The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-05-11
Democracy During the War.

disavoWed, as he has 4ateiy zone, me
contemptuous denunciation of all Demo
Gratis which had been attributed TO him.
But his public profession of goodwill to-
wards his party for its conduct in the
past is limited to war Democrats. Be
yond doubt Admiral Dewey means by the
term those Democrats who. supported and
approved Mr. Lincoln's two, great achieve
inents-the repression of secession and the
emancipation Of the slaves.
in the acclaim of triumph in 1850 by the
leaders of the Republican party who won
the credit and the splendid rewards. the
truth was forgotten that from start TO
finish the var upon the seeded States
and the emancipation of the slaves had
to meet an opposition from the Demo-
cratic party in the loyal" States which
Mr.. Lincoln and his co-workers found
1t a task no less Formidable to overcome
than that of conquering the Southern
States in arms. Before tie war spirit was
aroused there was an almost unanimous
conviction throughout the Democracy of
the North and West, and by no means
confined to the Democracy, that the use
of force To retain States in the Union was
not only inadmissible under the Constitu-
ton. but ab1lorrent to the principles on
which their political institutions rested.
When the storm was rising there came
from the Democratic leaders in the loyal
sctd les us uiStilttl dSSthtidtitii9 VI III
wrongs the South was enduring, as full
assurances that the South had. the right
TO withdraw from the partnership, as
full denial of any possible right in the
Federal Government to use coercion as
any Southern leader ever set forth; with
further assurances that the Democrats OF
the North and West would fight on the
Southern side in any such appeal to arms.
For months after the secession of South
Cav ,,bila OF tpc
passing ordinances of secession, the Dem
ocratic Government in Observation-Disclosures
dent, Cabinet, Congress and Supreme
Court-took not one step towards coer-
cion. nor did either house OF Congress
listen to a suggestion of emancipation as
possible.
The new administration disclaimed any
purpose OF emancipation, but most as
tutely used the firing on Fort Sumter to
rouse the war spirit. The word "astutely"
is fifty applied, for the flag had been
fred on in the same place several weeks
earlier. The steamer Star of the West
had been sent to relieve Fort Sumter,
and while flying the great flag of a garri-
son was fired on, hit twice, and driven
away. This produced no sensation, but
was accepted by the whole country as a
natural accompaniment of the secession
of the State. We have learned afresh of
late what it means to rouse the war spirit.
A very large part of the wisdom and viz
tue of this country reprobate and deplore
the war now waSing by the United
States, and yet they do make and can
make no opposition, but support the war
just as those do who approve it most
warmly. We know now that a war, once
begun. sweeps into its support not only
the regular army, the navy and the Urea
sury, but the volunteer organizat tons and
the youth of the country, who think they
must respond to any national call to
arms
In spite, however. of this support of the
war forced on the Democracy by circum-
stances, they made a steady struggle in
the courts, in Congress. and in the State
governments to keep down the war to
constitutional limits as far as possible and
to such conditions las might leave room
for reconciliation in the future. The atti-
tude of General Mcclellan and of Cover
nor Seymour. of New York. are examples.
For years no pains were spared to cry
down General Mcclellan. but the evil
dence has been too strong. Even Nicolay
and Hay, III their great Life of Lincoln
have 10 concede to Mcclellan the very
highest praise for pure patriotism, and
the concessions have grown greater with
each succeeding historian. till Rhodes,
the latest deplores the fact that Lincoln
could not see Mcclellan as we see him,
and that Lincoln deferred the capture
of Richmond and the downfall of the
Confederacy two years by removing Nc
Clellan from command of the army.
About McClellans contest with Lincoln
for the Presidency. the last issue of the
Southern Historical Society's papers has
the following-page SG1:
DR.. Hollands Life of Lincoln, ETC.,
shows page 476, etc..l that when
Lincoln killed, by "pocketing' it, a bill
for the reconstruction of the Union,
which Congress had passed. Ben Wade
and Winter Davis, aided by Greeley. pub,
lished in Greeley's Tribune OF August
the 18th, "a bitter manifesto It charged
that the President, by this action. holds
the electoral vote Of the rebel Ssates
at the discretion of his personal ambi-
ton" and that "a more studied outrage
on the authority of the people has never
been perpetrated." An examination to-
day of the official record of the electoral!
vote by which Lincoln got his second
term fully verties the above charge.
Nicolay and Hays Abraham Lincoln. and
General Benjamin F. Buffers antobiog-
raphy (the title is Buffers Book'). alike
concede the fictitious pretense of State
that was counted as casting the vote
of the State of Virginia in the Electoral
College, and similar farces were played
in the case of others of the rebel
sSldleS- JUST StS IpISSttH bS w due .iiit
Winter Davis. This accounts for the
much-boasted majority recorded. by the
ELECTORAL College in Lincoln's favor. and
the small majority, as otficialySrecorded,
of votes of the people. Mcclellan, on a
platform that said the war must Stop,
got 81 per cent. of the votes that We're
cast for Lincoln. This was the vote OF
the people of the "ioyal'' States, in spite
of the fact that criticism of the admins
trarion was treason, by order of the
War Department. trable by court-mar-
tial. and that man SO enormously popu-
lar in his State Ohio as Nallandigham
lay under sentence of Punishment, pun
ishment new to this country and imposed
for new offence, mot for deeds done.
but for words spoken toa use the form
In which It was denounced by John
Sherman. and these words spoken in
public debate and received with wild
applause by thousands. Soldiers ruled
at the polls. Buffers Book pages 75i
to 77S) gives full particulars of the large
ir1, cd Nf,.,y