Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1864-04-29
latter from President Lincoln.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, 4 pril 4, 1854

Ny DEAR SIR You ask ne 10 pat u VIII
r;s,y a.. substance Of what yscbs!|y said the
t,1ijt day, Ill your p:esa'ica, - N5eVel nor
R,an|-rte a., Senator Dixoji. 1t WIS about
as I'.iiyWs: 70
moi wrong, nnthiilg is wrong. cannot ren1ein-
Mr. 7gi.s,ti did not thiuk 50 and feel. And
n,,e have neyer understood that the p'es1-
dancy cut,iasfc;l upon ;no III unrestricted right
to act officially 'lpoh thjs7 dgnAof ana feeling.
r. WAS il! the oath | cook than [, would 60 the
T,e,t Of my ability preserve, protect, ana &c.
feud the Constitution u the United otat8S =
I could Dot take the Office without taking tue
oath. Nor was ii my vlen, that 'night {ase
al oa'h to get poWa:, AM oFetk the ua''' -
,,aino the u0;9eI [ understood, too, that II
ordinary civil administrations, this oath even
11,rhatla me 10 practically indulge sny primary
a],sr1,,.t Judgment on the moral question OF
slavery. I fa,! publicly declared this many
times. j I'd in many ways. And aver tti*t,
70 this c2ay, have done 10 oHlc!at act IN mere
Difference t, INV abstract jndgment and te4!iDg
=; did understand, however, that my oath
"a nreserva The Constitution to the best Or i!y
ABILITY IMPOSED upon me- the duty at preserV
inc, b. every Indispensable means, that GOV
a:,,naIit-that nation OF which that tons'lIn'
t;on was the organic law Was it possible to
los1 the nation, and yet preserve the yoE'sIlI"-
tiou? :.
s;By general law, life and limb uonst he pro
4ccted vet often limb must be atlnutateo 20
save life but life is never wisely gwen TO
awe limb [ felt that measures, otheT"'se
Unconstitutional, might become !aW7ui, oy De-
coming Indispensable 20 the preservation q
the Constitution through the preservation o.
the nation sRiehh or wrong, assumed 'n,s
ground, and now avow It, could not 1eei;
chat 70 the best of my ability, ! had even tried
Co preserve the Constitution, II to save slavery,
or any minor matter, J. should permit the
wreck Of Government. country, and Constitu
f ; al toeather. When, early ia the war,
General Fremont Attempted military e'nanoi
nation. / forbade it. because / did not then
fh;nk i 81 Indispensable necessity: When, .
little later, Gen. Cameron, then Secretary OF
War sugcesrea the arning OF the blacks, / CO.
;ecred because I di2 not yet think 1t al lndl5-
nensal,|e necessity. When, still later, dene'.,
Al Hunter atteu oted military emancipation: /
a.ajn forbade it, because lid not yet think
Ike ;ndisoen~ah|e necessity had come.
uVhen in March, aud May, and July, 1867,
made earnest and successive appeals to the
border States to favor cosnpens a8ed emanclpa'
r1o;, 7 believed the Indispensable necessity 1of
n ;litary emancipation aud armlng the blacks
WonId come unless averted b. that measure.
Tb 5s,s. ,1ecEoed the proposition and was, in
nv best Judgment, driven to the alternative OF
either surrenderiug the Union, and slt4 1t the
Cor stitut;on, or Of laying strong hand upon
t1a colored element. | chose the latter, Ii
choosing it hoped tor greater gam tha9 loss J
hur Of this I was not entirely conhdent..-
More than year Of trial now shows 10 loss by
i il cur Ioroign relations; none il. our houso
nopnIar sentiment; none in our white military
force; no loss by it, anyhow, or anywhere =
On the contrary, it SHOWS a gain Of quite a
Hundred and thirty thousand soldiers seamen,
aad }aborers These are palpable facts about
~nb:oh >, facts there can be 40 cavlilng We