Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-08-23
LINCOLN IN,l36+.
What Pc Meant to Do in the Event ofMeClel-
lan's Election to the Presidency.

what re Meant to Do in the Event OF MeClel-
lan's Election to the Presidency
The Life of Lincoln" will reach in
the forthcoming Midsummer holiday
numoer of the Century by the politi,sI
campaign of 1864, when he was second
time the nominee of his party for the
| Presidency, Il seems that Lincoln felt
| inst the campaign was going against him,
and had made up his mind deliberately as
TO the course he should pursue, which, as
| stated by the authors, was as follows:
| Unwilling TO leave his resolution to
| the chances of the changed mood which
might follow is the natural evaporation
! of defea', he had resolved to lay doxn
| for himself the course of action Jemand
| ed by has present conviction OF duty He
wrote on the 23rd of August the follow
! ing memorandum:
| rms morning, as for several days
| pass, IL seems exceedingly probable that
this Administration will not be reelected
| Then 1t will be my duty TO SO cooperate
with the President elect as to save the
| Union between the election and the in
| auguratlon: as he will have secured his
| election on such ground that he can not
| possibly save it afterward.'
He then folded and pasted the sheet in
| be read, and as the Cabinet came together
he handed this paper to each member
successfully. requesting them to write
| Ihelr names across the back of it. In
this peculiar fashion he pledged himself
| and the Administration to accept 10y ally
| the antIci pated verdict of the people
| against him, and to do the utmost to save
the Union in the brief remainder of his
term or office. He gave no lutimation to
| any member of the CabineG of the nature
Of the paper they had signed until after
his triumphant re election.
eve copy from the NJ. S. diary of one
of the Presidents Secretaries under date
| ot November II, 1864, the following par
| sage relating to this incident: At the
meeting of the Cabinet to day the
President took out paper from his desk
and said: Gentlemen, do yod remember
last Summer l asked you sill to sign your
names to the back of a paper OF which I
| did not show you the inside? This is it.
Now, Mr.. Hay, see ii you can open this
without tearing it, He had pasted it up
in so singular a style that it required
some cutting to get it open. He then read
this memorandum: Given In the text
above, The President said: you will re-
| member that this was written at the time
| six days before the Chicago pomina ton
| convention, when as yet We had no ad-
| versery and seemed to have no friends.
l then solomnly resolved on the course of
| action indicated in this paper. Iresolved
| in case of election of General Mcclellan,
| being certain that he would be the candi-
| date, that l would see and talk matters
| over with him. l would say: General,
the election has demonstrated that YOU
are stronger, have more influence with
| the American people, than L. Now let US
| together, you with your influence and |
with all the executive power of the Gov
eminent, try to save the country. You
raise as many troops as you possibly eau
| for this final trial, AID 1 will devote
all my energies to assist and finish the
| war.
"Stewart said, And the General would
have answered you, Yes, yes;' and the
next day when you saw him again and
| pressed these views up0n him he would
have said, Yes, yes and so on forever,
and would hava nothing done at ALL
cat least said Lincoln should have
done my duty and have stood clear be-
| fore my own conscience"