Tuesday, December 21, 2004

August 1864 -- Follow Up

If you don't believe that, as of August 1864, the chances of Lincoln's reelection were slim, or that a Democratic win was expected to result in the division of the Union, consider this.

That month, Lincoln asked the members of his cabinet to sign, without reading, a brief paragraph that Lincoln had written. They did so (can you imagine such a thing now?). After the election, Lincoln showed them what they had signed:

It seems exceedingly probable that this administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so cooperate 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.

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