A Strange Act by President Lincoln

[LincolnMan]

President Lincoln was pretty sure he was going to be defeated in his 1864 reelection bid. Nothing it seemed, was going right. The war was going badly, casualties were beyond high, and the South appeared very close to gaining independence. In August of 1864, with his political future looking bleak, Lincoln had his Cabinet members sign a document without knowing its contents. What a strange thing to do, don't you think? And even stranger is the fact that they signed it! Of course, it was made known later that they had signed a statement pledging their cooperation with the Democratic President-elect-in the case of Lincoln having lost reelection. Seems very odd to me. Seems odder they would have signed it. Think todays Cabinet members would ever agree to such a thing?

[Gene C]

Depends....our senators seem to have very little reluctance in signing legislation they haven't read.

Lincoln's cabinet must have had a lot of trust in him.

[LincolnMan]

Good one Gene!

[Hess1865]

Obama's people will do whatever he wants; they'd all sign it in a nano-second!

[LincolnMan]

I don't think its the same. Lincoln was sure he was not going to be reelected. Probably his own Cabinet didn't think he would either. They were signing something unknown for a man who was likely to lose his job-and they were going to lose their jobs too.

[RJNorton]

Thanks, Bill, for this post. It is indeed a fascinating topic. Among a slew of negative pre-election predictions, Thurlow Weed wrote to William Seward, "I have told Mr. Lincoln that his re-election was an impossibility." I did a search to see if I could post the Blind Memo, and I found the document is currently on display at the LOC. Here is the Blind Memo followed by the signatures of the Cabinet.

[LincolnMan]

Wow, that is great that you found it and posted it. Roger, I just find it extraordinary for Lincoln to ask his Cabinet-his "team of rivals"- no less-to commit themselves by their signatures to a document unread-to a man who was thought likely to lose his job. Am I making too much of it?

[Houmes]

President Lincoln was pretty sure he was going to be defeated in his 1864 reelection bid. Nothing it seemed, was going right. The war was going badly, casualties were beyond high, and the South appeared very close to gaining independence. In August of 1864, with his political future looking bleak, Lincoln had his Cabinet members sign a document without knowing its contents. What a strange thing to do, don't you think? And even stranger is the fact that they signed it! Of course, it was made known later that they had signed a statement pledging their cooperation with the Democratic President-elect-in the case of Lincoln having lost reelection. Seems very odd to me. Seems odder they would have signed it. Think todays Cabinet members would ever agree to such a thing?

The great unknown is that we have never learned what he said or did prior to that signing. I doubt very much that they would blindly sign something without a hint of what it contained.

[RJNorton]

I agree, Blaine. I thought the answer might be in Gideon Welles' diary, but unless I missed it, his entry for that date says nothing about this event.

[Laurie Verge]

This is only slightly related to the election of 1864, and therefore a little off subject. However, I'm too lazy to look it up (and will forget to once I'm off the forum). Who was McClellan's running mate in 1864?

[RJNorton]

Laurie, it was George H. Pendleton of Ohio.

[Hess1865]

Don't forget, the Republicans circulated the Pomeroy Circular, which basically said they had no faith in Lincoln or his chances of being re-elected, so they would be better off nominating Chase
I think the circular made the rounds before Lincoln wrote his document.

[RJNorton]

Right, Mr. Hess. No question Lincoln was dealing with a lot of criticism, and his pessimism regarding the election is understandable. Shortly before the Pomeroy Circular a document circulated called "The Next Presidential Election." From John C. Waugh's Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency:

[jreagon]

President Lincoln was pretty sure he was going to be defeated in his 1864 reelection bid. Nothing it seemed, was going right. The war was going badly, casualties were beyond high, and the South appeared very close to gaining independence. In August of 1864, with his political future looking bleak, Lincoln had his Cabinet members sign a document without knowing its contents. What a strange thing to do, don't you think? And even stranger is the fact that they signed it! Of course, it was made known later that they had signed a statement pledging their cooperation with the Democratic President-elect-in the case of Lincoln having lost reelection. Seems very odd to me. Seems odder they would have signed it. Think todays Cabinet members would ever agree to such a thing?

Never! They couldn't agree when to meet for breakfast, let alone sign an unknown letter.
JREagon

[LincolnMan]

I came across this little passage in the book House of Abraham by Stephen Berry (pertaining to the election season of 1864):

Lincoln's political prospects, never bright, seemed to be winking out. "Mr. Lincoln is already beaten," Horace Greeley claimed. "He cannot be elected. And we must have another ticket to save us from overthrow." Lincoln was almost inclined to agree. "Do you expect to be elected?" someone asked him.

"Well, he replied, "I don't think I ever heard of any man being elected to an office unless some one was for him."


I love Lincoln's reply! Even in that dark moment politically, he kept up his humor.