlight adding attraction to the scene. A
stand decorated with flags had been erected near the center
of the park, with seats in front, and lights gleamed on either
hand. I was introduced to the audience by my old friend
and partner, Henry C. Hedges, whose remarks were too flatter
ing for me to insert. In closing he said :
" Regarding you as our friend, our neighbor, our townsman, we are glad
and rejoice. We welcome you home, though your stay may be only a few
days, and we sincerely trust that, rested by your stay, you may go back to
your work reinvigorated, and that frequently we may have the pleasure of
your temporary visits, and in the future, when your labors are finished,
among us you may spend your old age, honored and happy."
As my speech expressed my views upon important ques
tions of that time, I think it well to embody extracts from
it as part of the history of the then recent events, and my
anticipations for the future :
" The kindly words of welcome uttered by my friend and associate of
many years move me beyond exyiressioii. They recall to rae the scene of
the early time when I came to Mansfield, then a scattered hamlet of about
1,100 inhabitants, without pavements and without any of the modern conven
iences of cities and towns. As Mr. Hedges has told you, very many of those
I then met here are dead and gone. I was a boy then. A generation has
yiassed away, and the sons of those I met then as citizens of Richland county
now fill places of trust and responsibility. I have every reason in the world
for being strongly attached to this town of Mansfield. You have always
been kind to me. Here I studied law, here I practiced my profession for

586 RECOLLECTIONS
several years, here I married my wife, a native of your town, here I have
lived ever since, and when this mortal coil shall be shuffled off, here, prob
ably, will my body rest with your fathers. But pardon me, fellow-citizens,
if, under the kind words of welcome of your spokesman, my old and honored
friend, Mr. Hedges, I had forgotten that we are not here merely to exchange
courtesies, but to discuss grave matters of far more importance than the life
or memories of an individual.
" In doing so I wish it distinctly understood that I syieak for myself alone,
as a citizen of Ohio, to you my fellow-citizens and my neighbors, to whom I
am under the highest obligations of gratitude and duty.
" The President authorized me to say one thing, and one thing only, for
him, and in his name, and that is that all reyiorts that imyiute to him any
participation whatever in the nomination of candidates on your state ticket,
or any desire or purpose to influence in any way the senatorial contest in
Ohio, are utterly groundless.
"These are your matters, and I can assure you for him, that he does not
and will not, interpose in any such contest between political friends.
" You all know that I am now, and have been, warmly attached to the
Republican party. I believe in its principles and honor its work. With
my strong convictions I could not conceal my partisan bias, or my earnest
hope for the success of the Republican party, but the subjects of which I
intend to speak to you to-night will not lead me to say much of former
political struggles, or to fight our old battles over again, but chiefly to
discuss the actual adrainistrative questions of the day as they have arisen
since the 4th of March last, and in all of which you are alike interested,
whether you may call yourselves Republicans or Democrats. As to these
questions I wish fairly to appeal to the candor and good judgment of
honest men of both parties, only asking for the administration of President
Hayes that considerate charity of judgment which must be extended to all
human agents.
"When Mr. Hayes was inaugurated as President ho found thirty-six
states in the full and uncontested exercise of all the powers of states in the
Union. In two states only there were contests as to who was governor.
Both contests had existed from January to March, 1877, while General
Grant was President.
" In South Carolina Governor Chamberlain claimed to have been elected
on the Republican ticket, and General Hampton on the Democratic ticket.
The President is not made the judge of who is elected governor of a state,
and an attempt to exercise such a power would be a plain act of usurpation.
The constitution of South Carolina is much like that of Ohio. The count of
the vote was to be made by the general assembly of the state. Unfortu
nately for Chamberlain a controlling question in the contest had been
decided against him by a Republican court, and he was only kejit in posses
sion of the state house by the actual presence of United States troops in the
building. He had appealed again and again to President Grant to

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 537
recognize him .as governor and to give him the aid of Federal troops in the
enforcomoiil of his claim, which General Grant had refused, seeking only to
preserve the yiublic yioace.
" When President Hayes was inaugurated both contestants were called
to Washington and both were patiently heard and the questions presented
were patiently and carefully examined. The President held that a case was
not yiresentod in which, under the constitution and the laws, he was justified
in using the army of the United States in deciding a purely local election
contest. The soldiers and bayonets of the United States were then with
drawn from the state house — not from the state, nor the capital of the state
— but from the building in which the legislature, that alone could lawfully
decide this contest, must meet. This was all that was done by the Presi
dent, and Governor Chamberlain, without further contesting his claim,
abandoned it and left the state.
" I say to you now that, strongly as I desired the success of Governor
Chamberlain and tho Republican party in South Carolina, the President had
not a shadow of right to interpose the power of the army in this contest, and
his attempt to do so would have been rash and abortive as well as without
legal right.
"The case of Louisiana was far more difficult. The local returning
oflBcers of that state had, after a full exaraination, certified to the election of
the legislature, showing a Republican raajority in' both houses. This had
been done by excluding from their return the votes of certain parishes and
counties wherein intimidation, violence and fraud had prevailed to an ex
tent sufficient to change the result of the election. I was present, at the
request of General Grant, to witness the count, and I assure you, as I have
said officially, that the proof of this intimidation, violence and fraud, extend
ing to murder, cruelty, and outrage in every form, was absolutely conclusive,
showing a degree of violence in some of those parishes that was more revolt
ing and barbarous than anything I could conceive of. It was plain that
the returning officers had the legal right to pass upon and certify, in the first
instance, who were elected members of the legislature, and that they were
justified by the evidence in excluding bulldozed parishes, but it was equally
clear that their return was not conclusive upon the members elected, and
that each house had the constitutional right to yiass upon the returns and
elections of its merabers, and to sot aside the action of the returning board.
The two houses, when organized, had also the power to pass upon the re
turns of the election of governor, and they alone and no. one else. Neither
the President of the United States nor the returning board has any power or
right to pass upon the election of governor. And here the diflBculty in the
Louisiana case coramences.
" Governor Packard contends that a majority of the two houses, as duly
returned, did pass upon the election of the governor, and did return that he
was duly elected, but this was stoutly denied by Governor Nichols. This
vital point was strongly asserted and denied by the adverse parties, and the

588 RECOLLECTIONS
legislature of Louisiana divided into two hostile bodies, holding separate
sessions, each asserting its legal power, and denouncing the other as rebels
and traitors. Governor Packard and his legislature called uyion President
Grant for the aid of the army to put down insurrection and domestic vio
lence ; and here I confess that if I had been President, instead of General
Grant, I would have recognized Packard and sustained him with the full power
of the general government. My intense feeling, caused by the atrocities in
Louisiana, may have unduly influenced me. But General Grant did not
think this was his duty. I do not criticise his action, but only state the
facts. He would only maintain the yieace. He would not recognize Pack
ard as governor, but I know, what is now an oyien secret, the strong bent of
his mind, and at one time his decision was to withdraw the troops, to recog
nize Nichols and thus end this dangerous contest. He did not do this, but
kept the peace.
"But during these two months the whole condition of affairs had slowly
changed in Louisiana. The government of Packard had dwindled away
until it had scarcely a shadow of strength or authority, except at the state
house, where it was uyiheld by federal bayonets. The government of
Nichols had extended its authority over the state and was in full existence
as the de facto government of Louisiana, supported by the great body of
the white men and nearly all the wealth and intelligence of the state, and by
the tired acquiescence of a large yiortion of the colored people, some of
whom deserted Packard's legislature and entered that of Governor Nichols.
The delay and hesitation of General Grant had been fatal to Packard, and
when Hayes became President the yiractical cyuestion was greatly changed.
One thing was clear, that a legislature had been duly elected in November
previous, and was then in existence, though seyiarated into two yiarts. If the
members lawfully elected could be convened, they alone could decide the
question of who was governor, without the intervention of troops, and their
decision could be supported, if necessary, by the general government.
"The raost anxious consideration was given to this question. Days and
weeks of anxious deliberation were given to it by the President and his
cabinet. But one way seemed open for a peaceful solution, and that was to
gather, if possible, a single legislature that could be recognized as the de
positary of the representative will of the yieoyile of Louisiana. If this could
be done it had the unquestioned right to decide who had been elected
governor, and all other questions would settle themselves. To aid in this
object, a coraraission of the most eminent men, high in yiosition, from differ
ent states, and distinguished for judicial impartiality, was selected and the
result is known to all. They went to Louisiana, and, with great difficulty,
brought together these hostile legislatures which met, organized, promptly
settled the questions in dispute in favor of the government of Nichols, and
thus ended this most dangerous controversy. No other change was made,
no other act done except, when the solution was almost accdinyilished, the
few troops which had occupied the state house were withdrawn a few squares

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 589
away, to their barracks. Thus, in this yieaoeful appeal to the legislature of
l-ouisiniia, this controversy, which not only endangered the peace and safety
of this state, but the peace and safety of the whole yieoyile of the United
States, was settled. This is the sum and substance of all that was done
in the southern policy, as it is called, of the President.
"Perhaps I ought to state that his policy has a broader motive than a
mere settlement of a local election contest. It seeks to bring the north and
south again into conditions of harmony and fraternity, and, by a frank
apyieal to the generous imyiulses and patriotic feeling of all classes of yieople
in the south, to secure, not only yieace among themselves, but the equal pro
tection of the laws to all, and security in the enjoyment of political and civil
rights. " No doubt the result in Louisiana caused sorae disappointment to many
Republicans throughout the United States, who deeply sympathized with
their Republican brethren in that state. In that feeling I did, and do, share,
and yet I feel and know that every step taken by President Hayes was right,
in strict accordance with his constitutional duty, and from the highest mo
tives of patriotism. Some are foolish enough to talk of his abandoning the
colored yieople and their constitutional rights. President Hayes, from his
early manhood, has been an anti-slavery man ; his life was imperiled on
many battlefields in the great cause of liberty, he sympathizes more and will
do more for the equal rights of the colored people than those who falsely
accuse hira, and I believe this day, that the policy he has adopted will do
more to secure the full practical enforcement of those rights than the emyiloy-
raent of an army tenfold greater than the army of the United States."
Ill this speech I stated the action I proposed to take to
secure the resumption of specie payraents. The plan was exe
cuted in all its parts by me, and my remarks may, in one sense,
be said to be a history of resumption. Continuing I said :
" And now, fellow-citizens, this brings rae to the question upon which
there is so rauch diversity of opinion, so raany strange delusions, and that is
the question of specie payraents. What do we mean by this phrase ? Is it,
that we are to have no paper money in circulation ? If so, I ara as much
opposed to it as any of you. Is it that we are to retire our greenback circu
lation ? If so, I am opposed to it and have often so said. What I mean
by specie yiayments is simply that paper raoney ought to be raade equal to
coin, so that when you receive it, it will buy as much beef, corn or clothing
as coin. " Now the iraportance of this cannot be overestimated. A depreciated
paper money cheats and robs every man who receives it, of a portion of the
reward of his labor or production, and, in all timeS, it has been treated by
statesmen as one of the greatest evils that can befall a people. There are times
when such raoney is unavoidable, as during war or great publio calamity,

590 RECOLLECTIONS
but it has always been the anxious care of statesmen to return again to the
solid standard of coin. Therefore it is that specie payraents, or a specie
standard, is pressed by the great body of intelligent men who study these
questions, as an indispensable prerequisite for steady business and good
times. " Now, most of you will agree to all this, and will only differ as to the
mode, or tirae, and manner ; but there is a large class of peoyile who believe
that paper can be, and ought to be, made into money without any yiromise
or hope of redemption ; that a note should be printed : ' This is a dollar,'
and be raade a legal tender.
"I regard this as a mild form of lunacy, and have no disposition to
debate with men who indulge in such delusions, which have yirevailed to
some extent, at different times, in all countries, but whose life has been brief,
and which haye ever shared the fate of other popular delusions. Congress
will never entertain such a proposition, and, if it should, we know that the
scheme would not stand a moment before tho Suyireme Court. That court
only raaintained the constitutionality of the legal tender yiromise to pay a
dollar by a divided court, and on the ground that it was issued during the
war, as in the nature of a forced loan, to be redeemed upon the payment of
a real dollar ; that is, so many grains of silver or gold.
"I therefore dismiss such wild theories, and speak only to those who are
willing to assume, as an axiom, that gold and silver, or coined money, have
been proven by all human experience to be the best possible standards of
value, and that paper money is simply a yiromise to pay such coined money,
and should be raade and kept equal to coined raoney, by being convertible
on demand. "Now, the question is as to the time and raode by which this may be
brought about, and on this subject no man should bo dogmatic, or stand,
without yielding, upon a yilan of his own, but should be willing to give and
take, securing the best expedient that public opinion will allow to be adopted.
The purpose and obligation to bring our paper money to the standard of
coin have been over and over again announced by acts of Congress, and by
the platforms of the great political parties of the country. If resolutions and
promises would bring about specie payments, we would have been there long
ago ; but the diversity of opinion as to the mode now — twelve years after
the close of the war — still leaves our paper money at a discount of five per
cent. Until this is removed, there will be no new enterprises involving
great sums, no active industries, but money will lie idle, and watch and wait
the changes that may be made before we reach the syiecie standard.
" In 1869, Congress pledged the yiublic faith that the United States would
pay coin for United States notes. Again, in January, 1875, after more than
a year's debate, Congress declared that on and after the 1st of January, 1879,
the United States would pay its notes in coin.
"Tho Secretary of the Treasury is oxjirossly rc(yuirod to yirejiaro for, and
maintain, the redemyition of all United Stales notes yircsuiitcd at tho treasury

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 591
on and after that dato, and for that yniryiose he is authorized to use all
tho surplus rov<Miiic, mid to soil bonds of tho United States bearing four,
four and a half, and live yier cent, interest, at par in coin. It is this law,
called the resumyition act, now so much discussed in the papers, that imposes
uyion the oflico 1 hold most difficult and imyiortant duties, and without reply
ing to any attacks mado uyion me, I am anxious to convey to you personally,
what I have done, and what I must do, in obedience to the yirovisions of this
act. It is said that the law is defective, but, if the great objeot and policy
of the law is right, the machinery of the law could easily be changed by
Congress. That resumyition can be secured, and ought to be secured, under
this law, it will be my yiuryiose to show you, and I shall not hesitate to point
out such defects in tho law as have occurred to rae in its execution.
"There are two modes of resuraption ; one is to diminish the araount of
notes to be redeemed, which mode is commonly called a contraction of the
curroiKiy ; tho other is to ac^ouniulato coin in tho treasury, to enable the sec
retary to maintain tho notes at yiar."
Objection had been made that under the first mode resump
tion would be a process of converting a non-interest bearing
note into an interest bearing note, and that was true, but what
right had we, as a nation, or had any bank, or individual, to
force into circulation, as money, its note upon which it paid no
interest? Why ought not anyone who issued a promise to pay
on demand be made to pay it when demanded, or pay interest
thereafter? What right had he, in law or justice, to insist
upon maintaining in circulation his note, which he refused to
pay according to his promise, and which he refused to receive
in payment of a note bearing interest? A ceriain amount of
United States notes could be, and ought to be, maintained at
par in coin, with the aid of a moderate coin reserve held in
the treasury, and to the extent that this could be done they
formed the best possible paper money, a debt of the people
without interest, of equal value with coin, and more convenient
to carry and handle. Beyond this the issue of paper money,
either by the government or by banks, was a dangerous ex
ercise of power, injurious to all citizens, and should not con
tinue a single day beyond the necessities that gave it birth. I
added :
"The one practical defect in the law is, that the secretary is not at
liberty to sell bonds of the United States for United States notes, but must

592 RECOLLECTIONS
sell them for coin. As coin is not in circulation among the people, he is
yiractically prohibited from selling bonds to the peoyile, except by an evasion
of the law, or through private parties. Bonds are in demand and can readily
be sold at par in coin, and still easier at par, or at a premium, in United
States notes. The process of selling for United States notes need not go
far before the raere fact that they are receivable for bonds would bring them
up to par in coin, and that is specie payments.
"But the reason of the refusal of Congress to grant this authority, often
asked of it, was that it would contract the currency, and this fear of con
traction has thus far yirevented Congress from granting the easiest, yilainest,
and surest mode of resumption. To avoid contraction, it yirovided that
national bank notes may be issued without limit as to amount, and that,
when issued, United States notes might be retired to the extent of four-
fifths of the bank notes issued. This was the only yirovision for redeeming
United States notes that Congress made or would make, and this, it was
supposed, would reduce the United States notes to 1300,000,000 before Jan
uary 1, 1879. The actual experiment only proves the folly of the cry we
had for more money, more money."
The second mode of resuraing was by accumulating coin
gradually, so that when the time fixed for resumption should
arrive, the treasury might be able to redeera such notes as
should be presented. In this respect the resumption act was
as full and liberal as huraan language could frame it. The
secretary was authorized to prepare for resumption, and for
that purpose to use the surplus revenue and sell either of the
three classes of bonds, all of which in 1877 were at or above
par in coin. I said : " The power can be, ought to be, and will
be, executed if not repealed."
This speech was printed in the- leading papers in the
United States and in England, and was regarded by the pub
lic at large as a declaration of the policy of the administra
tion, to enforce the resuraption law, whatever raight be the
current of opinion developed at the approaching elections,
which, as they occurred, were generally against the Republican
party. The Democratic party had taken position against the
resumption act, in favor of the enlarged issue of United States
notes and the free coinage of silver. The strikes led to the
organization of labor unions, which, though independent of
political parties, chiefly aff'ected the Republican yiarty thon in
power.

^

^ . ^ ^ft

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 593
Among many letters received by me, after this speech, I in
sert one from Mr. Evarts : Windsor, Vt., Aug. 30, 1877.
The Hon. .Toiin Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury.
Dear Mr. Sheriman : — I congratulate you upon the excellence and suc
cess of your syieech in Ohio. The diflSculty of the undertaking justly en
hances the credit of its prosyierous treatment.
I inclose a remonstrance from an 'Injustice' on the subject of a new
arrangement in the weig/mig at the customhouse. It was sent to me at
Washington and forwarded from there here. I know nothing of its source
and have no opinion on the subject of the supposed project.
The President's visit has pleased the people in New England amazingly.
I hope to see you all in Washington early next week.
I am very truly yours, Wm. M. Evarts.
On the 14th of September, 1877, I sent to Hon. Stanley
Matthews the following letter, giving my view of the position
taken by General Ewing and Mr. Pendleton :
" At the request of General Robinson I have directed to you, in the care
of Bickham, a nuraber of documents for reference in your debate with
Ewing, and as Robinson says you wish me to make suggestions, I venture
to do so, but without any confidence that they can be of assistance, though
they can do no harm.
" The most beneficial financial act of the administration is the reduction
of the interest on the publio debt. The amount already accomplished is
stated in my printed speech. The rayiidity of this process depends entirely
upon the credit of the government. Ewing's policy would destroy our
credit and stop the process. The very doubts created by him and Pendle
ton havo already damaged the governraent very largely. Confidence is so
sensitive that when prominent men like Ewing and Pendleton talk as they
do, the injury is immediate.
"The whole difference between the amount of silver and gold at this
moment is eight per cent., so that the payraent of the debt in silver would
lessen the burden of the debt eight per cent., but under the funding opera
tions, which would be entirely destroyed by anything that alarmed the
market, we are enabled to save thirty-three per cent. Whatever may be our
right to pay our bonds, either in greenbacks or in silver, this question of
expediency, as you very properly said in one of your speeches, is to be
considered apart from the question of legal power.
"Refunding would go on with greatly accelerated speed if we could sell
bonds for greenbacks. We make discrimination against the greenbacks by
refusing to take them in payment of bonds. If I had the power to sell
bonds for greenbacks I could make greenbacks equal to coin with scarcely
a perceptible change. That is the advice of the most sagacious men in the

594 RECOLLECTIONS
country. I know it. There is talk about the bondholder being a privi
leged person. He ought to be so no longer, and the moraent that a bond
could be bought with currency at par in gold, all discrimination in favor of
the bondholder would disappear.
" The differences among Republicans about silver will be settled by the
use of the silver dollar to the extent that it can be kept in circulation at par
with greenbacks, and is a pure question of detail. The difference in the
Democratic party about interconvertible currency is vital, and Ewing's
doctrine overthrows the whole Democratic theory of finance before the war.
"The existence of the national banks is a question simply of policy not a
question of principle. The right conferred upon banks to issue circulation
is not conferred for their profit, but for the public com enience, and all
Republicans can agree that that right should never be yiermitted to exist
except when it is for the public convenience. The office of bank notes is
simply to supply the ebb and fiow of currency made necessary by the wants
of business. The United States cannot lend United States notes, and
therefore cannot meet this want. Ewing yiroposes to destroy the whole
national bank system, interwoven with all the business of the country. I
send you the last statement of the national banks. You can very easily
show the effect upon the reviving industry of the country of the withdrawal
of these loans and disturbing all this business. As at yiresent organized
the circulation is the vital thing, and if the bonds held by the banks to
secure circulation were thrown upon the market, it would stop funding and
compel also the withdrawal of loans, and create distress compared with
which our present troubles are mere moonshine.
" I am afraid you will think I am going on to make a syieech for you, so I
will stop abruptly, with the promise that if I can furnish you any documents
or information that may be of service to you I will do so with pleasure.

"I inclose the last statement of tho national banks containing many
points that may be of use.
"Upon the question of resumption I believe we are all agreed that it
must come, and that the only standard value is gold or silver coin. The
time and manner are the points of disagreement. Ewing is opyiosed to all
resumption, but believes in printing a dollar and saying it is a dollar, while
all the world would know that the declaration is a lie. The fact that we
have advanced the greenbacks six per cent, in one year, by the movements
made under the resumption act, shows that it is working pretty well, I send
you a statement showing the changed condition in a year of our finances.
" While the people differ about the resumption act there is time to change
it if it needs change, but Ewing would go back and commence the process
over again. I am disposed to be tolerant about differences on the resump
tion act, for I think it will demonstrate its success or failiiro licforo Congress
is likely to tamper with it."

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 595
On the 21st of September 1 wrote to General J. S. Robinson
tho following letter, evincing my anxiety as to the result of
the canvass in Ohio, as it was then conducted :
" I am so deeply impressed with the iraportance of the campaign in Ohio
that it makes me uneasy and restless that I cannot participate in it.
"What a magnificent chance the Reyiublican yiarty in Ohio now has, not
only to place itself in the vanguard in the United States, but to do this
country a service as great as any victory won by tho Union army during the
war. Here it is demonstrated by the cordial reception of the President in
the south, by his hearty indorsement in Massachusetts, and by a .public sen
timent now growing and spreading with amazing rapidity, that in his south
ern policy he has opened the means of order, safety, peace and security in
all the southern states.
" Now, when it is demonstrated that the difficulties in the way of re
sumption were myths conjured up by the fantasies of demagogues,
when our notes are worth within three per cent, of gold, when Provi
dence has favored us with boundless crops, and prosperity is again com
ing upon us after a dreary time of distress and trial caused by inflated
paper money, why is it that we cannot see all these things and avail
ourselves of the advantage they give us in our political contest? It
seems to me that we ought to carry the state by an overwhelming ma
jority, and if we do so we will establish the beneficial yirinoiples of our
party beyond danger of overthrow by reaction, and we will secure the
peaceful and orderly development of industry without a parallel in our
previous history.
" I wish it were in ray power to irapress every Republican in Ohio with
my earnest conviction about this matter, but here, constantly occupied by
oflScial duties, I can only remain watching and waiting in anxious suspense
lest the great advantages we possess shall be frittered away or lost by inac
tion or mistakes.
" I know you will do your utmost for success, and only write you this to
show you how earnestly I sympathize with you in your efforts."
The election in Ohio, in October, resulted in the defeat of
William H. West, Republican, for governor, mainly on account
of his position as to labor unions, but no doubt also because
of a feeling of opposition against the resumption of specie
payments. Richard M. Bishop, Democrat, was elected gov
ernor, with a Democratic legislature in both branches, which
subsequently elected George H. Pendleton as United States
Senator.

596 RECOLLECTIONS
The following letter expresses my view of the election, and
the causes which led to our defeat :
Washington, October 17, 1877.
Dear Sir: — Your letter of the 13th inst. is received.
Your statement of the causes of our defeat in Ohio seems to me reason
able, though probably I would not agree with you in many yioints stated.
It is not worth while now to bother ourselves about what we cannot
help. All we can do is to inquire how far we have been right, and to that
extent pursue the right, whether victory or defeat is the result. No yiarty
can administer a government, that will not take the risk of temporary de
feat when it is pursuing what, in the opinion of the great masses of it, is a
beneficial policy for the country.
So far as the southern question is concerned, I feel that the President
did right. The wisdom of his executive order as to office holders depends
upon the construction given to it, and ho is not resyionsible for a perverted
construction not authorized by its words or terms. As to the resumption
policy, the law is plain and mandatory, and, more than all, the law is right,
and the Republican yiarty might as well understand first as last, that the
question of resumption is one higher than any party obligations and will be
yiursued by our adversaries if we do not. We can gain the credit of success,
but we can gain no credit by retreating on this vital question. While the
law stands nothing is left but to execute it, and for one I never would aid
to alter the law, except to make it more effective, and would be very willing
to retire on this question rather than to surrender.
The only way is for us to go steadily forward, with a certainty that public
opinion in the end will sustain us if we do what is substantially right. The Re
publican party has been in this position many times and has never won success
by retreat and cannot do so now. Very truly yours, .Iohn Sherman.
A. P. Miller, Esq., Toledo, Ohio.
It became necessary for the President to call an extra ses
sion of Congress, on account of the failure of the passage of the
army bill at the previous session. Though the proclamation
was issued on the 5th of May, 1877, Congress was not con
vened until the 15th of October following. Both Houses
met on the day appointed. The Senate was organized by the
election of Thomas W. Ferry, of Michigan, as yiresident pro
tempore, and Samuel J. Randall, a Democratic Member from
Pennsylvania, was elected speaker of the House by a raajority
of seventeen over James A. Garfield, the Republican candidate.
The message of the President was confined mainly to the
circumstances connected wilb the fail me of the yircvions Con
gress to provide for the support of the army, aud to certain

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 597
deficiencies in appropriations required for the government, the
President stating that as certain acts of Congress, providing
for reports of the government officials, required their submis
sion at the regular annual session, he deferred until that time
any further reference to subjects of public interest.
Congress, however, not being confined in its powers, and
having full jurisdiction of all legislative questions, proceeded
at once to discuss financial questions and especially the meas
ures taken for the resumption of specie payments. No less
than four bills were introduced in the Senate and fourteen
in the House, providing for the repeal, in whole or in part, of
the act for the resumption of specie payments. One of these
bills was reported from the committee on banking and cur
rency, by Mr. Ewing, on the 31st of October. It was the subject
of debate during the remaining period of the session, and
finally passed the House on the 23rd of November, by the vote
of 133 yeas and 120 nays. It repealed all that part of the
resumption act which authorized the Secretary of the Treas
ury to dispose of United States bonds, and to redeem and can
cel the greenback currency, or practically all the resumption
act except the clauses for the substitution of silver coin for
fractional currency. It was sent to the Senate on the 26th of
November, and referred to the committee on finance. No ac
tion was taken upon it during that session, which adjourned
on the 3rd of December. The regular session convened on
the same day, with this bill still pending in the committee on
finance. On the 17th of April, 1878, Mr. Ferry, from that com
mittee, reported back the bill with an amendraent to strike
out all after the enacting clause, and insert new raatter. After
a long debate ending on the 13th of June, the following
amendment was adopted as a substitute for Mr. Ferry's amend
ment, by a vote of yeas 30, nays 29 :
" That from and after the passage of this act United States notes shall
be receivable the same as coin in payment for the four per cent, bonds now
authorized by law to be issued ; and on and after October 1, 1878, said
notes shall be receivable for duties on imports."
The bill, as amended, passed the Senate by a large major
ity. In this form it had no proper relevancy to the bill as it
S.-42

598 RECOLLECTIONS
passed the House, and the action of the Senate was regarded
as a practical defeat of the bill. It was taken up in the House
on the 14th of June, and the question being taken on concur
ring in the amendment of the Senate, the vote was yeas 112,
nays 122, so the motion was disagreed to. On the 17th of
June, a motion was made to suspend the rules and proceed
to the consideration of the bill, but as two-thirds did not vote
in favor of the motion it was not adopted, and the bill was not
called up for action until the next session of Congress, when
Mr. Ewing, on February 22, 1879, reported it from the com
mittee on banking and currency, and moved to concur in the
Senate amendraents, with amendments changing the date on
which the act should take effect, and also adding, " that the
money hereafter received from any sale of bonds of the United
States shall be applied only to the redemption of other bonds
bearing a higher rate of interest, and subject to call."
This motion came too late, as the whole subject-raatter
had been disposed of by the resumption of specie payments on
the 1st of January previous. It led, however, to a considerable
debate in which Mr. Garfield participated. He made a humor
ous allusion to the revival of controversies that were past and
gone since the 1st of January, and moved to lay the bill and
the amendments upon the table. That was adopted by a vote
of yeas 141, nays 118.
I have given the official history of the efforts to repeal the
resumption act, but it would be beyond the limits of this book
to quote, or even state, the copious speeches for and against
resumption. I felt secure, for if such a bill should pass, the
executive veto would prevent any action by Congress that
would interfere with the execution of the law. My principal
effort was to convince Congress that it ought not to interfere
with what the House called a destructive experiment, but what
I regarded as an easy and beneficial execution of existing law.
A large part of the opposition was purely political. The re
sumption act was a Republican measure, voted for only by Re
publicans. The Deraocratic party had, by the elections just
previous to its taking effect, secured a majority in the House,
and, with the aid of a few Republican Senators, with strong

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 599
"greenback " proclivities, had the control of the Senate on the
financial question.
This political condition in the fall of 1877 tended to prevent
the sale of four per cent, bonds after the close of the popular
loan. My official correspondence with members of the syndi
cate, and with Mr. Conant, published by order of the House of
Representatives in the volume "Specie Resumption and
Refunding of the National Debt," shows fully the earnest effort
made by me to sell the four per cent, bonds. This was success
ful to a slight degree in August and Septeraber, but sales were
substantially suspended after that date, until it becarae mani
fest that the two Houses could not agree upon the repeal of the
resumption act, or the remonetization of silver. The threat
ened measure for the free coinage of silver, and the fear that
the bonds would be paid in silver coin less valuable than the
gold coin paid for thera, tended, raore than the efforts to repeal
the resumyition act, to prevent the sale of bonds.
While at Mansfield, in August, I wrote to Mr. Conant, in
London, as follows : Mansfield, Ohio, August 18, 1877.
Dear Mr. Conant : — Your letter of the 4tli was forwarded to me here.
I notice what you say about the calls, but you must reraeraber that out of
the sales of four yier cent, bonds we must provide five millions gold for each
of the months of Seyitember and October, so that for ten raillions of bonds
there raust bo no calls. I should have informed you of this sooner, but neg
lected to do so before leaving. The parties in New York, and no doubt the
Rothschilds, have been advised of it and agree to it. Until the poyiular sub
scription is yiaid for it will be difficult to yiress the sale of the four per cents.,
but I hope ill September the sales will commence and be pushed rapidly.
The movement of the croyi has already comraenced. The strike seeras to be
ended, with a better feeling araong laborers, and sorae advance in freight.
The necessity of the trunk lines combining on freight is so clear that it is
likely to result in some agreement that will stand.
I made a speech here yesterday, which no doubt will be received by you
in the New York papers in due time, and which contains some matters affect
ing your operations. It is substantially in conformity with the general wish
of the administration as to financial affairs, and it might be well for you to
call the attention of the Rothschilds to that part of it relating to our loans
and the basis of our credit.
I return next week to Washington, where I will again be happy to hear
from you. Very truly, John Sherman, Secretary.

600 RECOLLECTIONS
Mr. Conant answered as follows :
New Court, St. Swithin's Lane, )
London, PJ. C, England, August 23, 1877. J
Dear Mr. Secretary : — I was very glad indeed to receive your letter
of the 6th instant. I at once informed the contracting yiarties of what you
had written in reference to the strikes and riots at homo. The sale of our
bonds has not been directly interfered with on account of the riots. In fact,
the occurrence of the riots has almost been forgotten. The London ' Times,'
of this morning, has, however, revived the subject by printing a letter from
its Philadelphia corresyiondent, in which he says that the strikers, it is evi
dent, are to get into politics through the organization of a party, to be called
the ' Workingmen 's party ; ' and he predicts that mischief will come out of
it through the control of the state governments wliich the mob clement may
gain ; and the consequent enactment of bad laws, etc., esyiecially against
capital. Another letter is also printed (written by a Mr. Connolly), by
which it is made to appear that America is in a terrible financial condition.
These two letters are raade the subject of an editorial which, on the whole,
is not very complimentary to us, nor calculated to improve our credit. The
' Times ' of last Monday's date had an editorial on the speech whicli you
made in Ohio on Friday last. I send you a coyiy, and think, if you can find
time, you will rather enjoy reading the article. Nearly all of the English
people, as you are aware, believe in the principle of 'free trade,' and it is
but natural that they should, for the reason that England deyiends upon her
great commerce and her markets in every part of the globe for the emyiloy-
ment and maintenance of her yieoyile. Peoyile here think that our yirotec-
tionist tariffs are not only detrimental to the commercial interest of onr
country, but that they are of a suicidal character so far as our fiscal policy is
concerned. They think, in other words, that it would be vastly better for
the real interest of the people of the United States if they would trade more
extensively with the yieople of England. What the 'Times' editor has to
say about the balance of trade will amuse you, and yet yieoyile talk about
the advantages of a balance of trade as being an exyiloded idea. English
interests are laboring to effect a new treaty with France, under which large
reductions in duties aro proposed.
I note what you are yileased to say in regard to sales of bonds during
the yiresent month. With the price of bonds at the yiresent moment they
cannot of course be sold. The yiarties will find it necessary to use great
caution as well as care in managing the market, so as to get control of il.
Any attempt to force the sale of the bonds during this, and, I think,
next, month will only operate to keep the price so low that they cannot be
sold at all. I am firra in the belief that the premium on gold will go grad
ually lower, and that the balance of trade in our favor will keep forcing it
down. I reraain your obedient servant,
Chas. F. Conant.
Hon. John Sherman.

OF JOHN SHERMAN. 601
He again wrote on the 30th of August:
" On Tuesday last a further araount of gold (£130,000) was withdrawn
from the Bank of England for shipment to the United States, and for the
purpose of yirotecting its stock of bullion the bank immediately advanced
its rate to three per cent., and also increased the price of American eagles.
" Great Britain must obtain frora us this season a large supply of bread-
stuffs and grain, larger than has been required in any one year during
several years past, and at higher prices than those heretofore paid, and, in
the present condition of trade between the two countries, gold, to quite an
extent, will have to be sent over in payment for these articles. Therefore,
advancing the rate of interest may check for a time, but will not stop alto
gether, the shipment of bullion, but it may attract here some of the gold
held by the Bank of France. The bank rate does not govern the street
rate, and a further advance by the bank, which it is very likely raay be made,
is not to be considered as indicating that we are to have a dearer money
market. I inquired to-day of Mr. Morgan and the Messrs. Rothschild what
they thought of the prospects of making any sales during next month, and
their answer was: 'Wait patiently for the raarket to recuperate.' I am
satisfied that good investment securities are scarce here ; that they have been
cleared frora the market, and that as soon as the question of cheap or dear
money is settled, sales of the four per cent, consols will be resumed. The
amount of the sales will of course depend upon which way the question is
settled. There were times during the placing of the five per cent, and four
and a half yier cent, bonds when, as you are aware, operations were sus
pended for quite a time, the condition of the market being such as to pre
vent anything being done. From semi-official accounts it appears that the
famine in India is a very serious affair, and it is quite possible that large
sums of money will be required from here with which to purchase supplies."
My experience thus far convinced me that it was bad public
policy to continue the sale of bonds for refunding purposes
through a syndicate of bankers, the chief of whom resided in
London. I could see no reason why this function could not
be performed by national banks, better than by bankers at
home or abroad. A question arose whether the Secretary of
the Treasury had the power to designate national banks as
public depositaries of the proceeds of bonds sold under the re
sumption and refunding acts. The object to be gained by this
designation was to prevent the withdrawal of coin from circu
lation, and the undue accumulation of coin in the treasury
of the United States. If the exchange of one bond by an
other could be directly effected through the banks without the

602

RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN SHERMAN.

payment of coin, it would facilitate the process of refunding. I
submitted this inquiry to Attorney General Devens, and on the
30th of August he stated his opinion and closed as follows :
" In answer to your inquiry, I have, therefore, the honor to say that the
Secretary of the Treasury, if he deems it expedient as a matter of adminis
trative policy, may sell bonds under the act known as the 'refunding' and
'resumption' acts, depositing the amounts received therefrom with such
public depositaries as he may select under the national bank act, taking such
security as is required by the statutes."
The last of the popular subscriptions for the four per cent.
bonds became due on the 16th of October, and all were paid
for but three subscriptions aggregating $1,600, and these were
assumed by the syndicate. The bonds had been paid for by
the syndicate either by called six per cent, bonds, which were
canceled, or in gold coin deposited in the treasury, without the
loss of a dollar. The called session of Congress, which met on
the 15th of October, and the agitation of the repeal of the re
sumption act and the remonetization of silver, prevented for
the time any further sales of the four per cent, bonds by the
government.

/ Y A L EV

This preservation copy
was printed and bound at
Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc.,
In compliance with U.S. copyright law.
The paper used meets the requirements
of ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1 992
(Permanence of Paper).

(OO) 1996

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 03068 4881

YALE

m^.^

3s5'

p^\

m
1 •
d'"<^ I
^K^m
^^^M^^
BjHjjftWp^ffi
^^^^^^fo
Mllll^ffi
^^^^^
llBiMlififlaiiHg
sa.r--si».'B!sssswsr;K: »'- i.a