Lincoln auction at Sotheby's next Wednesday

[David Lockmiller]

(05-21-2016 03:08 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  David, thank you very much for your reply. I have always wondered about this.

Here is a part of the Lincoln Lore article cited above:

"Apparently many people thought that Lincoln's signature was necessary to validate the Thirteenth Amendment resolution, and after he had affixed his signature to the document he was honored with a serenade. To this group of admirers he made a brief address. Lincoln stated that, "The occasion was one of congratulation to the country and to the whole world. But there is a task yet before us — to go forward and consummate by the votes of the States that which Congress so nobly began yesterday." Lincoln expressed the belief that "all would bear him witness that he had never shrunk from doing all that he could to eradicate slavery by issuing an emancipation proclamation."

You are very welcome, Roger. I Googled the issue and was very fortunate to locate this very fine scholary work directly on point.

President Lincoln was very satisfied to learn that Illinois was the first state to ratify the constiutional amendment. And, then there was the complicated issue of whether or not the Southern states would be part of the three quarters of the total states needed to ratify the constitutional amendment. As I recall, Lincoln's position was that the southern states had never left the Union.

I had made some effort to find the Lincoln Lore article, but was unsuccessful.