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RARE Letter & Cover 1855 Spiritualism Abraham Lincoln Fire Pump Kase Danville PA For Sale

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RARE Letter & Cover 1855 Spiritualism Abraham Lincoln Fire Pump Kase Danville PA:
$1,950

RARE Original LETTER& Cover


Letter from Simon P. Kase
Inventor, Spiritualist, Railroad man, Friend of Abraham Lincoln
Great Advertising Cover
1855

For offer, a very nice old letter! Fresh from an old prominent estate in PA.Vintage, Old, Original - NOTa Reproduction - Guaranteed !!

Autograph letter signed. 2 pgs., with postmarked cover. Simon Peter Kase became friends with Abraham Lincoln and was often involved in seances with him and Mary Todd Lincoln. It is said that the seances inspired Lincoln to write the Emancipation Proclamation. Who knew! Kase was involved with various Railroads, invented the pump seen in the advertisement above, the iron business, and spiritualism. See below for more on him. Two page letter in Kase's hand, initialed at end, like a signature. The letter was found in the envelope. Letter from Danville, dated June 2, 1855, matched Postmark on cover. Letter is about land and lumber - trees. Letter sent to William Rhodes, Pine Grove, Schuykill County Pa. Spectacular early lithograph advertising on the cover - S.P. Kase double suction and force pump, fire engines and pumps of all sizes. Manufactured at Danville, PA. A wonderful piece of history. In good to very good condition. Folded letter - a few wrinkled to edge of cover. NOTE: will be sent folded up in envelope, as found. Please see photos and scans for all details and condition. If you collect19thcentury Americana history, American manuscript handwriting, Lincoln, etc.this is a nice one for your paper or ephemera collection. Genealogy research importance as well. Combine shipping on multiple offer wins! 2424

Simon Peter Kase was a well-known railroad builder and iron manufacturer. He build an iron foundry in his home town of Danville Pennsylvania in 1844. In 1846, he built an iron rolling mill. He invented and manufactured a “force pump”. He was also responsible for the completion of several railroads, including:

1) Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad2) Reading and Columbia Railroad3) Danville, Hazelton, and Wilkesbarre Railroad4) Lehigh and Eastern Railroad
He once met with President Lincoln in the oval office to garner support for railroad bonds and that led to several more meetings and a friendship with President Lincoln.
In religion, he was a spiritualist which believe that the dead can communicate with the living through mediums. He held many seances at his home in Philadelphia. While in Washington DC to gain congressional support for railroad bonds, he attended seances that included President Lincoln and his wife Mary. He wrote a book claiming that the spirts Lincoln encountered during these seances had inspired him to write the Emancipation Proclamation which freed many slaves.
Simon lived in Danville Pennsylvania and moved to Philadelphia in 1878 and would spend the rest of his life there. At the time of his death he was living at 1601 North 15th Street in Philadelphia in what was likely a brick townhome. The entire block has since been transformed into an apartment complex. It is near Temple University and is used largely for student housing.
Simon had five children with his first wife Elizabeth. After Elizabeth died (in 1874 at age 57) he remarried to Mary Carow but did not have any more children. Mary Carow was the daughter of Abraham and Amy (Hawley) Thorp (based on church records associated with her marriage to Simon). Apparently, she was previously married to an unknown individual named Carow.
In his will and in the 1970 census, he lists each of his children as receiving $45,000 (roughly one million in 2020 dollars) except for Edwin (Edwin may have gotten land).
Mr Kase served two military commissions in Pennsylvania:1844 - First Lieutenant in the First Danville troop Militia1855 - Lieutenant Colonel in the Commonwealth MilitiaAfter the war a gentleman named Colonel Simon P. Kase came forward to testify that he had been instrumental in securing a meeting between the President and a “writing medium” by the name of “Mr. Conkling.” He recounts visiting Washington on business (he was a government contractor) and out of curiosity visiting his old apartments only to encounter the mysterious Mr. Conkling. Being already a believer in Spiritualism, this Conkling prevailed upon him to deliver a letter to Lincoln and to set up a meeting between him and the President. Colonel Kase obliged, but for whatever reason, Conkling stayed in another room of the White House during Kase’s interview with the President.
The story is a curious one and Colonel Kase conflated this encounter with a full séance attended by the President sometime later, attended by the young medium Nettie Colbun. In seeking to verify Kase’s accounts, it is not helpful that he related these encounters with the President a number of years later, when the good gentlemen was apparently up in years and his memory less than perfect.
Fortunately, we have contemporary documentation to support Colonel Kase’s narrative. Deep within the Library of Congress’s Lincoln Papers is preserved the missive from Conkling which he delivered to Lincoln. Kase recalled it happening sometime in 1862; in fact the letter is date December 28, 1861 and the medium’s name was H. B. Conklin. His return address was actually New York City, not Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C.
Danville is a borough in and the county seat of Montour County, Pennsylvania, United States,[4] along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. Danville was home to 8,042 people in 1900, 7,517 people in 1910, and 7,122 people in 1940. The population was 4,699 at the 2010 census.
Danville is part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area.Simon P. Kase
Simon P. Kase, one of the most remarkable men of the day, wasborn in Rush, on the opposite side of the river, on the 27th of Au-gust, 1814. His father was long a justice of the peace. He wasthe owner of several good farms and was in comfortable circumstan-ces. He had the confidence of those around him and was consultedin relation to all public questions as well as in private affairs. Hewas an elder in the church at Rushtown for many years. His motheris said to have been a noble woman who endeared herself to allaround her. His brothers and sisters were John, William, Eliza-beth, Katy, Charity, Sarah, Susan and Amy. Simon, the subjectof this sketch was the youngest of the family. At twenty years ofage he left his home to enter alone the battle of life. His firstenterprise was building threshing machines, and he carried the firstmachine over the mountains to Lebanon county - the first that wascarried on wheels. This first portable machine was hailed by theagricultural fraternity as a great improvement, and he was very suc-cessful. He had the agency of John C. Boyd to sell the patent inSchuylkill, Berks, Bucks, Montgomery and Lancaster counties. Insix weeks he sold "rights" to the amount of $2,200. In 1835 heestablished an agricultural and machine shop in Lebanon countyand carried it on for two years when he sold it and returned home.In 1837 he built the second foundry in Danville. Here hemanufactured threshing machines, stoves and mill-gearing, boat-loads of which he sent to various parts of the State. In 1840 hemarried Elizabeth McReynolds, previous to which he had built thehouse on Market street now occupied by his daughter. In 1844Mr. Kase built the first mill for the manufacture of merchant iron,which he conducted for two years in connection with the foundry.In 1846 he completed his rolling-mill, which was an important eventin the history of Danville. Mr. Kase also made the first "threehigh" train of rolls in the place. It worked to perfection and wasa great feat, as he had never learned turning or pattern making.But the ad, valorem tariff, adopted by the casting vote of GeorgeM. Dallas, completely silenced forges, rolling-mills and manufacto-ries of all kinds. In 1848 he leased his mill to David P. Davis, whofinally failed, and he had the mill on hand again, while Englandwas supplying the market of the United States with iron. In 1852he sold the rolling-mill and it was moved to Knoxville, Tennessee.From 1848 to 1855 he manufactured and sold what is known asKase's celebrated force pump, supplying them in quantities to par-ties that purchased the patent-right. In this enterprise Mr. Kaserealized a sufficiency to retire from business. And he did so, onlyloaning money to parties that could not be accommodated withoutpaying more than legal interest. Mr. Kase retired with the inten-tion of now enjoying a life of ease, for which his means were am-ple; but how oft our calculations fail and how little we know of thedestiny the future has in store for us. In 1857 his brother Williaminduced him to purchase his furnace at Roaring Creek. An in-ventory was made of stock amounting to $25,000. But it seemsthe stock was not there and S. P. Kase realized only $6,000 out ofthe whole concern. There was $19,000 gone at one swoop. Outof his real estate he saved only some farms he owned in Iowa. Allthe rest went for an unjust debt as he regards it to the present dayThe money a considerable amount which he still had in hand andhis Iowa lands he retained. He then saw the necessity for anotherstruggle with fortune, and accordingly went to New York and hungout his "shingle" to sell railroad iron. Very soon the Flint andParmaquett Railroad Company applied to him for iron for theirroad, from Flint to Parmaquett in Michigan. The rails were fur-nished but the pay not being satisfactory Mr. Kase was finallysolicited to take charge of the construction. It was at that timegraded only from Flint to Saginaw. The length of the road is onehundred and eighty miles. Mr. Kase assumed the sole managementand by the exchange of old for new bonds and in various movementsrequiring executive ability of the highest order, in two years hecompleted the enterprise. It was a grand success and its bondssold at ninety-five percent. In 1862, William G. Kase, a nephew, then president of theReading and Columbia Railroad Company, together with the boardof directors, sent for S. P. Kase and solicited him to take sole man-agement as financial agent to build their road, as all their effortshad completely failed. After surveying the route and ascertainingthe want of means and refusal of subscribers to pay their stock,on account of former mismanagement, Mr. Kase at once proceededto Washington city, where he presented the matter to the Congres-sional Committee on Railroads, together with a bill appropriating$450,000 in United States bonds for an equal amount of the bondsof the Columbia and Reading railroad. Here he was met and op-posed by all the power of the Pennsylvania, and the Baltimore andOhio railroad and every rival interest. For fours weeks the contestwas carried on. Mr. Kase made the fact of an inland route betweenNew York and Wshington his main point. Of this, the road he rep-resented was an important link, and as there was a possibility ofEngland going with the South, the value of a route remote fromthe sea board was duly estimated and he gained the point. Hisnext struggle was to complete the road, which he accomplished.But such is the perversity of human nature, that no sooner had Mr.Kase lifted them out of trouble and gave value to their late worth-less investment, than they deliberately set about robbing him of hispromised reward by the most treacherous procedure. Mr. Kaseconcluded that it is only safe to confide in those who believe in per-sonal accountability for every act in life.
In 1864 Mr. Kase started improvements in coal mining in McCau-ley mountain and established the Beaver Creek Coal Company; butafter the works were erected the Catawissa Railroad Company re-fused to furnish cars for its transportation. This induced him tobuild the Danville, Hazelton and Wilkes-Barre railroad. Thisroad extends from Sunbury to Tomhicken and is fifty-four miles inlength. It not only opens the market to the coal; but forms animportant link in the direct line between the East and the West.The opposition Mr. Kase encountered from cnoflicting interests inthe prosecution of this great enterprise was enough to discourageany many but himself. But he persevered and finally triumphed,completing and equipping the road; and it was a proud day forhim when the first train, laden with excursionists, passed over theroad. His judgment was confirmed, his name was vindicated andhis great ability was manifested in his wonderful success. Then hewas honored and banqueted like a lord by those who never raised afinger to aid him when he struggled alone to secure this great im-provement. A brief sketch of this road will be found in anotherportion of this book.
Mr. Kase in now engaged in building the Lehigh and Eastern rail-road, which is another connecting link in the direct route, passingthrough the coal fields of Pennsylvania. It connects with the Dan-ville, Hazelton and Wilkes-Barre road at Tomhicken and extendsto Port Jarvis. Capitalists of the country and all public-spiritedmen are beginning to comprehend the vast importance of this directroute from Boston and New York to the great West.
On closing a rapid sketch of the prominent features in the stirringlife of Simon P. Kase, it is just proper to say that in the greatindustrial enterprises and in the progressive improvements of this re-gion, no man of his age has made a more lasting impression, andthat impress in all our future history will remain indelible forever.He is one of those rare specimens of the genus homo that are notmet at the corner of every street. Once in a while they dash acrossthe common track in their seeminingly eccentric course, understoodno more by the masses than the origin and mission of the comet.Such men as S. P. Kase do not travel in the beaten path; but everand anon strike out into new and startling projects that seem to themultitude visionary, impracticable and beyond the reach of humaneffort. But looking to the end from the beginning and discardingthe word "fail" from their vocabulary, they hear but one word andthat is "forward," and such men feel the inspiration of genius orsome unseen power impelling them onward in the accomplishmentof great purpose opposition or even ridicule becomes new incen-tive to action, and with a tireless energy they persevere until theworld is startled again by their complete success. Looking abroadas he crossed the threshold of manhood he saw with impatience theslow and sober pace of local and general affairs; and instead ofwaiting form something to "turn up" he proceeded at once with abold and fearless hand to turn something up. It must not be for-gotten however, that such men as he, absorbed in the prosecutionof great enterprises and in the ceaseless whirl of important improve-ments or bold adventures often forget minor matters or lesser de-tails; and this affords a pretext to embarrass their steps and retardtheir progress; thus hindering instead of aiding in that which mustresult in a common benefit. Men like Mr. Kase always have beenand always will become the common mark for the arrows of de-traction. It is the tribute that all who rise above the level mustpay to the world, until we reach a higher plane of civilization.Their motives are misrepresented by those of conscious inferiorityand the envious predict a failure at every step of their progress.Even final success is poisoned with a bitter ingredient, and the his-tory of inventors, reformers and public benefactors, who have de-voted their lives to the general good, is but the history of publicingratitude if not of actual persecution. But time brings all thingseven, and when the lapse of years has swept away the cobwebs ofhuman prejudice, S. P. Kase will be honored for what he has donefor Danville, and his name will be associated with the great publicimprovements in which he pioneered the way, long after he "Hails the dark omnibus, That brings no passenger back."Spiritualism is an informal religious movement based on the belief that the spirits of the dead exist and have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living.[1] The afterlife, or the "spirit world", is seen by spiritualists, not as a static place, but as one in which spirits continue to evolve. These two beliefs—that contact with spirits is possible, and that spirits are more advanced than humans—lead spiritualists to a third belief: that spirits are capable of providing useful knowledge about moral and ethical issues, as well as about the nature of God. Some spiritualists will speak of a concept which they refer to as "spirit guides"—specific spirits, often contacted, who are relied upon for spiritual guidance.[2][3] Spiritism, a branch of spiritualism developed by Allan Kardec and today practiced mostly in Continental Europe and Latin America, especially in Brazil, emphasizes reincarnation.[4]
Spiritualism developed and reached its peak growth in membership from the 1840s to the 1920s, especially in English-speaking countries.[3][5] By 1897, spiritualism was said to have more than eight million followers in the United States and Europe,[6] mostly drawn from the middle and upper classes.
Spiritualism flourished for a half century without canonical texts or formal organization, attaining cohesion through periodicals, tours by trance lecturers, camp meetings, and the missionary activities of accomplished mediums. Many prominent spiritualists were women, and like most spiritualists, supported causes such as the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage.[3] By the late 1880s the credibility of the informal movement had weakened due to accusations of fraud perpetrated by mediums, and formal spiritualist organizations began to appear.[3] Spiritualism is currently practiced primarily through various denominational spiritualist churches in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
BeliefsSpiritualism and its belief system became protected characteristics under Law in the U.K. in 2009 by Alan Power at the UKEAT (Appeal Court), London, England.[7]
Mediumship and spiritsSpiritualists believe in the possibility of communication with the spirits of dead people, whom they regard as "discarnate humans". They believe that spirit mediums are gifted to carry on such communication, but that anyone may become a medium through study and practice. They believe that spirits are capable of growth and perfection, progressing through higher spheres or planes, and that the afterlife is not a static state, but one in which spirits evolve. The two beliefs—that contact with spirits is possible, and that spirits may dwell on a higher plane—lead to a third belief, that spirits can provide knowledge about moral and ethical issues, as well as about God and the afterlife. Many believers therefore speak of "spirit guides"—specific spirits, often contacted, and relied upon for worldly and spiritual guidance.[2][3]
According to Spiritualists, anyone may receive spirit messages, but formal communication sessions (séances) are held by mediums, who claim thereby to receive information about the afterlife.[2]
Religious views
Spiritualism was equated by some Christians with witchcraft. This 1865 broadsheet, published in the United States, also blamed spiritualism for causing the American Civil War.Declaration of PrinciplesAs an informal movement, Spiritualism does not have a defined set of rules, but various Spiritualist organizations within the USA have adopted variations on some or all of a "Declaration of Principles" developed between 1899 and 1944 and revised as recently as 2004.[8] In October 1899, a six article "Declaration of Principles" was adopted by the National Spiritualist Association (NSA) at a convention in Chicago, Illinois.[9][10] An additional two principles were added by the NSA in October 1909, at a convention in Rochester, New York.[11] Finally, in October 1944, a ninth principle was adopted by the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, at a convention in St. Louis, Missouri.[8]
In the UK, the main organization representing Spiritualism is the Spiritualists' National Union (SNU), whose teachings are based on the Seven Principles.[12]
OriginsSpiritualism first appeared in the 1840s in the "Burned-over District" of upstate New York, where earlier religious movements such as Millerism and Mormonism had emerged during the Second Great Awakening, although Millerism and Mormonism did not associate themselves with Spiritualism.
This region of New York State was an environment in which many thought direct communication with God or angels was possible, and that God would not behave harshly—for example, that God would not condemn unbaptised infants to an eternity in Hell.[2]
Swedenborg and Mesmer
Hypnotic séance. Painting by Swedish artist Richard Bergh, 1887.In this environment, the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) and the teachings of Franz Mesmer (1734–1815) provided an example for those seeking direct personal knowledge of the afterlife. Swedenborg, who claimed to communicate with spirits while awake, described the structure of the spirit world. Two features of his view particularly resonated with the early Spiritualists: first, that there is not a single Hell and a single Heaven, but rather a series of higher and lower heavens and hells; second, that spirits are intermediates between God and humans, so that the divine sometimes uses them as a means of communication.[2] Although Swedenborg warned against seeking out spirit contact, his works seem to have inspired in others the desire to do so.
Swedenborg was formerly a highly regarded inventor and scientist, achieving several engineering innovations and studying physiology and anatomy. Then, “in 1741, he also began to have a series of intense mystical experiences, dreams, and visions, claiming that he had been called by God to reform Christianity and introduce a new church."[13]
Mesmer did not contribute religious beliefs, but he brought a technique, later known as hypnotism, that it was claimed could induce trances and cause subjects to report contact with supernatural beings. There was a great deal of professional showmanship inherent to demonstrations of Mesmerism, and the practitioners who lectured in mid-19th-century North America sought to entertain their audiences as well as to demonstrate methods for personal contact with the divine.[2]
Perhaps the best known of those who combined Swedenborg and Mesmer in a peculiarly North American synthesis was Andrew Jackson Davis, who called his system the "harmonial philosophy". Davis was a practising Mesmerist, faith healer and clairvoyant from Blooming Grove, New York. He was also strongly influenced by the socialist theories of Fourierism.[14] His 1847 book, The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations, and a Voice to Mankind,[15] dictated to a friend while in a trance state, eventually became the nearest thing to a canonical work in a Spiritualist movement whose extreme individualism precluded the development of a single coherent worldview.[2][3]Emanuel Swedenborg

Franz Mesmer

Andrew Jackson Davis, about 1860
Reform-movement links
The Fox sistersSpiritualists often set March 31, 1848, as the beginning of their movement. On that date, Kate and Margaret Fox, of Hydesville, New York, reported that they had made contact with a spirit that was later claimed to be the spirit of a murdered peddler whose body was found in the house, though no record of such a person was ever found. The spirit was said to have communicated through rapping noises, audible to onlookers. The evidence of the senses appealed to practically-minded Americans, and the Fox sisters became a sensation. As the first celebrity mediums, the sisters quickly became famous for their public séances in New York.[16] However, in 1888 the Fox sisters admitted that this "contact" with the spirit was a hoax, though shortly afterward they recanted that admission.[2][3]
Amy and Isaac Post, Hicksite Quakers from Rochester, New York, had long been acquainted with the Fox family, and took the two girls into their home in the late spring of 1848. Immediately convinced of the veracity of the sisters' communications, they became early converts and introduced the young mediums to their circle of radical Quaker friends.[17]Cora L. V. Scott
Paschal Beverly RandolphConsequently, many early participants in Spiritualism were radical Quakers and others involved in the mid-nineteenth-century reforming movement. These reformers were uncomfortable with more prominent churches because those churches did little to fight slavery and even less to advance the cause of women's rights.[3]
Such links with reform movements, often radically socialist, had already been prepared in the 1840s, as the example of Andrew Jackson Davis shows. After 1848, many socialists became ardent spiritualists or occultists.[18] Socialist ideas, especially in the Fourierist vein, exerted a decisive influence on Kardec and other Spiritists.
The most popular trance lecturer prior to the American Civil War was Cora L. V. Scott (1840–1923). Young and beautiful, her appearance on stage fascinated men. Her audiences were struck by the contrast between her physical girlishness and the eloquence with which she spoke of spiritual matters, and found in that contrast support for the notion that spirits were speaking through her. Cora married four times, and on each occasion adopted her husband's last name. During her period of greatest activity, she was known as Cora Hatch.[3]
Another famous woman Spiritualist was Achsa W. Sprague, who was born November 17, 1827, in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. At the age of 20, she became ill with rheumatic fever and credited her eventual recovery to intercession by spirits. An extremely popular trance lecturer, she traveled about the United States until her death in 1861. Sprague was an abolitionist and an advocate of women's rights.[3]
Yet another prominent Spiritualist and trance medium prior to the Civil War was Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825–1875), a man of mixed race, who also played a part in the abolitionist movement.[19] Nevertheless, many abolitionists and reformers held themselves aloof from the Spiritualist movement; among the skeptics was the famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass.[20]
Another social reform movement with significant Spiritualist involvement was the effort to improve conditions of Native Americans. As Kathryn Troy notes in a study of Indian ghosts in seances:
Undoubtedly, on some level Spiritualists recognized the Indian spectres that appeared at seances as a symbol of the sins and subsequent guilt of the United States in its dealings with Native Americans. Spiritualists were literally haunted by the presence of Indians. But for many that guilt was not assuaged: rather, in order to confront the haunting and rectify it, they were galvanized into action. The political activism of Spiritualists on behalf of Indians was thus the result of combining white guilt and fear of divine judgment with a new sense of purpose and responsibility.[21]
Believers and skepticsIn the years following the sensation that greeted the Fox sisters, demonstrations of mediumship (séances and automatic writing, for example) proved to be a profitable venture, and soon became popular forms of entertainment and spiritual catharsis. The Fox sisters were to earn a living this way and others would follow their lead.[2][3] Showmanship became an increasingly important part of spiritualism, and the visible, audible, and tangible evidence of spirits escalated as mediums competed for paying audiences. As independent investigating commissions repeatedly established, most notably the 1887 report of the Seybert Commission,[22] fraud was widespread, and some of these cases were prosecuted in the courts.[23]
Despite numerous instances of chicanery, the appeal of Spiritualism was strong. Prominent in the ranks of its adherents were those grieving the death of a loved one. Many families during the time of the American Civil War had seen their men go off and never return, and images of the battlefield, produced through the new medium of photography, demonstrated that their loved ones had not only died in overwhelmingly huge numbers, but horribly as well. One well known case is that of Mary Todd Lincoln who, grieving the loss of her son, organized séances in the White House which were attended by her husband, President Abraham Lincoln.[20] The surge of Spiritualism during this time, and later during World War I, was a direct response to those massive battlefield casualties.[24]
In addition, the movement appealed to reformers, who fortuitously found that the spirits favoured such causes du jour as abolition of slavery, and equal rights for women.[3] It also appealed to some who had a materialist orientation and rejected organized religion. In 1854 the utopian socialist Robert Owen was converted to Spiritualism after "sittings" with the American medium Maria B. Hayden (credited with introducing Spiritualism to England); Owen made a public profession of his new faith in his publication The Rational quarterly review and later wrote a pamphlet, The future of the Human race; or great glorious and future revolution to be effected through the agency of departed spirits of good and superior men and women.[25]Frank Podmore, ca. 1895.

William Crookes. Photo published 1904.

Harry Price, 1922.
A number of scientists who investigated the phenomenon also became converts. They included chemist and physicist William Crookes (1832–1919), evolutionary biologist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) and physicist Sir Oliver Lodge.[26] Nobel laureate Pierre Curie was impressed by the mediumistic performances of Eusapia Palladino and advocated their scientific study.[27] Other prominent adherents included journalist and pacifist William T. Stead (1849–1912)[28] and physician and author Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930).[24]
Doyle, who lost his son Kingsley in World War I, was also a member of the Ghost Club. Founded in London in 1862, its focus was the scientific study of alleged paranormal activities in order to prove (or refute) the existence of paranormal phenomena. Famous members of the club included Charles Dickens, Sir William Crookes, Sir William F. Barrett, and Harry Price.[29] The Paris séances of Eusapia Palladino were attended by an enthusiastic Pierre Curie and a dubious Marie Curie. The celebrated New York City physician, John Franklin Gray, was a prominent spiritualist.[30] Thomas Edison wanted to develop a "spirit phone", an ethereal device that would summon to the living the voices of the dead and record them for posterity.[31]
The claims of Spiritualists and others as to the reality of spirits were investigated by the Society for Psychical Research, founded in London in 1882. The society set up a Committee on Haunted Houses.[32]
Prominent investigators who exposed cases of fraud came from a variety of backgrounds, including professional researchers such as Frank Podmore of the Society for Psychical Research and Harry Price of the National Laboratory of Psychical Research, and professional conjurers such as John Nevil Maskelyne. Maskelyne exposed the Davenport brothers by appearing in the audience during their shows and explaining how the trick was done.Houdini exposed the tricks of "mediums".The psychical researcher Hereward Carrington exposed fraudulent mediums' tricks, such as those used in slate-writing, table-turning, trumpet mediumship, materializations, sealed-letter reading, and spirit photography.[33] The skeptic Joseph McCabe, in his book Is Spiritualism Based on Fraud? (1920), documented many fraudulent mediums and their tricks.[34]
Magicians and writers on magic have a long history of exposing the fraudulent methods of mediumship. During the 1920s, professional magician Harry Houdini undertook a well-publicised campaign to expose fraudulent mediums; he was adamant that "Up to the present time everything that I have investigated has been the result of deluded brains."[35] Other magician or magic-author debunkers of spiritualist mediumship have included Chung Ling Soo,[36] Henry Evans,[37] Julien Proskauer,[38] Fulton Oursler,[39] Joseph Dunninger,[40] and Joseph Rinn.[41]
In February 1921 Thomas Lynn Bradford, in an experiment designed to ascertain the existence of an afterlife, committed suicide in his apartment by blowing out the pilot light on his heater and turning on the gas. After that date, no further communication from him was received by an associate whom he had recruited for the purpose.[42]
Unorganized movementThe movement quickly spread throughout the world; though only in the United Kingdom did it become as widespread as in the United States.[5] Spiritualist organizations were formed in America and Europe, such as the London Spiritualist Alliance, which published a newspaper called The Light, featuring articles such as "Evenings at Home in Spiritual Séance", "Ghosts in Africa" and "Chronicles of Spirit Photography", advertisements for "Mesmerists" and patent medicines, and letters from readers about personal contact with ghosts.[43] In Britain, by 1853, invitations to tea among the prosperous and fashionable often included table-turning, a type of séance in which spirits were said to communicate with people seated around a table by tilting and rotating the table. One prominent convert was the French pedagogist Allan Kardec (1804–1869), who made the first attempt to systematise the movement's practices and ideas into a consistent philosophical system. Kardec's books, written in the last 15 years of his life, became the textual basis of spiritism, which became widespread in Latin countries. In Brazil, Kardec's ideas are embraced by many followers today.[2][3][44] In Puerto Rico, Kardec's books were widely read by the upper classes, and eventually gave birth to a movement known as mesa blanca (white table).Middle-class Chicago women discuss spiritualism (1906)Spiritualism was mainly a middle- and upper-class movement, and especially popular with women. American Spiritualists would meet in private homes for séances, at lecture halls for trance lectures, at state or national conventions, and at summer camps attended by thousands. Among the most significant of the camp meetings were Camp Etna, in Etna, Maine; Onset Bay Grove, in Onset, Massachusetts; Lily Dale, in western New York State; Camp Chesterfield, in Indiana; the Wonewoc Spiritualist Camp, in Wonewoc, Wisconsin; and Lake Pleasant, in Montague, Massachusetts. In founding camp meetings, the Spiritualists appropriated a form developed by U.S. Protestant denominations in the early nineteenth century. Spiritualist camp meetings were located most densely in New England, but were also established across the upper Midwest. Cassadaga, Florida, is the most notable Spiritualist camp meeting in the southern states.[2][3][45]
A number of Spiritualist periodicals appeared in the nineteenth century, and these did much to hold the movement together. Among the most important were the weeklies the Banner of Light (Boston), the Religio-Philosophical Journal (Chicago), Mind and Matter (Philadelphia), the Spiritualist (London), and the Medium (London). Other influential periodicals were the Revue Spirite (France), Le Messager (Belgium), Annali dello Spiritismo (Italy), El Criterio Espiritista (Spain), and the Harbinger of Light (Australia). By 1880, there were about three dozen monthly Spiritualist periodicals published around the world.[46] These periodicals differed a great deal from one another, reflecting the great differences among Spiritualists. Some, such as the British Spiritual Magazine were Christian and conservative, openly rejecting the reform currents so strong within Spiritualism. Others, such as Human Nature, were pointedly non-Christian and supportive of socialism and reform efforts. Still others, such as the Spiritualist, attempted to view Spiritualist phenomena from a scientific perspective, eschewing discussion on both theological and reform issues.[47]
Books on the supernatural were published for the growing middle class, such as 1852's Mysteries, by Charles Elliott, which contains "sketches of spirits and spiritual things", including accounts of the Salem witch trials, the Lane ghost, and the Rochester rappings.[48] The Night Side of Nature, by Catherine Crowe, published in 1853, provided definitions and accounts of wraiths, doppelgängers, apparitions and haunted houses.[49]
Mainstream newspapers treated stories of ghosts and haunting as they would any other news story. An account in the Chicago Daily Tribune in 1891, "sufficiently bloody to suit the most fastidious taste", tells of a house believed to be haunted by the ghosts of three murder victims seeking revenge against their killer's son, who was eventually driven insane.
Many families, "having no faith in ghosts", thereafter moved into the house, but all soon moved out again.[50]
In the 1920s many "psychic" books were published of varied quality. Such books were often based on excursions initiated by the use of Ouija boards. A few of these popular books displayed unorganized Spiritualism, though most were less insightful.[51]
The movement was extremely individualistic, with each person relying on his or her own experiences and reading to discern the nature of the afterlife. Organisation was therefore slow to appear, and when it did it was resisted by mediums and trance lecturers. Most members were content to attend Christian churches, and particularly universalist churches harboured many Spiritualists.
As the Spiritualism movement began to fade, partly through the publicity of fraud accusations and partly through the appeal of religious movements such as Christian science, the Spiritualist Church was organised. This church can claim to be the main vestige of the movement left today in the United States.[2][3]
Other mediums
Emma Hardinge BrittenLondon-born Emma Hardinge Britten (1823–99) moved to the United States in 1855 and was active in Spiritualist circles as a trance lecturer and organiser. She is best known as a chronicler of the movement's spread, especially in her 1884 Nineteenth Century Miracles: Spirits and Their Work in Every Country of the Earth, and her 1870 Modern American Spiritualism, a detailed account of claims and investigations of mediumship beginning with the earliest days of the movement.
William Stainton Moses (1839–92) was an Anglican clergyman who, in the period from 1872 to 1883, filled 24 notebooks with automatic writing, much of which was said to describe conditions in the spirit world. However, Frank Podmore was skeptical of his alleged ability to communicate with spirits and Joseph McCabe described Moses as a "deliberate impostor", suggesting his apports and all of his feats were the result of trickery.[52][53]
Adelma Vay (1840–1925), Hungarian (by origin) spiritistic medium, homeopath and clairvoyant, authored many books about spiritism, written in German and translated into English.
Eusapia Palladino (1854–1918) was an Italian Spiritualist medium from the slums of Naples who made a career touring Italy, France, Germany, Britain, the United States, Russia and Poland. Palladino was said by believers to perform spiritualist phenomena in the dark: levitating tables, producing apports, and materializing spirits. On investigation, all these things were found to be products of trickery.[54][55]
The British medium William Eglinton (1857–1933) claimed to perform spiritualist phenomena such as movement of objects and materializations. All of his feats were exposed as tricks.[56][57]
The Bangs Sisters, Mary "May" E. Bangs (1862-1917) and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Snow Bangs (1859-1920), were two Spiritualist mediums based in Chicago, who made a career out of painting the dead or "Spirit Portraits".
Mina Crandon (1888–1941), a spiritualist medium in the 1920s, was known for producing an ectoplasm hand during her séances. The hand was later exposed as a trick when biologists found it to be made from a piece of carved animal liver.[58] In 1934, the psychical researcher Walter Franklin Prince described the Crandon case as "the most ingenious, persistent, and fantastic complex of fraud in the history of psychic research."[59]Helen DuncanThe American voice medium Etta Wriedt (1859-1942) was exposed as a fraud by the physicist Kristian Birkeland when he discovered that the noises produced by her trumpet were caused by chemical explosions induced by potassium and water and in other cases by lycopodium powder.[60]
Another well-known medium was the Scottish materialization medium Helen Duncan (1897–1956). In 1928 photographer Harvey Metcalfe attended a series of séances at Duncan's house and took flash photographs of Duncan and her alleged "materialization" spirits, including her spirit guide "Peggy".[61] The photographs revealed the "spirits" to have been fraudulently produced, using dolls made from painted papier-mâché masks, draped in old sheets.[62] Duncan was later tested by Harry Price at the National Laboratory of Psychical Research; photographs revealed Duncan's ectoplasm to be made from cheesecloth, rubber gloves, and cut-out heads from magazine reacted with an uncertainty to the theories of evolution in the late 19th and early 20th century. Broadly speaking the concept of evolution fitted the spiritualist thought of the progressive development of humanity. At the same time, however, the belief in the animal origins of humanity threatened the foundation of the immortality of the spirit, for if humans had not been created by God, it was scarcely plausible that they would be specially endowed with spirits. This led to Spiritualists embracing spiritual evolution.[65]
The Spiritualists' view of evolution did not stop at death. Spiritualism taught that after death spirits progressed to spiritual states in new spheres of existence. According to Spiritualists evolution occurred in the spirit world "at a rate more rapid and under conditions more favourable to growth" than encountered on earth.[66]
In a talk at the London Spiritualist Alliance, John Page Hopps (1834–1911) supported both evolution and Spiritualism. Hopps claimed humanity had started off imperfect "out of the animal's darkness" but would rise into the "angel's marvellous light". Hopps claimed humans were not fallen but rising creatures and that after death they would evolve on a number of spheres of existence to perfection.[66]
Theosophy is in opposition to the spiritualist interpretation of evolution. Theosophy teaches a metaphysical theory of evolution mixed with human devolution. Spiritualists do not accept the devolution of the theosophists. To theosophy humanity starts in a state of perfection (see Golden age) and falls into a process of progressive materialization (devolution), developing the mind and losing the spiritual consciousness. After the gathering of experience and growth through repeated reincarnations humanity will regain the original spiritual state, which is now one of self-conscious perfection.
Theosophy and Spiritualism were both very popular metaphysical schools of thought especially in the early 20th century and thus were always clashing in their different beliefs. Madame Blavatsky was critical of Spiritualism; she distanced theosophy from Spiritualism as far as she could and allied herself with eastern occultism.[67]Gerald MasseyThe Spiritualist Gerald Massey claimed that Darwin's theory of evolution was incomplete:
The theory contains only one half the explanation of man's origins and needs spiritualism to carry it through and complete it. For while this ascent on the physical side has been progressing through myriads of ages, the Divine descent has also been going on—man being spiritually an incarnation from the Divine as well as a human development from the animal creation. The cause of the development is spiritual. Mr. Darwin's theory does not in the least militate against ours—we think it necessitates it; he simply does not deal with our side of the subject. He can not go lower than the dust of the earth for the matter of life; and for us, the main interest of our origin must lie in the spiritual domain.[68]
Spiritualists believed that without Spiritualism "the doctrine of Darwin is a broken link". Gerald Massey said "Spiritualism will accept evolution, and carry it out and make both ends meet in the perfect circle".[69]
A famous medium who rejected evolution was Cora L. V. Scott; she dismissed evolution in her lectures and instead supported a type of pantheistic Spiritualism.[70]
Alfred Russel Wallace believed qualitative novelties could arise through the process of spiritual evolution, in particular the phenomena of life and mind. Wallace attributed these novelties to a supernatural agency.[71] Later in his life, Wallace was an advocate of Spiritualism and believed in an immaterial origin for the higher mental faculties of humans; he believed that evolution suggested that the universe had a purpose, and that certain aspects of living organisms are not explainable in terms of purely materialistic processes, in a 1909 magazine article entitled "The World of Life", which he later expanded into a book of the same name.[72] Wallace argued in his 1911 book World of Life for a spiritual approach to evolution and described evolution as "creative power, directive mind and ultimate purpose". Wallace believed natural selection could not explain intelligence or morality in the human being so suggested that non-material spiritual forces accounted for these. Wallace believed the spiritual nature of humanity could not have come about by natural selection alone, the origins of the spiritual nature must originate "in the unseen universe of spirit".[73][74]
Oliver Lodge also promoted a version of spiritual evolution in his books Man and the Universe (1908), Making of Man (1924) and Evolution and Creation (1926). The spiritualist element in the synthesis was most prominent in Lodge's 1916 book Raymond, or Life and Death which revived a large interest for the public in the paranormal.[75]
After the 1920sMain articles: Spiritualist Church, Spiritualists' National Union, Survivalism (life after death), and Spiritualist Association of Great BritainAfter the 1920s, Spiritualism evolved in three different directions, all of which exist today.
SyncretismThe first of these continued the tradition of individual practitioners, organised in circles centered on a medium and clients, without any hierarchy or dogma. Already by the late 19th century Spiritualism had become increasingly syncretic, a natural development in a movement without central authority or dogma.[3] Today, among these unorganised circles, Spiritualism is similar to the new age movement. However, theosophy with its inclusion of Eastern religion, astrology, ritual magic and reincarnation is an example of a closer precursor of the 20th century new age movement.[76] Today's syncretic Spiritualists are quite heterogeneous in their beliefs regarding issues such as reincarnation or the existence of God. Some appropriate new age and neo-pagan beliefs, while others call themselves "Christian spiritualists", continuing with the tradition of cautiously incorporating spiritualist experiences into their Christian faith.
Spiritualist artMain article: Spiritualist artSpiritualism also influenced art, having a pervasive influence on artistic consciousness, with spiritualist art having a huge impact on what became modernism and therefore art today.[77]
Spiritualism also inspired the pioneering abstract art of Vasily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Kasimir Malevich and Frantisek Kupka.[78]
Spiritualist churchMain articles: Spiritualist church, Spiritualists' National Union, Spiritualist Association of Great Britain, and Spiritual church movementThe second direction taken has been to adopt formal organization, patterned after Christian denominations, with established liturgies and a set of seven principles, and training requirements for mediums. In the United States the spiritualist churches are primarily affiliated either with the National Spiritualist Association of Churches or the loosely allied group of denominations known as the spiritual church movement; in the U.K. the predominant organization is the Spiritualists' National Union, founded in 1890.Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock HolmesFormal education in spiritualist practice emerged in 1920s, with organizations like the William T. Stead Center in Chicago, Illinois, and continue today with the Arthur Findlay College at Stansted Hall in England, and the Morris Pratt Institute in Wisconsin, United States.
Diversity of belief among organized Spiritualists has led to a few schisms, the most notable occurring in the U.K. in 1957 between those who held the movement to be a religion sui generis (of its own with unique characteristics), and a minority who held it to be a denomination within Christianity. In the United States, this distinction can be seen between the less Christian organization, the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, and the more Christian spiritual church movement.
The practice of organized Spiritualism today resembles that of any other religion, having discarded most showmanship, particularly those elements resembling the conjurer's art. There is thus a much greater emphasis on "mental" mediumship and an almost complete avoidance of the apparently miraculous "materializing" mediumship that so fascinated early believers such as Arthur Conan Doyle.[45] The first Spiritualist church in Australia was the United Stanmore & Enmore Spiritualist Church[79] established in 1913. In 1921, Conan Doyle gave a farewell to Australia speech there.
Psychical researchMain article: ParapsychologyAlready as early as 1882, with the founding of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), parapsychologists emerged to investigate spiritualist claims.[80] The SPR's investigations into Spiritualism exposed many fraudulent mediums which contributed to the decline of interest in physical mediumship.[81]
See alsoCamp ChesterfieldList of Spiritualist in fiction
Abraham Lincoln (/ˈlɪŋkən/;[2] February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American statesman and lawyer who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War, the country's greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. He succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.
Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin and was raised on the frontier primarily in Indiana. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator, and U.S. Congressman from Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his law practice but became vexed by the opening of additional lands to slavery as a result of the Kansas–Nebraska Act. He reentered politics in 1854, becoming a leader in the new Republican Party, and he reached a national audience in the 1858 debates against Stephen Douglas. Lincoln ran for President in 1860, sweeping the North in victory. Pro-slavery elements in the South equated his success with the North's rejection of their right to practice slavery, and southern states began seceding from the union. To secure its independence, the new Confederate States fired on Fort Sumter, a U.S. fort in the South, and Lincoln called up forces to suppress the rebellion and restore the Union.
As the leader of moderate Republicans, Lincoln had to navigate a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents on both sides. War Democrats rallied a large faction of former opponents into his moderate camp, but they were countered by Radical Republicans, who demanded harsh treatment of the Southern traitors. Anti-war Democrats (called "Copperheads") despised him, and irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements plotted his assassination. Lincoln managed the factions by exploiting their mutual enmity, by carefully distributing political patronage, and by appealing to the U.S. people. His Gettysburg Address became a historic clarion call for nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Lincoln scrutinized the strategy and tactics in the war effort, including the selection of generals and the naval blockade of the South's trade. He suspended habeas corpus, and he averted British intervention by defusing the Trent Affair. He engineered the end to slavery with his Emancipation Proclamation and his order that the Army protect and recruit former slaves. He also encouraged border states to outlaw slavery, and promoted the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which outlawed slavery across the country.
Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just days after the war's end at Appomattox, Lincoln was attending a play at Ford's Theatre with his wife Mary when he was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. His marriage had produced four sons, two of whom preceded him in death, with severe emotional impact upon him and Mary. Lincoln is remembered as the martyr hero of the United States and he is consistently ranked as one of the greatest presidents in American history.Family and childhoodEarly lifeMain article: Early life and career of Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky.[3] He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk, to its namesake, Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1638. The family then migrated west, passing through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.[4] Lincoln's paternal grandparents, his namesake Captain Abraham Lincoln and wife Bathsheba (née Herring), moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Kentucky. The captain was killed in an Indian raid in 1786.[5] His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, Abraham's father, witnessed the attack.[6][b] Thomas then worked at odd jobs in Kentucky and Tennessee before the family settled in Hardin County, Kentucky in the early 1800s.[6]
The heritage of Lincoln's mother Nancy remains unclear, but it is widely assumed that she was the daughter of Lucy Hanks.[8] Thomas and Nancy married on June 12, 1806, in Washington County, and moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky.[9] They had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who died an infant.[10]
Thomas Lincoln bought or leased farms in Kentucky before losing all but 200 acres (81 ha) of his land in court disputes over property titles.[11] In 1816, the family moved to Indiana where the land surveys and titles were more reliable.[12] Indiana was a "free" (non-slaveholding) territory, and they settled in an "unbroken forest"[13] in Hurricane Township, Perry County, Indiana.[14][c] In 1860, Lincoln noted that the family's move to Indiana was "partly on account of slavery", but mainly due to land title difficulties.[16]The farm site where Lincoln grew up in Spencer County, IndianaIn Kentucky and Indiana, Thomas worked as a farmer, cabinetmaker, and carpenter.[17] At various times, he owned farms, livestock and town lots, paid taxes, sat on juries, appraised estates, and served on county patrols. Thomas and Nancy were members of a Separate Baptists church, which forbade alcohol, dancing, and slavery.[18]
Overcoming financial challenges, Thomas in 1827 obtained clear title to 80 acres (32 ha) in Indiana, an area which became the Little Pigeon Creek Community.[19]
Mother's deathOn October 5, 1818, Nancy Lincoln succumbed to milk sickness, leaving 11-year-old Sarah in charge of a household including her father, 9-year-old Abraham, and Nancy's 19-year-old orphan cousin, Dennis Hanks.[20] Ten years later, on January 20, 1828, Sarah died while giving birth to a stillborn son, devastating Lincoln.[21]
On December 2, 1819, Thomas married Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with three children of her own.[22] Abraham became close to his stepmother, and called her "Mother".[23] Lincoln disliked the hard labor associated with farm life. His family even said he was lazy, for all his "reading, scribbling, writing, ciphering, writing Poetry, etc".[24] His stepmother acknowledged he did not enjoy "physical labor", but loved to read.[25]
First EmploymentAt seventeen, Abraham left the family home for a while to work on a ferry at the junction of Anderson and Ohio.
At nineteen, he lost his sister Sarah, who died giving birth to her first child. In April 1828, he signed a contract with James Gentry, a neighboring settler, under which he was to bring a boat of agricultural products to New Orleans. [26] The journey lasted three months, during which he travelled with one of Gentry's sons to Ohio then to Mississippi where they had to face strong currents and an attack from their cargo. Back in Indiana, Abraham gave his father the $25 this contract earned him. [27]
In March 1830, when Abraham was 21, Thomas Lincoln decided to move to the fertile lands of Illinois, on the edge of the Sangamon River. His son helped him clear his new land. The following winter was harsh and the family remained stranded for several months by snow and ice.
Education and move to IllinoisA statue of young Lincoln sitting on a stump, holding a book open on his lapYoung Lincoln by Charles Keck at Senn Park, ChicagoLincoln was mostly self-educated, except for some schooling from itinerant teachers of less than 12 months aggregate.[28] He persisted as an avid reader and retained a lifelong interest in learning.[29] Family, neighbors, and schoolmates recalled that his reading included the King James Bible, Aesop's Fables, John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.[30]
As a teen, Lincoln took responsibility for chores, and customarily gave his father all earnings from work outside the home until he was 21.[31] Lincoln was tall, strong, and athletic, and became adept at using an ax.[32] He gained a reputation for strength and audacity after winning a wrestling match with the renowned leader of ruffians known as "the Clary's Grove Boys".[33]
In March 1830, fearing another milk sickness outbreak, several members of the extended Lincoln family, including Abraham, moved west to Illinois, a free state, and settled in Macon County.[34][d] Abraham then became increasingly distant from Thomas, in part due to his father's lack of education.[36] In 1831, as Thomas and other family prepared to move to a new homestead in Coles County, Illinois, Abraham struck out on his own.[37] He made his home in New Salem, Illinois for six years.[38] Lincoln and some friends took goods by flatboat to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was first exposed to slavery.[39]
Marriage and childrenFurther information: Lincoln family, Health of Abraham Lincoln, and Sexuality of Abraham LincolnA seated Lincoln holding a book as his young son looks at it1864 photo of President Lincoln with youngest son, Tad.Black and white photo of Mary Todd Lincoln's shoulders and headMary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln, in 1861Lincoln's first romantic interest was Ann Rutledge, whom he met when he moved to New Salem. By 1835, they were in a relationship but not formally engaged.[40] She died on August 25, 1835, most likely of typhoid fever.[41] In the early 1830s, he met Mary Owens from Kentucky.[42]
Late in 1836, Lincoln agreed to a match with Owens if she returned to New Salem. Owens arrived that November and he courted her for a time; however, they both had second thoughts. On August 16, 1837, he wrote Owens a letter saying he would not blame her if she ended the relationship, and she never replied.[43]
In 1839, Lincoln met Mary Todd in Springfield, Illinois, and the following year they became engaged.[44] She was the daughter of Robert Smith Todd, a wealthy lawyer and businessman in Lexington, Kentucky.[45] A wedding set for January 1, 1841 was canceled at Lincoln's request, but they reconciled and married on November 4, 1842, in the Springfield mansion of Mary's sister.[46] While anxiously preparing for the nuptials, he was asked where he was going and replied, "To hell, I suppose."[47] In 1844, the couple bought a house in Springfield near his law office. Mary kept house with the help of a hired servant and a relative.[48]
Lincoln was an affectionate husband and father of four sons, though his work regularly kept him away from home. The oldest, Robert Todd Lincoln, was born in 1843 and was the only child to live to maturity. Edward Baker Lincoln (Eddie), born in 1846, died February 1, 1850, probably of tuberculosis. Lincoln's third son, "Willie" Lincoln was born on December 21, 1850, and died of a fever at the White House on February 20, 1862. The youngest, Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, was born on April 4, 1853, and survived his father but died of heart failure at age 18 on July 16, 1871.[49][e] Lincoln "was remarkably fond of children"[51] and the Lincolns were not considered to be strict with their own.[52] In fact, Lincoln's law partner William H. Herndon would grow irritated when Lincoln would bring his children to the law office. Their father, it seemed, was often too absorbed in his work to notice his children's behavior. Herndon recounted, "I have felt many and many a time that I wanted to wring their little necks, and yet out of respect for Lincoln I kept my mouth shut. Lincoln did not note what his children were doing or had done."[53]
The deaths of their sons, Eddie and Willie, had profound effects on both parents. Lincoln suffered from "melancholy", a condition now thought to be clinical depression.[54] Later in life, Mary struggled with the stresses of losing her husband and sons, and Robert committed her for a time to an asylum in 1875.[55]
Early career and militia serviceFurther information: Early life and career of Abraham Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk WarIn 1832, Lincoln joined with a partner, Denton Offutt, in the purchase of a general store on credit in New Salem.[56] Although the economy was booming, the business struggled and Lincoln eventually sold his share. That March he entered politics, running for the Illinois General Assembly, advocating navigational improvements on the Sangamon River. He could draw crowds as a raconteur, but he lacked the requisite formal education, powerful friends, and money, and lost the election.[57]
Lincoln briefly interrupted his campaign to serve as a captain in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War.[58] In his first campaign speech after returning, he observed a supporter in the crowd under attack, grabbed the assailant by his "neck and the seat of his trousers", and tossed him.[34] Lincoln finished eighth out of 13 candidates (the top four were elected), though he received 277 of the 300 votes cast in the New Salem precinct.[59]
Lincoln served as New Salem's postmaster and later as county surveyor, but continued his voracious reading, and decided to become a lawyer. He taught himself the law, with Blackstone's Commentaries, saying later of the effort, "I studied with nobody."[60]
Illinois state legislature (1834–1842)
Lincoln's home in Springfield, IllinoisLincoln's second state house campaign in 1834, this time as a Whig, was a success over a powerful Whig opponent.[61] Then followed his four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives for Sangamon County.[62] He championed construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and later was a Canal Commissioner.[63] He voted to expand suffrage beyond white landowners to all white males, but adopted a "free soil" stance opposing both slavery and abolition.[64] In 1837 he declared, "[The] Institution of slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy, but the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than abate its evils."[65] He echoed Henry Clay's support for the American Colonization Society which advocated a program of abolition in conjunction with settling freed slaves in Liberia.[66]
Admitted to the Illinois bar in 1836,[67] he moved to Springfield and began to practice law under John T. Stuart, Mary Todd's cousin.[68] Lincoln emerged as a formidable trial combatant during cross-examinations and closing arguments. He partnered several years with Stephen T. Logan, and in 1844 began his practice with William Herndon, "a studious young man".[69]
U.S. House of Representatives (1847–1849)Middle aged clean shaven Lincoln from the hips up.Lincoln in his late 30s as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Photo taken by one of Lincoln's law students around 1846.True to his record, Lincoln professed to friends in 1861 to be "an old line Whig, a disciple of Henry Clay".[70] Their party favored economic modernization in banking, tariffs to fund internal improvements including railroads, and urbanization.[71]
In 1843, Lincoln sought the Whig nomination for Illinois' 7th district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives; he was defeated by John J. Hardin though he prevailed with the party in limiting Hardin to one term. Lincoln not only pulled off his strategy of gaining the nomination in 1846, but also won election. He was the only Whig in the Illinois delegation, but as dutiful as any, participated in almost all votes and made speeches that toed the party line.[72] He was assigned to the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads and the Committee on Expenditures in the War Department.[73] Lincoln teamed with Joshua R. Giddings on a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia with compensation for the owners, enforcement to capture fugitive slaves, and a popular vote on the matter. He dropped the bill when it eluded Whig support.[74]
Political viewsOn foreign and military policy, Lincoln spoke against the Mexican–American War, which he imputed to President James K. Polk's desire for "military glory—that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood".[75] He supported the Wilmot Proviso, a failed proposal to ban slavery in any U.S. territory won from Mexico.[76]
Lincoln emphasized his opposition to Polk by drafting and introducing his Spot Resolutions. The war had begun with a Mexican slaughter of American soldiers in territory disputed by Mexico, and Polk insisted that Mexican soldiers had "invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our soil".[77][verification needed] Lincoln demanded that Polk show Congress the exact spot on which blood had been shed and prove that the spot was on American soil.[78] The resolution was ignored in both Congress and the national papers, and it cost Lincoln political support in his district. One Illinois newspaper derisively nicknamed him "spotty Lincoln".[79] Lincoln later regretted some of his statements, especially his attack on presidential war-making powers.[80]
Lincoln had pledged in 1846 to serve only one term in the House. Realizing Clay was unlikely to win the presidency, he supported General Zachary Taylor for the Whig nomination in the 1848 presidential election.[81] Taylor won and Lincoln hoped in vain to be appointed Commissioner of the General Land Office.[82] The administration offered to appoint him secretary or governor of the Oregon Territory as consolation.[83] This distant territory was a Democratic stronghold, and acceptance of the post would have disrupted his legal and political career in Illinois, so he declined and resumed his law practice.[84]
Prairie lawyerSee also: List of cases involving Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln in 1857In his Springfield practice Lincoln handled "every kind of business that could come before a prairie lawyer".[85] Twice a year he appeared for 10 consecutive weeks in county seats in the midstate county courts; this continued for 16 years.[86] Lincoln handled transportation cases in the midst of the nation's western expansion, particularly river barge conflicts under the many new railroad bridges. As a riverboat man, Lincoln initially favored those interests, but ultimately represented whoever hired him.[87] He later represented a bridge company against a riverboat company in a landmark case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge.[88] In 1849, he received a patent for a flotation device for the movement of boats in shallow water. The idea was never commercialized, but it made Lincoln the only president to hold a patent.[89]
Lincoln appeared before the Illinois Supreme Court in 175 cases; he was sole counsel in 51 cases, of which 31 were decided in his favor.[90] From 1853 to 1860, one of his largest clients was the Illinois Central Railroad.[91] His legal reputation gave rise to the nickname "Honest Abe".[92]
Lincoln argued in an 1858 criminal trial, defending William "Duff" Armstrong, who was on trial for the murder of James Preston Metzker.[93] The case is famous for Lincoln's use of a fact established by judicial notice to challenge the credibility of an eyewitness. After an opposing witness testified to seeing the crime in the moonlight, Lincoln produced a Farmers' Almanac showing the moon was at a low angle, drastically reducing visibility. Armstrong was acquitted.[93]
Leading up to his presidential campaign, Lincoln elevated his profile in an 1859 murder case, with his defense of Simeon Quinn "Peachy" Harrison who was a third cousin; Harrison was also the grandson of Lincoln's political opponent, Rev. Peter Cartwright.[94] Harrison was charged with the murder of Greek Crafton who, as he lay dying of his wounds, confessed to Cartwright that he had provoked Harrison.[95] Lincoln angrily protested the judge's initial decision to exclude Cartwright's testimony about the confession as inadmissible hearsay. Lincoln argued that the testimony involved a dying declaration and was not subject to the hearsay rule. Instead of holding Lincoln in contempt of court as expected, the judge, a Democrat, reversed his ruling and admitted the testimony into evidence, resulting in Harrison's acquittal.[93]
Republican politics (1854–1860)Main article: Abraham Lincoln in politics, 1849–1861Emergence as Republican leaderFurther information: Slave states and free states and Abraham Lincoln and slavery
Lincoln in 1858, the year of his debates with Stephen Douglas over slavery.The debate over the status of slavery in the territories failed to alleviate tensions between the slave-holding South and the free North, with the failure of the Compromise of 1850, a legislative package designed to address the issue.[96] In his 1852 eulogy for Clay, Lincoln highlighted the latter's support for gradual emancipation and opposition to "both extremes" on the slavery issue.[97] As the slavery debate in the Nebraska and Kansas territories became particularly acrimonious, Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed popular sovereignty as a compromise; the measure would allow the electorate of each territory to decide the status of slavery. The legislation alarmed many Northerners, who sought to prevent the resulting spread of slavery, but Douglas's Kansas–Nebraska Act narrowly passed Congress in May 1854.[98]
Lincoln did not comment on the act until months later in his "Peoria Speech" in October 1854. Lincoln then declared his opposition to slavery which he repeated en route to the presidency.[99] He said the Kansas Act had a "declared indifference, but as I must think, a covert real zeal for the spread of slavery. I cannot but hate it. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world ..."[100] Lincoln's attacks on the Kansas–Nebraska Act marked his return to political life.[101]
Nationally, the Whigs were irreparably split by the Kansas–Nebraska Act and other efforts to compromise on the slavery issue. Reflecting on the demise of his party, Lincoln wrote in 1855, "I think I am a Whig, but others say there are no Whigs, and that I am an abolitionist...I do no more than oppose the extension of slavery."[102] The new Republican Party was formed as a northern party dedicated to antislavery, drawing from the antislavery wing of the Whig Party, and combining Free Soil, Liberty, and antislavery Democratic Party members,[103] Lincoln resisted early Republican entreaties, fearing that the new party would become a platform for extreme abolitionists.[104] Lincoln held out hope for rejuvenating the Whigs, though he lamented his party's growing closeness with the nativist Know Nothing movement.[105]
In 1854 Lincoln was elected to the Illinois legislature but declined to take his seat. The year's elections showed the strong opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act, and in the aftermath, Lincoln sought election to the United States Senate.[101] At that time, senators were elected by the state legislature.[106] After leading in the first six rounds of voting, he was unable to obtain a majority. Lincoln instructed his backers to vote for Lyman Trumbull. Trumbull was an antislavery Democrat, and had received few votes in the earlier ballots; his supporters, also antislavery Democrats, had vowed not to support any Whig. Lincoln's decision to withdraw enabled his Whig supporters and Trumbull's antislavery Democrats to combine and defeat the mainstream Democratic candidate, Joel Aldrich Matteson.[107]
1856 campaignViolent political confrontations in Kansas continued, and opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act remained strong throughout the North. As the 1856 elections approached, Lincoln joined the Republicans and attended the Bloomington Convention, which formally established the Illinois Republican Party. The convention platform endorsed Congress's right to regulate slavery in the territories and backed the admission of Kansas as a free state. Lincoln gave the final speech of the convention supporting the party platform and called for the preservation of the Union.[108] At the June 1856 Republican National Convention, though Lincoln received support to run as vice president, John C. Frémont and William Dayton comprised the ticket, which Lincoln supported throughout Illinois. The Democrats nominated former Secretary of State James Buchanan and the Know-Nothings nominated former Whig President Millard Fillmore.[109] Buchanan prevailed, while Republican William Henry Bissell won election as Governor of Illinois, and Lincoln became a leading Republican in Illinois.[110][f]
PaintingA portrait of Dred Scott, petitioner in Dred Scott v. SandfordDred Scott v. SandfordDred Scott was a slave whose master took him from a slave state to a free territory under the Missouri Compromise. After Scott was returned to the slave state he petitioned a federal court for his freedom. His petition was denied in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).[g] Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney in the decision wrote that blacks were not citizens and derived no rights from the Constitution. While many Democrats hoped that Dred Scott would end the dispute over slavery in the territories, the decision sparked further outrage in the North.[113] Lincoln denounced it as the product of a conspiracy of Democrats to support the Slave Power.[114] He argued the decision was at variance with the Declaration of Independence; he said that while the founding fathers did not believe all men equal in every respect, they believed all men were equal "in certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".[115]
Lincoln–Douglas debates and Cooper Union speechFurther information: Lincoln–Douglas debates and Cooper Union speechIn 1858 Douglas was up for re-election in the U.S. Senate, and Lincoln hoped to defeat him. Many in the party felt that a former Whig should be nominated in 1858, and Lincoln's 1856 campaigning and support of Trumbull had earned him a favor.[116] Some eastern Republicans supported Douglas from his opposition to the Lecompton Constitution and admission of Kansas as a slave state.[117] Many Illinois Republicans resented this eastern interference. For the first time, Illinois Republicans held a convention to agree upon a Senate candidate, and Lincoln won the nomination with little opposition.[118]Abraham Lincoln (1860) by Mathew Brady, taken the day of the Cooper Union speech.Accepting the nomination, Lincoln delivered his House Divided Speech, with the biblical reference Mark 3:25, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."[119] The speech created a stark image of the danger of disunion.[120] The stage was then set for the election of the Illinois legislature which would, in turn, select Lincoln or Douglas.[121] When informed of Lincoln's nomination, Douglas stated, "[Lincoln] is the strong man of the party ... and if I beat him, my victory will be hardly won."[122]
The Senate campaign featured seven debates between the two. These were the most famous political debates in American history; they had an atmosphere akin to a prizefight and drew crowds in the thousands.[123] The principals stood in stark contrast both physically and politically. Lincoln warned that Douglas’ "Slave Power" was threatening the values of republicanism, and accused Douglas of distorting the Founding Fathers' premise that all men are created equal. Douglas emphasized his Freeport Doctrine, that local settlers were free to choose whether to allow slavery, and accused Lincoln of having joined the abolitionists.[124] Lincoln's argument assumed a moral tone, as he claimed Douglas represented a conspiracy to promote slavery. Douglas's argument was more legal, claiming that Lincoln was defying the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision.[125]
Though the Republican legislative candidates won more popular votes, the Democrats won more seats, and the legislature re-elected Douglas. Lincoln's articulation of the issues gave him a national political presence.[126] In May 1859, Lincoln purchased the Illinois Staats-Anzeiger, a German-language newspaper that was consistently supportive; most of the state's 130,000 German Americans voted Democratic but the German-language paper mobilized Republican support.[127] In the aftermath of the 1858 election, newspapers frequently mentioned Lincoln as a potential Republican presidential candidate, rivaled by William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Simon Cameron. While Lincoln was popular in the Midwest, he lacked support in the Northeast, and was unsure whether to seek the office.[128] In January 1860, Lincoln told a group of political allies that he would accept the nomination if offered, and in the following months several local papers endorsed his candidacy.[129]
On February 27, 1860, powerful New York Republicans invited Lincoln to give a speech at Cooper Union, in which he argued that the Founding Fathers had little use for popular sovereignty and had repeatedly sought to restrict slavery. He insisted that morality required opposition to slavery, and rejected any "groping for some middle ground between the right and the wrong".[130] Many in the audience thought he appeared awkward and even ugly.[131] But Lincoln demonstrated intellectual leadership that brought him into contention. Journalist Noah Brooks reported, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience."[132]
Historian David Herbert Donald described the speech as a "superb political move for an unannounced candidate, to appear in one rival's (Seward) own state at an event sponsored by the second rival's (Chase) loyalists, while not mentioning either by name during its delivery".[133] In response to an inquiry about his ambitions, Lincoln said, "The taste is in my mouth a little."[134]
1860 presidential electionMain article: 1860 United States presidential election
A Timothy Cole wood engraving taken from a May 20, 1860, ambrotype of Lincoln, two days following his nomination for presidentOn May 9–10, 1860, the Illinois Republican State Convention was held in Decatur.[135] Lincoln's followers organized a campaign team led by David Davis, Norman Judd, Leonard Swett, and Jesse DuBois, and Lincoln received his first endorsement.[136] Exploiting his embellished frontier legend (clearing land and splitting fence rails), Lincoln's supporters adopted the label of "The Rail Candidate".[137] In 1860, Lincoln described himself: "I am in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and gray eyes."[138] Michael Martinez wrote about the effective imaging of Lincoln by his campaign. At times he was presented as the plain-talking "Rail Splitter" and at other times he was "Honest Abe", unpolished but trustworthy.[139]
On May 18, at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Lincoln won the nomination on the third ballot, beating candidates such as Seward and Chase. A former Democrat, Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, was nominated for vice president to balance the ticket. Lincoln's success depended on his campaign team, his reputation as a moderate on the slavery issue, and his strong support for internal improvements and the tariff.[140] Pennsylvania put him over the top, led by the state's iron interests who were reassured by his tariff support.[141] Lincoln's managers had focused on this delegation while honoring Lincoln's dictate to "Make no contracts that will bind me".[142]
As the Slave Power tightened its grip on the national government, most Republicans agreed with Lincoln that the North was the aggrieved party. Throughout the 1850s, Lincoln had doubted the prospects of civil war, and his supporters rejected claims that his election would incite secession.[143] When Douglas was selected as the candidate of the Northern Democrats, delegates from eleven slave states walked out of the Democratic convention; they opposed Douglas's position on popular sovereignty, and selected incumbent Vice President John C. Breckinridge as their candidate.[144] A group of former Whigs and Know Nothings formed the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell of Tennessee. Lincoln and Douglas competed for votes in the North, while Bell and Breckinridge primarily found support in the South.[116]
Lincoln being carried by two men on a long board.The Rail Candidate—Lincoln's 1860 platform, portrayed as being held up by a slave and his partyMap of the U.S. showing Lincoln winning the North-east and West, Breckinridge winning the South, Douglas winning Missouri, and Bell winning Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky.In 1860, northern and western electoral votes (shown in red) put Lincoln into the White House.Prior to the Republican convention, the Lincoln campaign began cultivating a nationwide youth organization, the Wide Awakes, which it used to generate popular support throughout the country to spearhead voter registration drives, thinking that new voters and young voters tended to embrace new parties.[145] People of the Northern states knew the Southern states would vote against Lincoln and rallied supporters for Lincoln.[146]
As Douglas and the other candidates campaigned, Lincoln gave no speeches, relying on the enthusiasm of the Republican Party. The party did the leg work that produced majorities across the North, and produced an abundance of campaign posters, leaflets, and newspaper editorials. Republican speakers focused first on the party platform, and second on Lincoln's life story, emphasizing his childhood poverty. The goal was to demonstrate the power of "free labor", which allowed a common farm boy to work his way to the top by his own efforts.[147] The Republican Party's production of campaign literature dwarfed the combined opposition; a Chicago Tribune writer produced a pamphlet that detailed Lincoln's life, and sold 100,000–200,000 copies.[148] Though he did not give public appearances, many sought to visit him and write him. In the runup to the election he took an office in the Illinois state capitol to deal with the influx of attention. He also hired John George Nicolay as his personal secretary, whom would remain in that role during the presidency.[149]
On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president. He was the first Republican president and his victory was entirely due to his support in the North and West. No ballots were cast for him in 10 of the 15 Southern slave states, and he won only two of 996 counties in all the Southern states, an omen of the impending Civil War.[150][151] Lincoln received 1,866,452 votes, or 39.8% of the total in a four-way race, carrying the free Northern states, as well as California and Oregon.[152] His victory in the electoral college was decisive: Lincoln had 180 votes to 123 for his opponents.[153]
Presidency (1861–1865)Main article: Presidency of Abraham LincolnSecession and inaugurationFurther information: Secession winter and Baltimore Plot
Headlines on the day of Lincoln's inauguration portended hostilities with the Confederacy, Fort Sumter being attacked less than six weeks later.[154]The South was outraged by Lincoln's election, and in response secessionists implemented plans to leave the Union before he took office in March 1861.[155] On December 20, 1860, South Carolina took the lead by adopting an ordinance of secession; by February 1, 1861, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed.[156] Six of these states declared themselves to be a sovereign nation, the Confederate States of America, and adopted a constitution.[157] The upper South and border states (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas) initially rejected the secessionist appeal.[158] President Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy, declaring secession illegal.[159] The Confederacy selected Jefferson Davis as its provisional president on February 9, 1861.[160]
Attempts at compromise followed but Lincoln and the Republicans rejected the proposed Crittenden Compromise as contrary to the Party's platform of free-soil in the territories.[161] Lincoln said, "I will suffer death before I consent ... to any concession or compromise which looks like buying the privilege to take possession of this government to which we have a constitutional right."[162]
Lincoln tacitly supported the Corwin Amendment to the Constitution, which passed Congress and was awaiting ratification by the states when Lincoln took office. That doomed amendment would have protected slavery in states where it already existed.[163] A few weeks before the war, Lincoln sent a letter to every governor informing them Congress had passed a joint resolution to amend the Constitution.[164]
A large crowd in front of a large building with many pillars.March 1861 inaugural at the Capitol building. The dome above the rotunda was still under construction.En route to his inauguration, Lincoln addressed crowds and legislatures across the North.[165] He gave a particularly emotional farewell address upon leaving Springfield; he would never again return to Springfield alive.[166][167] The president-elect evaded suspected assassins in Baltimore. On February 23, 1861, he arrived in disguise in Washington, D.C., which was placed under substantial military guard.[168] Lincoln directed his inaugural address to the South, proclaiming once again that he had no inclination to abolish slavery in the Southern states:
Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."
— First inaugural address, 4 March 1861[169]Lincoln cited his plans for banning the expansion of slavery as the key source of conflict between North and South, stating "One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute." The president ended his address with an appeal to the people of the South: "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies ... The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."[170] The failure of the Peace Conference of 1861 signaled that legislative compromise was impossible. By March 1861, no leaders of the insurrection had proposed rejoining the Union on any terms. Meanwhile, Lincoln and the Republican leadership agreed that the dismantling of the Union could not be tolerated.[171] In his second inaugural address, Lincoln looked back on the situation at the time and said: "Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the Nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came."
Civil WarMain articles: American Civil War and Battle of Fort SumterLincoln among a group of soldiers in a military campLincoln with officers after the Battle of Antietam. Notable figures (from left) are 1. Col. Delos Sackett; 4. Gen. George W. Morell; 5. Alexander S. Webb, Chief of Staff, V Corps; 6. McClellan;. 8. Dr. Jonathan Letterman; 10. Lincoln; 11. Henry J. Hunt; 12. Fitz John Porter; 15. Andrew A. Humphreys; 16. Capt. George Armstrong Custer.Major Robert Anderson, commander of the Union's Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, sent a request for provisions to Washington, and Lincoln's order to meet that request was seen by the secessionists as an act of war. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Union troops at Fort Sumter and began the fight. Historian Allan Nevins argued that the newly inaugurated Lincoln made three miscalculations: underestimating the gravity of the crisis, exaggerating the strength of Unionist sentiment in the South, and overlooking Southern Unionist opposition to an invasion.[172]
William Tecumseh Sherman talked to Lincoln during inauguration week and was "sadly disappointed" at his failure to realize that "the country was sleeping on a volcano" and that the South was preparing for war.[173] Donald concludes that, "His repeated efforts to avoid collision in the months between inauguration and the firing on Ft. Sumter showed he adhered to his vow not to be the first to shed fraternal blood. But he also vowed not to surrender the forts. The only resolution of these contradictory positions was for the confederates to fire the first shot; they did just that."[174]
On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to send a total of 75,000 volunteer troops to recapture forts, protect Washington, and "preserve the Union", which, in his view, remained intact despite the seceding states. This call forced states to choose sides. Virginia seceded and was rewarded with the designation of Richmond as the Confederate capital, despite its exposure to Union lines. North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed over the following two months. Secession sentiment was strong in Missouri and Maryland, but did not prevail; Kentucky remained neutral.[175] The Fort Sumter attack rallied Americans north of the Mason-Dixon line to defend the nation.
As States sent Union regiments south, on April 19, Baltimore mobs in control of the rail links attacked Union troops who were changing trains. Local leaders' groups later burned critical rail bridges to the capital and the Army responded by arresting local Maryland officials. Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus where needed for the security of troops trying to reach Washington.[176] John Merryman, one Maryland official hindering the U.S. troop movements, petitioned Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney to issue a writ of habeas corpus. In June Taney, ruling only for the lower circuit court in ex parte Merryman, issued the writ which he felt could only be suspended by Congress. Lincoln persisted with the policy of suspension in select areas.[177][178]
Union military strategyLincoln took executive control of the war and shaped the Union military strategy. He responded to the unprecedented political and military crisis as commander-in-chief by exercising unprecedented authority. He expanded his war powers, imposed a blockade on Confederate ports, disbursed funds before appropriation by Congress, suspended habeas corpus, and arrested and imprisoned thousands of suspected Confederate sympathizers. Lincoln gained the support of Congress and the northern public for these actions. Lincoln also had to reinforce Union sympathies in the border slave states and keep the war from becoming an international conflict.[179]
A group of men sitting at a table as another man creates money on a wooden machine.Running the Machine: An 1864 political cartoon satirizing Lincoln's administration – featuring William Fessenden, Edwin Stanton, William Seward, Gideon Welles, Lincoln, and othersIt was clear from the outset that bipartisan support was essential to success, and that any compromise alienated factions on both sides of the aisle, such as the appointment of Republicans and Democrats to command positions. Copperheads criticized Lincoln for refusing to compromise on slavery. The Radical Republicans criticized him for moving too slowly in abolishing slavery.[180] On August 6, 1861, Lincoln signed the Confiscation Act that authorized judicial proceedings to confiscate and free slaves who were used to support the Confederates. The law had little practical effect, but it signaled political support for abolishing slavery.[181]
In August 1861, General John C. Frémont, the 1856 Republican presidential nominee, without consulting Washington, issued a martial edict freeing slaves of the rebels. Lincoln canceled the illegal proclamation as politically motivated and lacking military necessity.[182] As a result, Union enlistments from Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri increased by over 40,000.[183]
Internationally, Lincoln wanted to forestall foreign military aid to the Confederacy.[184] He relied on his combative Secretary of State William Seward while working closely with Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Charles Sumner.[185] In the 1861 Trent Affair which threatened war with Great Britain, the U.S. Navy illegally intercepted a British mail ship, the Trent, on the high seas and seized two Confederate envoys; Britain protested vehemently while the U.S. cheered. Lincoln ended the crisis by releasing the two diplomats. Biographer James G. Randall dissected Lincoln's successful techniques:[186]
his restraint, his avoidance of any outward expression of truculence, his early softening of State Department's attitude toward Britain, his deference toward Seward and Sumner, his withholding of his paper prepared for the occasion, his readiness to arbitrate, his golden silence in addressing Congress, his shrewdness in recognizing that war must be averted, and his clear perception that a point could be clinched for America's true position at the same time that satisfaction was given to a friendly country.
Lincoln painstakingly monitored the telegraph reports coming into the War Department. He tracked all phases of the effort, consulting with governors, and selecting generals based on their success, their state, and their party. In January 1862, after complaints of inefficiency and profiteering in the War Department, Lincoln replaced War Secretary Simon Cameron with Edwin Stanton. Stanton centralized the War Department's activities, auditing and canceling contracts, saving the federal government $17,000,000.[187] Stanton was a staunch Unionist, pro-business, conservative Democrat who gravitated toward the Radical Republican faction. He worked more often and more closely with Lincoln than any other senior official. "Stanton and Lincoln virtually conducted the war together", say Thomas and Hyman.[188]
Lincoln's war strategy embraced two priorities: ensuring that Washington was well-defended and conducting an aggressive war effort for a prompt, decisive victory.[h] Twice a week, Lincoln met with his cabinet in the afternoon. Occasionally Mary prevailed on him to take a carriage ride, concerned that he was working too hard.[190] For his edification Lincoln relied upon a book by his chief of staff General Henry Halleck entitled Elements of Military Art and Science; Halleck was a disciple of the European strategist Antoine-Henri Jomini. Lincoln began to appreciate the critical need to control strategic points, such as the Mississippi River.[191] Lincoln saw the importance of Vicksburg and understood the necessity of defeating the enemy's army, rather than simply capturing territory.[192]
General McClellanAfter the Union rout at Bull Run and Winfield Scott's retirement, Lincoln appointed Major General George B. McClellan general-in-chief.[193] McClellan then took months to plan his Virginia Peninsula Campaign. McClellan's slow progress frustrated Lincoln, as did his position that no troops were needed to defend Washington. McClellan, in turn, blamed the failure of the campaign on Lincoln's reservation of troops for the capitol.[194]
Photograph of Lincoln and McClellan sitting at a table in a field tentLincoln and McClellanIn 1862 Lincoln removed McClellan for the general's continued inaction. He elevated Henry Halleck in July and appointed John Pope as head of the new Army of Virginia.[195] Pope satisfied Lincoln's desire to advance on Richmond from the north, thus protecting Washington from counterattack.[196] But Pope was then soundly defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the summer of 1862, forcing the Army of the Potomac back to defend Washington.[197]
Despite his dissatisfaction with McClellan's failure to reinforce Pope, Lincoln restored him to command of all forces around Washington.[198] Two days after McClellan's return to command, General Robert E. Lee's forces crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, leading to the Battle of Antietam.[199] That battle, a Union victory, was among the bloodiest in American history; it facilitated Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in January.[200]
McClellan then resisted the president's demand that he pursue Lee's withdrawing army, while General Don Carlos Buell likewise refused orders to move the Army of the Ohio against rebel forces in eastern Tennessee. Lincoln replaced Buell with William Rosecrans; and after the 1862 midterm elections he replaced McClellan with Ambrose Burnside. The appointments were both politically neutral and adroit on Lincoln's part.[201]
Burnside, against presidential advice, launched an offensive across the Rappahannock River and was defeated by Lee at Fredericksburg in December. Desertions during 1863 came in the thousands and only increased after Fredericksburg, so Lincoln replaced Burnside with Joseph Hooker.[202]
In the 1862 midterm elections the Republicans suffered severe losses due to rising inflation, high taxes, rumors of corruption, suspension of habeas corpus, military draft law, and fears that freed slaves would come North and undermine the labor market. The Emancipation Proclamation gained votes for Republicans in rural New England and the upper Midwest, but cost votes in the Irish and German strongholds and in the lower Midwest, where many Southerners had lived for generations.[203]
In the spring of 1863 Lincoln was sufficiently optimistic about upcoming military campaigns to think the end of the war could be near; the plans included attacks by Hooker on Lee north of Richmond, Rosecrans on Chattanooga, Grant on Vicksburg, and a naval assault on Charleston.[204]
Hooker was routed by Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May, then resigned and was replaced by George Meade.[205] Meade followed Lee north into Pennsylvania and beat him in the Gettysburg Campaign, but then failed to follow up despite Lincoln's demands. At the same time, Grant captured Vicksburg and gained control of the Mississippi River, splitting the far western rebel states.[206]
Emancipation ProclamationMain articles: Abraham Lincoln and slavery and Emancipation ProclamationA dark-haired, bearded, middle-aged man holding documents is seated among seven other men.First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln by Francis Bicknell Carpenter (1864) (Clickable image—use cursor to identify.)The Federal government's power to end slavery was limited by the Constitution, which before 1865 delegated the issue to the individual states. Lincoln argued that slavery would be rendered obsolete if its expansion into new territories were prevented. He sought to persuade the states to agree to compensation for emancipating their slaves in return for their acceptance of abolition.[207] Lincoln rejected Fremont's two emancipation attempts in August 1861, as well as one by Major General David Hunter in May 1862, on the grounds that it was not within their power, and would upset loyal border states.[208]
In June 1862, Congress passed an act banning slavery on all federal territory, which Lincoln signed. In July, the Confiscation Act of 1862 was enacted, providing court procedures to free the slaves of those convicted of aiding the rebellion; Lincoln approved the bill despite his belief that it was unconstitutional. He felt such action could be taken only within the war powers of the commander-in-chief, which he planned to exercise. Lincoln at this time reviewed a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation with his cabinet.[209]
Privately, Lincoln concluded that the Confederacy's slave base had to be eliminated. Copperheads argued that emancipation was a stumbling block to peace and reunification; Republican editor Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune agreed.[210] In a letter of August 22, 1862, Lincoln said that while he personally wished all men could be free, regardless of that, his first obligation as president was to preserve the Union:[211]
My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union ... [¶] I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.[212]
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on September 22, 1862, and effective January 1, 1863, affirmed the freedom of slaves in 10 states not then under Union control, with exemptions specified for areas under such control.[213] Lincoln's comment on signing the Proclamation was: "I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper."[214] He spent the next 100 days preparing the army and the nation for emancipation, while Democrats rallied their voters by warning of the threat that freed slaves posed to northern whites.[215]
With the abolition of slavery in the rebel states now a military objective, Union armies advancing south liberated three million slaves.
Enlisting former slaves became official policy. By the spring of 1863, Lincoln was ready to recruit black troops in more than token numbers. In a letter to Tennessee military governor Andrew Johnson encouraging him to lead the way in raising black troops, Lincoln wrote, "The bare sight of 50,000 armed and drilled black soldiers on the banks of the Mississippi would end the rebellion at once".[216] By the end of 1863, at Lincoln's direction, General Lorenzo Thomas had recruited 20 regiments of blacks from the Mississippi Valley.[217]
The Proclamation included Lincoln's earlier plans for colonies for newly freed slaves, though that undertaking ultimately failed.[218]
Gettysburg Address (1863)Main article: Gettysburg AddressLarge group of peopleLincoln, absent his usual top hat, is highlighted at Gettysburg.Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield cemetery on November 19, 1863.[219] In 272 words, and three minutes, Lincoln asserted that the nation was born not in 1789, but in 1776, "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". He defined the war as dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality for all. He declared that the deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain, that slavery would end, and the future of democracy would be assured, that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".[220]
Defying his prediction that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here", the Address became the most quoted speech in American history.[221]
General GrantPainting of four men conferring in a ship's cabin, entitled "The Peacemakers".The Peacemakers, an 1868 painting by George P.A. Healy of events aboard the River Queen in March 1865. (Clickable image—use cursor to identify.)Grant's victories at the Battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign impressed Lincoln. Responding to criticism of Grant after Shiloh, Lincoln had said, "I can't spare this man. He fights."[222] With Grant in command, Lincoln felt the Union Army could advance in multiple theaters, while also including black troops. Meade's failure to capture Lee's army after Gettysburg and the continued passivity of the Army of the Potomac persuaded Lincoln to promote Grant to supreme commander. Grant then assumed command of Meade's army.[223]
Lincoln was concerned that Grant might be considering a presidential candidacy in 1864. He arranged for an intermediary to inquire into Grant's political intentions, and once assured that he had none, Lincoln promoted Grant to the newly revived rank of Lieutenant General, a rank which had been unoccupied since George Washington.[224] Authorization for such a promotion "with the advice and consent of the Senate" was provided by a new bill which Lincoln signed the same day he submitted Grant's name to the Senate. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 2, 1864.[225]
Grant in 1864 waged the bloody Overland Campaign, which exacted heavy losses on both sides.[226] When Lincoln asked what Grant's plans were, the persistent general replied, "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer."[227] Grant's army moved steadily south. Lincoln traveled to Grant's headquarters at City Point, Virginia to confer with Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman.[228] Lincoln reacted to Union losses by mobilizing support throughout the North.[229] Lincoln authorized Grant to target infrastructure—plantations, railroads, and bridges—hoping to weaken the South's morale and fighting ability. He emphasized defeat of the Confederate armies over destruction (which was considerable) for its own sake.[230] Lincoln's engagement became distinctly personal on one occasion in 1864 when Confederate general Jubal Early raided Washington, D.C.. Legend has it that while Lincoln watched from an exposed position, Union Captain (and future Supreme Court Justice) Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. shouted at him, "Get down, you damn fool, before you get shot!"[231]
As Grant continued to weaken Lee's forces, efforts to discuss peace began. Confederate Vice President Stephens led a group meeting with Lincoln, Seward, and others at Hampton Roads. Lincoln refused to negotiate with the Confederacy as a coequal; his objective to end the fighting was not realized.[232] On April 1, 1865, Grant nearly encircled Petersburg in a siege. The Confederate government evacuated Richmond and Lincoln visited the conquered capital. On April 9, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, officially ending the war.[233]
Re-electionMain article: 1864 United States presidential electionMap of the U.S. showing Lincoln winning all the Union states except for Kentucky, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Southern states are not included.An electoral landslide for Lincoln (in red) in the 1864 election; southern states (brown) and territories (gray) not in play
A poster of the 1864 election campaign with Lincoln as the candidate for president and Andrew Johnson as the candidate for vice presidentLincoln ran for reelection in 1864, while uniting the main Republican factions, along with War Democrats Edwin M. Stanton and Andrew Johnson. Lincoln used conversation and his patronage powers—greatly expanded from peacetime—to build support and fend off the Radicals' efforts to replace him.[234] At its convention, the Republicans selected Johnson as his running mate. To broaden his coalition to include War Democrats as well as Republicans, Lincoln ran under the label of the new Union Party.[235]
Grant's bloody stalemates damaged Lincoln's re-election prospects, and many Republicans feared defeat. Lincoln confidentially pledged in writing that if he should lose the election, he would still defeat the Confederacy before turning over the White House;[236] Lincoln did not show the pledge to his cabinet, but asked them to sign the sealed envelope. The pledge read as follows:"This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterward."[237]
The Democratic platform followed the "Peace wing" of the party and called the war a "failure"; but their candidate, McClellan, supported the war and repudiated the platform. Meanwhile, Lincoln emboldened Grant with more troops and Republican party support. Sherman's capture of Atlanta in September and David Farragut's capture of Mobile ended defeatism.[238] The Democratic Party was deeply split, with some leaders and most soldiers openly for Lincoln. The National Union Party was united by Lincoln's support for emancipation. State Republican parties stressed the perfidy of the Copperheads.[239] On November 8, Lincoln carried all but three states, including 78 percent of Union soldiers.[240]
A large crowd in front of a large building with many pillarsLincoln's second inaugural address in 1865 at the almost completed Capitol buildingOn March 4, 1865, Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address. In it, he deemed the war casualties to be God's will. Historian Mark Noll places the speech "among the small handful of semi-sacred texts by which Americans conceive their place in the world;" it is inscribed in the Lincoln Memorial.[241] Lincoln said:
Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's 250 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 3,000 years ago, so still it must be said, "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether". With malice toward 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.[242]
ReconstructionMain article: Reconstruction eraReconstruction preceded the war's end, as Lincoln and his associates considered the reintegration of the nation, and the fates of Confederate leaders and freed slaves. When a general asked Lincoln how the defeated Confederates were to be treated, Lincoln replied, "Let 'em up easy."[243] Lincoln was determined to find meaning in the war in its aftermath, and did not want to continue to outcast the southern states. His main goal was to keep the union together, so he proceeded by focusing not on whom to blame, but on how to rebuild the nation as one.[244] Lincoln led the moderates in Reconstruction policy and was opposed by the Radicals, under Rep. Thaddeus Stevens, Sen. Charles Sumner and Sen. Benjamin Wade, who otherwise remained Lincoln's allies. Determined to reunite the nation and not alienate the South, Lincoln urged that speedy elections under generous terms be held. His Amnesty Proclamation of December 8, 1863, offered pardons to those who had not held a Confederate civil office and had not mistreated Union prisoners, if they were willing to sign an oath of allegiance.[245]
Cartoon of Lincoln and Johnson attempting to stitch up the broken UnionA political cartoon of Vice President Andrew Johnson (a former tailor) and Lincoln, 1865, entitled The 'Rail Splitter' At Work Repairing the Union. The caption reads (Johnson): "Take it quietly Uncle Abe and I will draw it closer than ever." (Lincoln): "A few more stitches Andy and the good old Union will be mended."As Southern states fell, they needed leaders while their administrations were restored. In Tennessee and Arkansas, Lincoln respectively appointed Johnson and Frederick Steele as military governors. In Louisiana, Lincoln ordered General Nathaniel P. Banks to promote a plan that would reestablish statehood when 10 percent of the voters agreed, and only if the reconstructed states abolished slavery. Democratic opponents accused Lincoln of using the military to ensure his and the Republicans' political aspirations. The Radicals denounced his policy as too lenient, and passed their own plan, the 1864 Wade–Davis Bill, which Lincoln vetoed. The Radicals retaliated by refusing to seat elected representatives from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.[246]
Lincoln's appointments were designed to harness both moderates and Radicals. To fill Chief Justice Taney's seat on the Supreme Court, he named the Radicals' choice, Salmon P. Chase, who Lincoln believed would uphold his emancipation and paper money policies.[247]
After implementing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln increased pressure on Congress to outlaw slavery throughout the nation with a constitutional amendment. He declared that such an amendment would "clinch the whole matter" and by December 1863 an amendment was brought to Congress.[248] This first attempt fell short of the required two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. Passage became part of the Republican/Unionist platform, and after a House debate the second attempt passed on January 31, 1865.[249] With ratification, it became the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 6, 1865.[250]
Lincoln believed the federal government had limited responsibility to the millions of freedmen. He signed Senator Charles Sumner's Freedmen's Bureau bill that set up a temporary federal agency designed to meet the immediate needs of former slaves. The law opened land for a lease of three years with the ability to purchase title for the freedmen. Lincoln announced a Reconstruction plan that involved short-term military control, pending readmission under the control of southern Unionists.[251]
Historians agree that it is impossible to predict exactly how Reconstruction would have proceeded had Lincoln lived. Biographers James G. Randall and Richard Current, according to David Lincove, argue that:[252]
It is likely that had he lived, Lincoln would have followed a policy similar to Johnson's, that he would have clashed with congressional Radicals, that he would have produced a better result for the freedmen than occurred, and that his political skills would have helped him avoid Johnson's mistakes.
Eric Foner argues that:[253]
Unlike Sumner and other Radicals, Lincoln did not see Reconstruction as an opportunity for a sweeping political and social revolution beyond emancipation. He had long made clear his opposition to the confiscation and redistribution of land. He believed, as most Republicans did in April 1865, that the voting requirements should be determined by the states. He assumed that political control in the South would pass to white Unionists, reluctant secessionists, and forward-looking former Confederates. But time and again during the war, Lincoln, after initial opposition, had come to embrace positions first advanced by abolitionists and Radical Republicans. ... Lincoln undoubtedly would have listened carefully to the outcry for further protection for the former slaves ... It is entirely plausible to imagine Lincoln and Congress agreeing on a Reconstruction policy that encompassed federal protection for basic civil rights plus limited black suffrage, along the lines Lincoln proposed just before his death.
Native American policyLincoln's experience with Indians followed the death of his grandfather Abraham at their hands, in the presence of his father and uncles. Lincoln claimed Indians were antagonistic toward his father, Thomas Lincoln, and his young family. Although Lincoln was a veteran of the Black Hawk War, which was fought in Wisconsin and Illinois in 1832, he saw no significant action.[254] During his presidency, Lincoln's policy toward Indians was driven by politics.[254] He used the Indian Bureau as a source of patronage, making appointments to his loyal followers in Minnesota and Wisconsin.[255] He faced difficulties guarding Western settlers, railroads, and telegraphs, from Indian attacks.[255]
On August 17, 1862, the Sioux Uprising in Minnesota, supported by the Yankton Indians, killed hundreds of white settlers, forced 30,000 from their homes, and deeply alarmed the Lincoln administration.[256] Some believed it was a conspiracy by the Confederacy to launch a war on the Northwestern front.[257] Lincoln sent General John Pope, the former head of the Army of Virginia, to Minnesota as commander of the new Department of the Northwest.[258] Lincoln ordered thousands of Confederate prisoners of war sent by railroad to put down the Sioux Uprising.[259] When the Confederates protested forcing Confederate prisoners to fight Indians, Lincoln revoked the policy.[260] Pope fought against the Indians mercilessly, even advocating their extinction. He ordered Indian farms and food supplies be destroyed, and Indian warriors be killed.[258] Aiding Pope, Minnesota Congressman Col. Henry H. Sibley led militiamen and regular troops to defeat the Sioux at Wood Lake.[260] By October 9, Pope considered the uprising to be ended; hostilities ceased on December 26.[261] An unusual military court was set up to prosecute captured natives, with Lincoln effectively acting as the route of appeal.[262]
Lincoln personally reviewed each of 303 execution warrants for Santee Dakota convicted of killing innocent farmers; he commuted the sentences of all but 39 (one was later reprieved).[263][262] Lincoln sought to be lenient, but still send a message. He also faced significant public pressure, including threats of mob justice should any of the Dakota be spared.[262] Former Governor of Minnesota Alexander Ramsey told Lincoln, in 1864, that he would have gotten more presidential election support had he executed all 303 of the Indians. Lincoln responded, "I could not afford to hang men for votes."[264]
Other enactmentsIn the selection and use of his cabinet, Lincoln employed the strengths of his opponents in a manner that emboldened his presidency. Lincoln commented on his thought process, "We need the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services." [265] Goodwin described the group in her biography as a Team of Rivals.[266]
Lincoln adhered to the Whig theory of a presidency focused on executing laws while deferring to Congress' responsibility for legislating. Lincoln vetoed only four bills, particularly the Wade-Davis Bill with its harsh Reconstruction program.[267] The 1862 Homestead Act made millions of acres of Western government-held land available for purchase at low cost. The 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act provided government grants for agricultural colleges in each state. The Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864 granted federal support for the construction of the United States' First Transcontinental Railroad, which was completed in 1869.[268] The passage of the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Acts was enabled by the absence of Southern congressmen and senators who had opposed the measures in the 1850s.[269]
The Lincoln Cabinet[270]Office Name TermPresident Abraham Lincoln 1861–1865Vice President Hannibal Hamlin 1861–1865Andrew Johnson 1865Secretary of State William H. Seward 1861–1865Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase 1861–1864William P. Fessenden 1864–1865Hugh McCulloch 1865Secretary of War Simon Cameron 1861–1862Edwin M. Stanton 1862–1865Attorney General Edward Bates 1861–1864James Speed 1864–1865Postmaster General Montgomery Blair 1861–1864William Dennison Jr. 1864–1865Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles 1861–1865Secretary of the Interior Caleb Blood Smith 1861–1862John Palmer Usher 1863–1865There were two measures passed to raise revenues for the Federal government: tariffs (a policy with long precedent), and a Federal income tax. In 1861, Lincoln signed the second and third Morrill Tariffs, following the first enacted by Buchanan. He also signed the Revenue Act of 1861, creating the first U.S. income tax—a flat tax of 3 percent on incomes above $800 ($22,800 in current dollar terms).[271] The Revenue Act of 1862 adopted rates that increased with income.[272]
Lincoln presided over the expansion of the federal government's economic influence in other areas. The National Banking Act created the system of national banks. The US issued paper currency for the first time, known as greenbacks—printed in green on the reverse side.[273] In 1862, Congress created the Department of Agriculture.[271]
In response to rumors of a renewed draft, the editors of the New York World and the Journal of Commerce published a false draft proclamation that created an opportunity for the editors and others to corner the gold market. Lincoln attacked the media for such behavior, and ordered a military seizure of the two papers which lasted for two days.[274]
Lincoln is largely responsible for the Thanksgiving holiday.[275] Thanksgiving had become a regional holiday in New England in the 17th century. It had been sporadically proclaimed by the federal government on irregular dates. The prior proclamation had been during James Madison's presidency 50 years earlier. In 1863, Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November of that year to be a day of Thanksgiving.[275]
In June 1864, Lincoln approved the Yosemite Grant enacted by Congress, which provided unprecedented federal protection for the area now known as Yosemite National Park.[276]
Judicial appointmentsMain article: List of federal judges appointed by Abraham LincolnSeated manSalmon Portland Chase was Lincoln's Chief Justice.Supreme Court appointmentsSupreme Court JusticesJustice Nominated AppointedNoah Haynes Swayne January 21, 1862 January 24, 1862Samuel Freeman Miller July 16, 1862 July 16, 1862David Davis December 1, 1862 December 8, 1862Stephen Johnson Field March 6, 1863 March 10, 1863Salmon Portland Chase (Chief Justice) December 6, 1864 December 6, 1864Lincoln's philosophy on court nominations was that "we cannot ask a man what he will do, and if we should, and he should answer us, we should despise him for it. Therefore we must take a man whose opinions are known."[275] Lincoln made five appointments to the Supreme Court. Noah Haynes Swayne was an anti-slavery lawyer who was committed to the Union. Samuel Freeman Miller supported Lincoln in the 1860 election and was an avowed abolitionist. David Davis was Lincoln's campaign manager in 1860 and had served as a judge in the Illinois court circuit where Lincoln practiced. Democrat Stephen Johnson Field, a previous California Supreme Court justice, provided geographic and political balance. Finally, Lincoln's Treasury Secretary, Salmon P. Chase, became Chief Justice. Lincoln believed Chase was an able jurist, would support Reconstruction legislation, and that his appointment united the Republican Party.[277]
Other judicial appointmentsLincoln appointed 27 judges to the United States district courts but no judges to the United States circuit courts during his time in office.[278][279]
States admitted to the UnionWest Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863. Nevada, which became the third state in the far-west of the continent, was admitted as a free state on October 31, 1864.[280]
AssassinationMain article: Assassination of Abraham LincolnPainting of Lincoln being shot by Booth while sitting in a theater booth.Shown in the presidential booth of Ford's Theatre, from left to right, are assassin John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Clara Harris, and Henry RathboneJohn Wilkes Booth was a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate army, he had contacts with the Confederate secret service.[281] After attending an April 11, 1865 speech in which Lincoln promoted voting rights for blacks, Booth hatched a plot to assassinate the President.[282] When Booth learned of the Lincolns' intent to attend a play with General Grant, he planned to assassinate Lincoln and Grant at Ford's Theatre. Lincoln and his wife attended the play Our American Cousin on the evening of April 14, just five days after the Union victory at the Battle of Appomattox Courthouse. At the last minute, Grant decided to go to New Jersey to visit his children instead of attending the play.[283]
At 10:15 pm, Booth entered the back of Lincoln's theater box, crept up from behind, and fired at the back of Lincoln's head, mortally wounding him. Lincoln's guest Major Henry Rathbone momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped.[284] After being attended by Doctor Charles Leale and two other doctors, Lincoln was taken across the street to Petersen House. After remaining in a coma for eight hours, Lincoln died at 7:22 am on April 15.[285][i] Stanton saluted and said, "Now he belongs to the ages."[290][j] Lincoln's body was placed in a flag-wrapped coffin, which was loaded into a hearse and escorted to the White House by Union soldiers.[291] President Johnson was sworn in the next morning.[292]
Two weeks later, Booth was tracked to a farm in Virginia, and refusing to surrender, he was mortally shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett and died on April 26. Secretary of War Stanton had issued orders that Booth be taken alive, so Corbett was initially arrested for court martial. After a brief interview, Stanton declared him a patriot and dismissed the charge.[293]
Funeral and burial
Funeral of LincolnMain article: Funeral and burial of Abraham LincolnThe late President lay in state, first in the East Room of the White House, and then in the Capitol Rotunda from April 19 through April 21. The caskets containing Lincoln's body and the body of his son Willie traveled for three weeks on the Lincoln Special funeral train.[294] The train followed a circuitous route from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois, stopping at many cities for memorials attended by hundreds of thousands. Many others gathered along the tracks as the train passed with bands, bonfires, and hymn singing[295] or in silent grief. Poet Walt Whitman composed When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd to eulogize him, one of four poems he wrote about Lincoln.[296] African Americans were especially moved; they had lost 'their Moses'.[297] In a larger sense, the reaction was in response to the deaths of so many men in the war.[298] Historians emphasized the widespread shock and sorrow, but noted that some Lincoln haters celebrated his death.[299]
Religious and philosophical beliefsFurther information: Religious views of Abraham LincolnLincoln sitting with his hand on his chin and his elbow on his leg.Abraham Lincoln, painting by George Peter Alexander Healy in 1869As a young man, Lincoln was a religious skeptic.[300] He was deeply familiar with the Bible, quoting and praising it.[301] He was private about his position on organized religion and respected the beliefs of others.[302] He never made a clear profession of Christian beliefs.[303] Through his entire public career, Lincoln had a proneness for quoting Scripture.[304] His three most famous speeches—the House Divided Speech, the Gettysburg Address, and his second inaugural—each contain direct allusions to Providence and quotes from Scripture.
In the 1840s, Lincoln subscribed to the Doctrine of Necessity, a belief that the human mind was controlled by a higher power.[305] With the death of his son Edward in 1850 he more frequently expressed a dependence on God.[306] He never joined a church, although he frequently attended First Presbyterian Church with his wife beginning in 1852.[307][k]
In the 1850s, Lincoln asserted his belief in "providence" in a general way, and rarely used the language or imagery of the evangelicals; he regarded the republicanism of the Founding Fathers with an almost religious reverence.[308] The death of son Willie in February 1862 may have caused him to look toward religion for solace.[309] After Willie's death, he questioned the divine necessity of the war's severity. He wrote at this time that God "could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun, He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds."[310]
Lincoln did believe in an all-powerful God that shaped events and by 1865 was expressing those beliefs in major speeches.[303] By the end of the war, he increasingly appealed to the Almighty for solace and to explain events, writing on April 4, 1864, to a newspaper editor in Kentucky:
I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God.[311]
This spirituality can best be seen in his second inaugural address, considered by some scholars[312] as the greatest such address in American history, and by Lincoln himself as his own greatest speech, or one of them at the very least.[l][313] Lincoln explains therein the cause, purpose, and result of the war was God's will.[314] Later in life, Lincoln's frequent use of religious imagery and language might have reflected his own personal beliefs and might have been a device to reach his audiences, who were mostly evangelical Protestants.[315] On the day Lincoln was assassinated, he reportedly told his wife he desired to visit the Holy Land.[316]
HealthMain article: Health of Abraham LincolnAn older, tired-looking Abraham Lincoln with a beard.Lincoln in February 1865, two months before his deathLincoln is believed to have had depression, smallpox, and malaria.[317] He took blue mass pills, which contained mercury, to treat constipation.[318] It is unknown to what extent he may have suffered from mercury poisoning.[319]
Several claims have been made that Lincoln's health was declining before the assassination. These are often based on photographs of Lincoln appearing to show weight loss and muscle wasting.[320] It is also suspected that he might have had a rare genetic disease such as Marfan syndrome or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B.[320]
LegacySee also: Cultural depictions of Abraham LincolnRepublican valuesLincoln's redefinition of republican values has been stressed by historians such as John Patrick Diggins, Harry V. Jaffa, Vernon Burton, Eric Foner, and Herman J. Belz.[321] Lincoln called the Declaration of Independence—which emphasized freedom and equality for all—the "sheet anchor" of republicanism beginning in the 1850s. He did this at a time when the Constitution, which "tolerated slavery", was the focus of most political discourse.[322] Diggins notes, "Lincoln presented Americans a theory of history that offers a profound contribution to the theory and destiny of republicanism itself" in the 1860 Cooper Union speech.[323] Instead of focusing on the legality of an argument, he focused on the moral basis of republicanism.[324]
His position on war was founded on a legal argument regarding the Constitution as essentially a contract among the states, and all parties must agree to pull out of the contract. Furthermore, it was a national duty to ensure the republic stands in every state.[325] Many soldiers and religious leaders from the north, though, felt the fight for liberty and freedom of slaves was ordained by their moral and religious beliefs.[326]
As a Whig activist, Lincoln was a spokesman for business interests, favoring high tariffs, banks, infrastructure improvements, and railroads, in opposition to Jacksonian democrats.[327] William C. Harris found that Lincoln's "reverence for the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, the laws under it, and the preservation of the Republic and its institutions strengthened his conservatism."[328] James G. Randall emphasizes his tolerance and moderation "in his preference for orderly progress, his distrust of dangerous agitation, and his reluctance toward ill digested schemes of reform." Randall concludes that "he was conservative in his complete avoidance of that type of so-called 'radicalism' which involved abuse of the South, hatred for the slaveholder, thirst for vengeance, partisan plotting, and ungenerous demands that Southern institutions be transformed overnight by outsiders."[329]
Reunification of the statesBureau of Engraving and Printing portrait of Lincoln as presidentBureau of Engraving and Printing portrait of Lincoln as presidentIn Lincoln's first inaugural address, he explored the nature of democracy. He denounced secession as anarchy, and explained that majority rule had to be balanced by constitutional restraints. He said "A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people."[330]
The successful reunification of the states had consequences for how people view the country. The term "the United States" has historically been used, sometimes in the plural ("these United States"), and other times in the singular. The Civil War was a significant force in the eventual dominance of the singular usage by the end of the 19th century.[331]
Historical reputationIn his company, I was never reminded of my humble origin, or of my unpopular color.[332]
— Frederick DouglassIn surveys of U.S. scholars ranking presidents conducted since 1948, the top three presidents are Lincoln, Washington, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, although the order varies.[333][m] Between 1999 and 2011, Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan have been the top-ranked presidents in eight surveys, according to Gallup.[335] A 2004 study found that scholars in the fields of history and politics ranked Lincoln number one, while legal scholars placed him second after George Washington.[336]
An aerial photo a large white building with big pillars.Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.Lincoln's assassination left him a national martyr. He was viewed by abolitionists as a champion of human liberty. Republicans linked Lincoln's name to their party. Many, though not all, in the South considered Lincoln as a man of outstanding ability.[337] Historians have said he was "a classical liberal" in the 19th-century sense. Allen C. Guelzo states that Lincoln was a "classical liberal democrat—an enemy of artificial hierarchy, a friend to trade and business as ennobling and enabling, and an American counterpart to Mill, Cobden, and Bright", whose portrait Lincoln hung in his White House office.[338][339]
Schwartz argues that Lincoln's American reputation grew slowly from the late 19th century until the Progressive Era (1900–1920s), when he emerged as one of America's most venerated heroes, even among white Southerners. The high point came in 1922 with the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.[340]
Union nationalism, as envisioned by Lincoln, "helped lead America to the nationalism of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt."[341] In the New Deal era, liberals honored Lincoln not so much as the self-made man or the great war president, but as the advocate of the common man who they claimed would have supported the welfare state.[342]An American coin portraying LincolnSociologist Barry Schwartz argues that in the 1930s and 1940s the memory of Abraham Lincoln was practically sacred and provided the nation with "a moral symbol inspiring and guiding American life." During the Great Depression, he argues, Lincoln served "as a means for seeing the world's disappointments, for making its sufferings not so much explicable as meaningful". Franklin D. Roosevelt, preparing America for war, used the words of the Civil War president to clarify the threat posed by Germany and Japan. Americans asked, "What would Lincoln do?"[343] However, Schwartz also finds that since World War II Lincoln's symbolic power has lost relevance, and this "fading hero is symptomatic of fading confidence in national greatness." He suggested that postmodernism and multiculturalism have diluted greatness as a concept.[344]
In the Cold War years, Lincoln's image shifted to a symbol of freedom who brought hope to those oppressed by Communist regimes.[342] By the late 1960s, some African-American intellectuals, led by Lerone Bennett Jr., rejected Lincoln's role as the Great Emancipator.[345][346] Bennett won wide attention when he called Lincoln a white supremacist in 1968.[347] He noted that Lincoln used ethnic slurs and told jokes that ridiculed blacks. Bennett argued that Lincoln opposed social equality, and proposed sending freed slaves to another country. Defenders, such as authors Dirck and Cashin, retorted that he was not as bad as most politicians of his day;[348] and that he was a "moral visionary" who deftly advanced the abolitionist cause, as fast as politically possible.[349] The emphasis shifted away from Lincoln the emancipator to an argument that blacks had freed themselves from slavery, or at least were responsible for pressuring the government on emancipation.[350]
By the 1970s, Lincoln had become a hero to political conservatives,[351] apart from neo-Confederates such as Mel Bradford who denounced his treatment of the white South, for his intense nationalism, support for business, his insistence on stopping the spread of human bondage, his acting in terms of Lockean and Burkean principles on behalf of both liberty and tradition, and his devotion to the principles of the Founding Fathers.[352] Lincoln became a favorite exemplar for liberal intellectuals across the world.[353]
Historian Barry Schwartz wrote in 2009 that Lincoln's image suffered "erosion, fading prestige, benign ridicule" in the late 20th century.[354] On the other hand, Donald opined in his 1996 biography that Lincoln was distinctly endowed with the personality trait of negative capability, defined by the poet John Keats and attributed to extraordinary leaders who were "content in the midst of uncertainties and doubts, and not compelled toward fact or reason".[355]
In the 21st century, President Barack Obama named Lincoln his favorite president and insisted on using the Lincoln Bible for his inaugural ceremonies.[356][357][358] Lincoln has often been portrayed by Hollywood, almost always in a flattering light.[359][360]
Memory and memorialsMain article: Memorials to Abraham LincolnLincoln's portrait appears on two denominations of United States currency, the penny and the $5 bill. His likeness also appears on many postage stamps.[361] While he is usually portrayed bearded, he grew a beard in 1860 at the suggestion of 11-year-old Grace Bedell. He was the first of 16 presidents to do so.[362]
He has been memorialized in many town, city, and county names,[363] including the capital of Nebraska.[364] The United States Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is named after Lincoln, the second Navy ship to bear his name.[365]
Lincoln Memorial is one of the most visited monuments in the nation's capital,[366] and is one of the top five visited National Park Service sites in the country.[367] Ford's Theatre, among the top sites in Washington, D.C.,[367] is across the street from Petersen House (where he died).[368] Memorials in Springfield, Illinois include Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln's home, as well as his tomb.[369] A portrait carving of Lincoln appears with those of three other presidents on Mount Rushmore, which receives about 3 million visitors a year.[370]
The Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad, also called the D.H. & W.B. Railroad, was a railroad in northeastern Pennsylvania. It ran from Sunbury to Tomhicken, a total of 43.44 miles plus 10.1 miles of branch lines, making the whole railroad 53.54 miles long.[1][2] The railroad was completed in 1870. As of 2010, the Danville, Hazleton and Willkes-Barre Railroad tracks belong to the Pennsylvania Railroad.[3] The railroad's gauge was 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm).[2]
HistoryThe Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad began in April 1859 as the Wilkes-Barre and Pittston Railroad. Their plan was to build a railroad along the east side of the Susquehanna River from above Pittston to Danville or Sunbury. It was renamed the Danville, Hazleton, and Wilkes-Barre Railroad in 1867. Railroad construction began in late 1867 or early 1868.[4] Simon P. Kase was a critical force in the building of the railroad.[5] In 1870 an anthracite-burning locomotive was built for the railroad.[6] By 1870, the Danville, Hazleton, and Wilkes-Barre Railroad linked Sunbury and Danville.[7] By 1871, the railroad extended 43 miles from Sunbury to Tomhicken. In 1872, the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad started to operate the Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre tracks. In 1878, the railroad was sold under foreclosure and the name was changed to the Sunbury, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad.[4]
Financial informationIn 1888, the railroad's president was J. N. DuBarry, the secretary was Albert Hewson, and the treasurer was Taber Ashton. Many of the officers and directors of the railroad lived in Philadelphia at that time.[2]
By 1887, the total cost of the Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad was $3,535,109. At this time, they had 20,000 shares of stock each being worth $50. Their total funded debt was $2,535,000.[2]
RouteSunbury was the railroad's western terminus. Proceeding east, the route passed through Danville[8] and terminated at Tomhicken. There were an additional ten miles (16 km) of branch lines.[2]
In 1888, the D.H. & W.B. railroad, then named the Sunbury, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad, comprised 25 bridges and trestles totalling 3,193 feet (973 m) in length. These consisted of ten wooden bridges totalling 917 feet (280 m), three stone bridges totalling 36 feet (11 m), six iron bridges totalling 264 feet (80 m), and six wooden trestles totalling 1,976 feet (602 m).[2]
The D.H. & W.B. was laid on white oak ties and had stone cinder and culm ballast. As of 1888, the railroad had 32 at-grade highway crossings, one highway that went over the railroad, and two that went under it. None of these crossings were gated. At this time, 47.29 miles (76.11 km) of the railroad were on steel rails and 6.25 miles (10.06 km) were on iron rails.[4]
Stations and intersectionsIn 1871, the Lehigh Valley Railroad connected with the D.H. & W.B. in Tomhicken.[9] The Catawissa Railroad (which later became part of the Reading Railroad) crossed the D.H. & W.B. The Philadelphia and Erie Railroad crossed the D.H. & W.B. at Sunbury.[2]
There were a total of five railroad stations along the route.[2] The stations included Mountain Grove Campground,[note 1] halfway between Bloomsburg and Hazleton,[10] and Mainville.[11]
UsesThe Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad helped provide coal access to the market.[1] The railroad was also used to transport furniture and other supplies to the Mountain Grove Campground. The railroad also carried cars full of worshipers to the Mountain Grove Campground, and sometimes even ran especially for them. In the campground's later years, the Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad carried such items as bands to the campground.[10] The railroad provided a direct path from Sunbury to Danville, and aided communication between Danville and Sunbury.[8] The railroad established an alternative route from the Lehigh Valley Railroad's Hazleton Branch to Sunbury.[9]
The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad (F&PM) is a defunct railroad which operated in the U.S. state of Michigan between 1857 and 1899.[1] It was one of the three companies which merged to become the Pere Marquette Railway.
Early historyThe F&PM was chartered on January 22, 1857 as the Flint and Pere Marquette Railway for the purpose of constructing an east-west railway line on a route, for which a federal land grant was offered, from Flint, Michigan to Lake Michigan at Pere Marquette (now Ludington, Michigan).[2] The early promoters of the road were George M. Dewey and E.H. Hazelton of Flint, with Dewey serving as the first president of the F&PM.[3] Construction started in 1859 in East Saginaw. A more energetic management took charge in 1860 when Captain Eber Brock Ward of Detroit, a prominent lumberman, vessel owner, and steel manufacturer, was elected to the presidency of the F&PM.[4][5] Service began on January 20, 1862, on the 26.1-mile (42.0 km) section from East Saginaw south to Mount Morris. In December 1864 the F&PM gained access to Detroit via trackage rights over the Flint and Holly Railroad and the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad.[6]
Construction westward from Saginaw commenced in 1866 with the first section of 20 miles (32 km), to Midland, opened December 1, 1867. In the Annual Report to the Stockholders of December 31, 1867, the secretary of the F&PM, Henry C. Potter, called for the continued building of the line toward Lake Michigan: "The importance and magnitude of the lumber traffic on the Muskegon and Manistee Rivers urge this company to speedy construction on its road west."
On September 2, 1868, the F&PM was consolidated with the Flint and Holly Railroad. Besides adding a key segment of trackage to the growing F&PM system, the merger brought into the F&PM the Crapo family - Henry H. Crapo, Governor of Michigan in 1865-69, and his son, William W. Crapo, later president of the F&PM. An extension of 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from Midland to Averill was completed on October 25, 1868, giving the F&PM 60 miles (97 km) of route west from Flint and entitling the company to 76,300 acres (309 km2) in land grants; since 1862 the company had received a total of 307,200 acres (1,243 km2).[7]
Slowly the railroad snaked its way through the forests of central Michigan. It was completed to Clare, 24.4 miles (39.3 km) west of Averill, in November 1870; another 15.6 miles (25.1 km) was finished in March 1871. With the completion of 22 miles (35 km) to Reed City in December 1871, the F&PM made a connection with the north-south main line of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway.[8] The line was now 48.4 miles (77.9 km) from its goal of Ludington.
On June 4, 1872, the F&PM was consolidated with the Holly, Wayne and Monroe Railroad (opened for service the same day); the Bay City and East Saginaw Railroad (a feeder line leased since 1867); the Flint River Railroad (Flint to Otter Lake); and the Cass River Railroad (East Saginaw to Vassar).[9]
The Ludington terminalIn 1868 President Ward of the F&PM opened negotiations with James Ludington for a terminal site at his namesake town with frontage of Pere Marquette Lake. James Ludington was the owner of the only mill then at Ludington. He attempted to spin out the talks; though he favored completion of the F&PM, Ludington knew Ward intended to build mills to tap the timber along the Pere Marquette River. Fearing this would make Ward too big, Ludington refused to sell a terminal site or mill sites at any price, hoping to squeeze Ward into selling some of his 70,000 acres (28,000 ha) of timber at a bargain price. Ludington found that Ward would not sell and, more importantly, that Ward was not a man to be trifled with.[10]
Ward learned early in 1869 that Ludington's logging crews had, accidentally or otherwise, cut pine from part of his land. He kept quiet until Ludington went to Detroit on business, then had him arrested and lodged in the Wayne County Jail on charges of trespassing and timber theft. He secured a court judgment of $650,000 against Ludington, who was ruined; he suffered a stroke and was forced to quit business. His successor in business, the Pere Marquette Lumber Company, reached an amicable agreement with Ward in August 1869 for both the railway terminal and the mill sites.[11]
"In November 1874," recalled editor Charles G. Wing of the Ludington Daily News in 1920, "when the F&PM railroad was nearly completed to Ludington, Governor John J. Bagley came over the line on a tour of inspection ... [and] received the most distinguished mark of attention Ludington could show. He rode to and from his railroad car in the only covered carriage up to that time ever owned within the borders of Mason County."[12]
The road was completed to Ludington on December 1, 1874, giving the F&PM 253 miles (407 km) of main line. By 1877 the company had received 511,520.2 acres (207,004.9 ha) of federal land grants, of which over half - 275,741.69 acres (111,588.70 ha) - had been sold, contributing $2,369,729.21 to the railroad's revenues.[13]
Ward died suddenly while walking in Detroit on January 2, 1875. Elected to succeed him as president of the F&PM was Jesse Hoyt of New York, who had extensive lumber and salt interests in East Saginaw.
Cross-lake steamship service between Ludington and Sheboygan, Wisconsin was inaugurated May 31, 1875, with a leased steamer, the sidewheeler SS John Sherman, with John W. Stewart as its captain. At Sheboygan the line interchanged freight with the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Railway. Quickly outgrowing both the SS John Sherman and the terminal at Sheboygan, the line was shifted to Milwaukee in 1876. The Goodrich Transportation Company provided service under contract to the railroad from 1876 to 1883. Ships assigned to the route by Goodrich included the De Pere, Corona, Oconto, Alpena and, best-known of all, the City of Ludington. The F&PM terminated its contract with Goodrich on April 1, 1883.[14][15]
A grain elevator was built in 1877 on the Ludington waterfront by a group of investors associated with the railroad. In 1879 a freight warehouse was built just south of the grain stock of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Company, issued 1. July 1882On July 1, 1879, the F&PM went into receivership, owing $1,200,000 in unpaid interest on bonds with bonded interest accumulating at a rate of $385,000 a year. Gross revenues had declined every year since the Panic of 1873, a situation exacerbated by the crash of the lumber market in July 1877. The company remained in receivership until September 30, 1880, when it was reorganized as the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad. Under the reorganization plan the F&PM issued $6,500,000 in preferred stock. No common stock was to be issued to holders of certificates of old common stock until five consecutive dividends of 7 per cent had been paid on preferred stock. In the event, this never occurred, as there were only two consecutive years (1883 and 1884) in which a 7 per cent dividend was declared on preferred stock.[18]
While in receivership the company built two new lines in 1879: a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge branch from Cole to Mount Pleasant, 14.5 miles (23.3 km), as the Saginaw and Mount Pleasant Railroad (converted to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge in 1884), and a standard gauge branch from Clare to Harrison, 16.8 miles (27.0 km), as the Saginaw and Clare County Railroad.[19]
The Manistee RailroadFor some years, Manistee had boasted of being the largest American city not served by a railroad. This changed after the incorporation on June 19, 1880, of an F&PM subsidiary, the Manistee Railroad, to build a 26.53-mile (42.70 km) branch line from Manistee Junction (today Walhalla), east of Ludington, to Manistee. The villages of Bachelor, Fountain and Free Soil quickly sprang up on this line. Upon its opening on December 5, 1881, the branch gave the F&PM access to Manistee lumbering and salt manufacturing resources.[20]
The Black BoatsIn September 1882 the F&PM began operating their own propeller steamers between Ludington and Milwaukee. The first two were the F&PM No. 1 and F&PM No. 2, wooden propellers of 553 and 537 gross tons respectively. Built at Detroit in 1882, they were outfitted to carry passengers, package freight and bulk grain. At a time when most Lake Michigan passenger steamers were painted white, they quickly became known as the "Black Boats" for their black hulls. Each was lengthened 36 feet (11 m) in 1883, and steamship service was extended to Manistee in 1884.[21][22]
As business grew, two similar but larger propellers were built at Detroit, the 924-ton F&PM No. 3 in 1887 and the 941-ton F&PM No. 4 in 1888. The 1,723-ton F&PM No. 5, built at West Bay City in 1890, differed in originally being configured as a straight package freighter with no passenger accommodations.[23] Sailings between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, were inaugurated in 1890 by the F&PM No. 1.
Decline of lumberingSince Jesse Hoyt lived in New York City and did not visit Michigan after 1877, he was represented on the F&PM board by his attorney, William L. Webber of East Saginaw, who also served as the company's general counsel and land commissioner.[24] Upon the death of Hoyt on August 14, 1882, William W. Crapo of New Bedford, Massachusetts, a director since 1868, was elected president of the F&PM. Under his presidency the F&PM was run very much like a New England railroad rather than a Western logging line, as heretofore.
After 1887 the transportation of logs by the F&PM began to fall off rapidly. This was offset somewhat by the growing freight traffic of the company's steamship line. In 1888 the decline in logs transported amounted to 193,790 tons ($153,308 in gross earnings), while earning of the Black Boats totaled $40,556 and rapidly increased as the F&PM attracted movements of wood products, flour, and grain.[25]
On January 31, 1889, the F&PM was consolidated with the East Saginaw and St. Clair Railroad, the Saginaw and Clare County Railroad, the Saginaw and Mount Pleasant Railroad, and the Manistee Railroad. The F&PM bought the Port Huron and Northwestern Railway on April 1, 1889, converted it to standard gauge, and constructed a new line east from Yale to Port Huron. It also converted to standard gauge its existing branch line between East Saginaw and Yale. This gave the F&PM a standard gauge line across the breadth of Michigan, from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron.
The F&PM was a part-owner of the Fort Street Union Depot Company in association with the Wabash Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, and Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad. Construction of this Detroit station commenced in 1890 and it was opened for service on January 22, 1893.
Until 1897 the F&PM reached the important railroad center of Toledo, Ohio, over the rails of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. An extension of the F&PM, 15.2 miles (24.5 km) from Monroe to Alexis (an unincorporated place just across the state line in Ohio and just outside the city limits of Toledo), was constructed by the Monroe and Toledo Railway. Soon after the line's completion, the M&T was purchased outright by the F&PM on August 27, 1897. Entry into Toledo from Alexis, 6.6 miles (10.6 km), was secured in 1897 through a 99-year lease of trackage from the Ann Arbor Railroad.
Movements of grain in bulk had become so important to the economics of the railroad that when the elevator at Ludington was destroyed by fire on July 7, 1899, it was immediately rebuilt. The new, larger grain elevator was ready for operation by November 20, 1899.[26]
Car ferry serviceMain article: SS Pere MarquetteIn 1895 the F&PM reached an agreement with the Wisconsin Central Railway to establish a cross-lake railway car ferry line between Ludington and Manitowoc. A steel car ferry designed by Robert Logan of 2,443 tons, the Pere Marquette, was built at West Bay City, where she was launched on December 30, 1896. With Joseph Russell as master, the Pere Marquette arrived at Manitowoc on her maiden voyage from Ludington on the morning of February 17, 1897, interchanging freight with both the Wisconsin Central and the Chicago and North Western Railway. The car ferry operation was so successful that it soon became obvious that service would have to be expanded; in 1900 the Pere Marquette transported 27,000 railroad cars across Lake early as 1886 the Chicago and West Michigan Railway shared common directors with the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad, which was reorganized a decade later, in 1896, as the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroad. On December 27, 1897, the DGR&W inaugurated car ferry service between Muskegon and Milwaukee with the wooden car ferry Muskegon (later renamed Pere Marquette 16).[31]
By January 1, 1899, the F&PM had sold 468,690 acres (1,896.7 km2) of the 513,000 acres (2,080 km2) granted the company by the federal government. Sales amounted to $4,847,007 - an average of $10.34 an acres.[32]
An agreement was reached in 1899 for the consolidation of the F&PM with the Chicago and West Michigan and the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western with securities of the newly organized exchanged for those of the constituent companies. The F&PM declared a special 2% dividend out of assets as part of the consolidation plan. The Pere Marquette Railroad was incorporated November 1, 1899, and took over the properties on January 1, 1900.
Charles M. Heald of the C&WM and DGR&W was president of the Pere Marquette with William W. Crapo of the F&PM as chairman of the board of directors. On February 1, 1900, the new company acquired the Saginaw, Tuscola and Huron Railroad, which had been built in 1881-86 by investors associated with the F&PM.
Presidents of the F&PMGeorge M. Dewey 1857-1860Eber Brock Ward 1860-1875Jesse Hoyt 1875-1882William W. Crapo 1882-1899The Reading Company (/ˈrɛdɪŋ/ RED-ing) was a railroad in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states whose final iteration ran from 1924 until 1976, when it was absorbed by Conrail. The Reading’s oldest corporate predecessor, however, was the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Company incorporated, a canal company, making the Reading the oldest railroading corporation in the United States.[citation needed]
Commonly called the Reading Railroad and logotyped as Reading Lines, the Reading Company was a railroad holding company for the majority of its existence and was a (single) railroad during its later years. It was a successor to the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company founded in 1833. Until the decline in anthracite loadings in the Coal Region after World War II, it was one of the most prosperous corporations in the United States.
Competition with the modern trucking industry that used the Interstate highway system for short distance transportation of goods, also known as short hauls, compounded the company's problems, forcing it into bankruptcy in the 1970s. Its railroad operations were merged into Conrail in 1976, but the corporation lasted into 2000, disposing of valuable real estate holdings.The Lehigh Valley Railroad (reporting mark LV) was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846, for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, wares, merchandise and minerals[1] in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the railroad was incorporated/established on September 20, 1847, as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company. On January 7, 1853, the railroad's name was changed to Lehigh Valley Railroad.[2] It was sometimes known as the Route of the Black Diamond, named after the anthracite it transported. At the time, anthracite was transported by boat down the Lehigh River; the railroad was meant to be faster transportation. The railroad ended operations in 1976 and merged into Conrail along with several northeastern railroads that same year.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad's original and primary route between Easton, Pennsylvania, and Allentown, Pennsylvania was built in 1855. The line later expanded past Allentown to Buffalo, New York and past Easton to New York City, bringing the Lehigh Valley Railroad to these metro areas. By 31 Dec 1925, the railroad controlled 1363.7 miles of road and 3533.3 miles of track; as of 31 Dec 1970, this had dwindled to 927 miles of road and 1963 miles of track.
The line was absorbed with the Lehigh Valley Railroad into Conrail and they maintained the line as a main line into the New York City area. The line became known as the Lehigh Line during Conrail ownership. Conrail abandoned most of the route to Buffalo, considerably shortening the line.
The majority of the Lehigh Line is now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and retains much of its original route in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, although it no longer goes into New York City. The former Lehigh Valley tracks between Manville, New Jersey and Newark, New Jersey are operated separately by Conrail Shared Assets Operations as their own Lehigh Line.

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