Hannibal Hamlin

[Anita]

Hannibal Hamlin was Vice President during Lincoln's first term from 1861- March 1865, most of the Civil War, yet little is written about him during this time.

Please share your thoughts on Hamlin. i.e. What was his relationship with Lincoln? What contributions did he make during this time? What were his his political views and views on slavery? His thoughts on the role of Vice President? How would Reconstruction policies differed from Johnson? Would Lincoln have won his second term if he kept Hamlin as VP?

Hamlin spent 50 years in public service. I became interested in knowing more about him after watching a recent PBS documentary on the history of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and Hamlin's no vote. I said, "He's my man!"

[RJNorton]

This doesn't answer any of your questions, Anita, but I have always felt one of the most intriguing things about Hamlin is why he was dumped from the Republican/National Union Party ticket in 1864. I have never been able to pinpoint exactly what role (or lack of it) Lincoln played in this.

[AussieMick]

David Donald covers the choice of Johnson over Hamlin with quite a lot of words (pages 505-506). Those words are interesting (with a few guesses on the part of Donald I think) but it seems that theres a lot of intrigue and politicking. I wonder how hard Hamlin fought for the office of VP ... did he really want it? Lincoln seems to have been deliberately vague. "seems" being the operative word ... maybe his failure to press for Hamlin was more than just leaving it up to the Convention, maybe he wanted very much to have someone like Johnson with a view to 'peaceful' (my opinion) reconstruction and a more acceptable reconstruction to Southern States (my guess). Donald says that Hamlin may have been too 'radical' on slavery for Lincoln. What that means I am not sure nor the basis for Donald's assessment. Donald does say that Lincoln joked he wouldnt be assassinated because the Confederates knew what Hamlin was like ( I guess even more anti-slavery Lincoln).

[Gene C]

As much as the radical Republicans tried to control Lincoln's cabinet choices without success, Hamlin would have remained Vice President if Lincoln really wanted him.

He never worked closely with Lincoln although he was a strong supporter of Lincoln's policy. Several writers indicate Lincoln wanted someone who would appeal to border state/southern democrats to help with reconstruction.

[L Verge]

I avoid political history like the plague, but I also consider Lincoln the ultimate "politician," who knew how to pull strings behind-the-scenes. The Republicans needed a strong anti-slavery man from the North in 1860. Also, Hamlin had bolted from the Democratic party to the Republicans because of the slavery issue, and the Republicans needed to appeal to more of those Democrats. That said, however, I'm not sure that Lincoln knew who had been nominated as his running mate in 1860. From what I have read, Hamlin didn't even know that he had been nominated until someone burst into his card game and announced it.

I don't think Hamlin was happy in his "anonymous" role of VP, but in 1864, he was not happy to learn that he had been bounced from the ticket in favor of Andrew Johnson, who had been a strong war governor of Tennessee and who could appeal to Southerners who had remained loyal to the Union. I cheated and found this on a U.S. Senate website:

Dumped from the Ticket

Despite Hamlin's grumbling about the powerlessness of the vice-presidency, he was willing to stand for reelection in 1864. Hamlin assumed that Lincoln supported his nomination, but the president—an entirely pragmatic politician—doubted that Hamlin would add much strength to the ticket in what was sure to be a difficult reelection campaign, with the survival of the nation at stake. Maine would vote Republican whether or not Hamlin was on the ticket, and he carried little weight in any other state. Lincoln sent emissaries to sound out several prominent War Democrats, among them Tennessee's war governor, Andrew Johnson. As the thinking went, to nominate a southerner like Johnson would be a way to "nationalize the Republican party." At the convention, to the surprise of Hamlin's supporters, the Tennessee governor outpolled the vice president on the first ballot and went on to win the nomination on the second. "To be Vice President is clearly not to be anything more than a reflected greatness," Secretary of the Senate John W. Forney wrote to console Hamlin. "You know how it is with the Prince of Wales or the Heir Apparent. He is waiting for somebody to die, and that is all of it." Hamlin maintained a dignified silence but was vexed by his defeat. Years later he wrote: "I was dragged out of the Senate, against my wishes—tried to do my whole duty, and was then unceremoniously `whistled down the wind.' While I have never complained to any one, I did not fail to feel and know how I was treated."

So, in 1860, Lincoln may not have had much - if any - say in Hamlin being his running mate. However, by 1864, he obviously did and wanted someone who he thought could handle Reconstruction as he envisioned it.

[AussieMick]

I wonder though to what degree Reconstruction would have swung the case against Hamlin. I can see that Lincoln would have had it (Reconstruction itself) uppermost in his mind, but the position of VP was (as I understand it) even less of a 'hands-on' executive post than it is now.
I of course have no idea of Schuyler Colfax (1869-73) involvement in Reconstruction, VP under Grant.

[L Verge]

(06-24-2018 04:29 AM)AussieMick Wrote:  I wonder though to what degree Reconstruction would have swung the case against Hamlin. I can see that Lincoln would have had it (Reconstruction itself) uppermost in his mind, but the position of VP was (as I understand it) even less of a 'hands-on' executive post than it is now.
I of course have no idea of Schuyler Colfax (1869-73) involvement in Reconstruction, VP under Grant.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27787397?se...b_contents This site won't let me cut and paste the intro to this 1943 article on Schuyler Colfax. It is short and sweet, however, and gives you the basic idea (at that time) as to his role in Reconstruction. As for him as VP under Grant, I suspect you would have to cut through the other scandals of that administration to see what his role was in Reconstruction.

[Anita]

Thanks to all who posted here. I found a free eBook by Hamlin's grandson Charles Eugene Hamlin published in 1899. It's over 600 pages and I'm working my way through it. The title is "The Life and Times Of Hannibal Hamlin".
https://archive.org/details/hannibalhamlin00hamlrich

Yes Laurie, from what I've been reading Hamlin didn't want to be Vice President in 1860 and made this known to his supporters at the convention. He wrote this to his wife. " Well, dear, I presume you were as much astonished as myself at my nomination for Vice-President. I was amazed at it. I neither expected nor desired it. But it has been made, and as a man faithful to the cause, it leaves me no alternative but to accept it."

Chapter 36 "The History of Johnson's Nomination"
The author states: "But the facts were not given to the public during Mr. Hamlin s life out of deference to his wishes, and they are now presented chiefly because an attempt was made after Mr. Hamlin s lips were closed forever to represent President Lincoln as the cause of the substitution of Andrew Johnson. This was a slander on the honor of Abraham Lincoln. He not only desired at even his own risk, and finally he was terribly disgusted both for political and personal reasons over the selection of Johnson for his associate. Mr. Hamlin s reasons for maintaining silence will be readily appreciated by those who understood his character. He was inexpressibly pained and disgusted at Johnson s conduct as President, but he believed " the least said the soonest mended." If he had allowed it to be known that Charles Sumner was the chief cause of his defeat, that would have impaired Mr. Sumner s usefulness, and increased the animosity in the Republican party without accomplishing any good. Thus the causes of Mr. Hamlin s retirement from the presidential ticket in 1 864 remained a mystery, except to those who were responsible for it, and a few others. Their silence is in marked contrast to the vociferous professions of wiseacres who claimed to know it all, and yet kept the mystery to themselves until the last important figure of the Lincoln administration had passed away. History need pass no comment on that. The facts of this convention tell their own story." There a supplement to the book with letters from Hay and Nicolay stating Lincoln supported Hamlin as his second term VP.

Roger, is this true or is there more to it? Lincoln had no reason not to share his decision with Hamlin if Johnson was his choice. I can't believe he would let Hamlin find out at the Convention. I believe by the time Lincoln learned what had happened it was too late to go back. There's more than meets the eye here.

---

Speaking of Vice Presidents, here's an interesting article by
Beth Py-Lieberman
smithsonian.com
November 18, 2014

"How the Office of the Vice Presidency Evolved from Nothing to Something"
Vice President John Adams once said “In this I am nothing, But I may be everything.” new book tells how the office has moved from irrelevance to power.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsoni...180953302/

[L Verge]

Anita has probably already perused the U.S. Senate's online page regarding Schuyler Colfax, but its opening paragraph is telling - especially Lincoln's opinion (if accurate):

Schuyler Colfax, 17th Vice President (1869-1873) Schuyler Colfax

"As amiable a man who ever served in Congress, good-natured, kindly, cordial, and always diplomatic, Indiana's Schuyler Colfax won the nickname "Smiler" Colfax. Through two of the most tumultuous decades in American public life, Colfax glided smoothly from the Whig to Know-Nothing to Republican parties, mingling easily with both conservatives and radicals. He rose to become Speaker of the House and vice president and seemed poised to achieve his goal of the presidency. Along the way, there were those who doubted the sincerity behind the smile and suspected that for all his political dexterity, Colfax stood for nothing save his own advancement. Those close to President Abraham Lincoln later revealed that he considered Speaker Colfax an untrustworthy intriguer, and President Ulysses S. Grant seemed relieved when the Republican convention dumped Vice President Colfax from the ticket in 1872. Even the press, which counted the Indiana editor as a colleague and pumped him up to national prominence, eventually turned on Colfax and shredded his once admirable reputation until he disappeared into the forgotten recesses of American history...

"When the Thirty-eighth Congress convened in December 1863, House Republicans—with their numbers considerably thinned—elected Schuyler Colfax Speaker, despite President Lincoln's preference for a Speaker less tied to the Radical faction of his party. ...

"Colfax's efforts at party harmony and a moderate course of Reconstruction were short lived. Johnson resented Colfax's preempting his own statement of policy on the subject. The president's plans to reconstruct the South showed little regard for the rights of the freedmen, and he vetoed such relatively moderate congressional efforts as the Freedmen's Bureau bill. His action drove moderate and radical Republicans into an alliance that brought about congressional Reconstruction of the South. Finally, Johnson's dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in violation of the Tenure of Office Act convinced even moderates like Colfax that the president must be impeached. Through all of these dramatic events, Colfax's most astonishing success was his ability to retain the support of all sides in his party and to hold House Republicans together. The party defections that saved Johnson took place in the Senate rather than the House. ..."

Anita is certainly correct that it is difficult to find much on Colfax as VP unless you want to dwell on his entanglement in the scandals of the administration.

[Anita]

(06-24-2018 06:37 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Anita has probably already perused the U.S. Senate's online page regarding Schuyler Colfax, but its opening paragraph is telling - especially Lincoln's opinion (if accurate):

Schuyler Colfax, 17th Vice President (1869-1873) Schuyler Colfax

"As amiable a man who ever served in Congress, good-natured, kindly, cordial, and always diplomatic, Indiana's Schuyler Colfax won the nickname "Smiler" Colfax. Through two of the most tumultuous decades in American public life, Colfax glided smoothly from the Whig to Know-Nothing to Republican parties, mingling easily with both conservatives and radicals. He rose to become Speaker of the House and vice president and seemed poised to achieve his goal of the presidency. Along the way, there were those who doubted the sincerity behind the smile and suspected that for all his political dexterity, Colfax stood for nothing save his own advancement. Those close to President Abraham Lincoln later revealed that he considered Speaker Colfax an untrustworthy intriguer, and President Ulysses S. Grant seemed relieved when the Republican convention dumped Vice President Colfax from the ticket in 1872. Even the press, which counted the Indiana editor as a colleague and pumped him up to national prominence, eventually turned on Colfax and shredded his once admirable reputation until he disappeared into the forgotten recesses of American history...

"When the Thirty-eighth Congress convened in December 1863, House Republicans—with their numbers considerably thinned—elected Schuyler Colfax Speaker, despite President Lincoln's preference for a Speaker less tied to the Radical faction of his party. ...

"Colfax's efforts at party harmony and a moderate course of Reconstruction were short lived. Johnson resented Colfax's preempting his own statement of policy on the subject. The president's plans to reconstruct the South showed little regard for the rights of the freedmen, and he vetoed such relatively moderate congressional efforts as the Freedmen's Bureau bill. His action drove moderate and radical Republicans into an alliance that brought about congressional Reconstruction of the South. Finally, Johnson's dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in violation of the Tenure of Office Act convinced even moderates like Colfax that the president must be impeached. Through all of these dramatic events, Colfax's most astonishing success was his ability to retain the support of all sides in his party and to hold House Republicans together. The party defections that saved Johnson took place in the Senate rather than the House. ..."

Anita is certainly correct that it is difficult to find much on Colfax as VP unless you want to dwell on his entanglement in the scandals of the administration.

Laurie, yes I read the article. I guess Lincoln wasn't fooled by his nickname, "Smiler" Colfax. Thanks for posting the excerpt. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/his...Colfax.htm

From The "Tragic Life and Cold Death of Schuyler Colfax" by Todd Arrington.

" After his inglorious departure from the vice presidency, Colfax traveled the country as a popular lecturer, often speaking about his interactions with Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. On the morning of January 13, 1885, he arrived in Mankato, Minnesota on a train from Milwaukee. Mankato was just a stop for Colfax; he was trying to get to Iowa for a speaking engagement. The Omaha Line Depot from which the next leg of his journey would depart was about three-quarters of a mile away. Despite a reported temperature of thirty degrees below zero, Colfax walked from one station to the other. Upon arriving at the Omaha Line Depot, Colfax entered the waiting room, looked at a map on the wall, sat down, and died. No one in the station knew who the dead man was until they searched his pockets and found a letter with his name on it. His death was likely caused by a heart attack brought on by the physical exertion of walking almost a mile in extreme cold. Colfax was only sixty-one when he died."

http://werehistory.org/schuyler-colfax/

[kerry]

There were a few interviews with Hamlin late in life in which he briefly said that he was actually quite intimate with Lincoln, but few people knew it, and he was evidently not disposed to go into detail. I would guess that Lincoln's personal feelings toward Hamlin had little to do with his replacement -- it was probably all political maneuvering, and that's why no one has the story straight. Lincoln was intentionally vague at times and people go in circles trying to pin him down. From what I've read so far, he seems to have been an amiable, good man with good principles, who wasn't showy, but also wasn't afraid to stand up for what was right. He reportedly resigned his government position rather than work with Johnson, and argued with Hayes on Reconstruction, so he was definitely not a supporter of how things went.


According to Wikipedia, "In 1860, Hamlin was the Republican nominee for Vice President; selected to run with Abraham Lincoln, who was from Illinois, Hamlin was chosen in part to bring geographic balance to the ticket and in part because as a former Democrat, he could work to convince other anti-slavery Democrats that their future lay with the Republican Party." If that's accurate, it's not surprising the conditions of 1864 required someone else.

[Anita]

I've read on a few sites that Hamlin and Mary Lincoln didn't like each other. Is this true? Can't find reference sources.

"White House etiquette did not even allow the Vice President regularly to attend cabinet meetings so unlike heads of departments, he seldom visited the White House—perhaps because he and Mary Todd Lincoln did not like each other." http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/resi...1809-1891/

[RJNorton]

In The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage author Daniel Mark Epstein writes (with regard to the Inaugural Ball):

"As the band struck up Hail Columbia, Mr. Lincoln and Washington's mayor, arm in arm, led a grand march across the pavilion, and Mrs. Lincoln followed with Stephen Douglas. Then the president stood with Mrs. Hamlin at the upper end of the room, at the head of the receiving line, while Mary stood lower down."

Could Mary have reacted poorly to this? Could this have turned her against the Hamlins?

[Anita]

(06-28-2018 04:28 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  In The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage author Daniel Mark Epstein writes (with regard to the Inaugural Ball):

"As the band struck up Hail Columbia, Mr. Lincoln and Washington's mayor, arm in arm, led a grand march across the pavilion, and Mrs. Lincoln followed with Stephen Douglas. Then the president stood with Mrs. Hamlin at the upper end of the room, at the head of the receiving line, while Mary stood lower down."

Could Mary have reacted poorly to this? Could this have turned her against the Hamlins?

Mary would not have been happy with Mrs. Hamlin next to Lincoln! Mary's reaction in similar situations is documented. Her place was next to Lincoln.

[L Verge]

(06-28-2018 11:20 AM)Anita Wrote:  

(06-28-2018 04:28 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  In The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage author Daniel Mark Epstein writes (with regard to the Inaugural Ball):

"As the band struck up Hail Columbia, Mr. Lincoln and Washington's mayor, arm in arm, led a grand march across the pavilion, and Mrs. Lincoln followed with Stephen Douglas. Then the president stood with Mrs. Hamlin at the upper end of the room, at the head of the receiving line, while Mary stood lower down."

Could Mary have reacted poorly to this? Could this have turned her against the Hamlins?

Mary would not have been happy with Mrs. Hamlin next to Lincoln! Mary's reaction in similar situations is documented. Her place was next to Lincoln.

I am not sure if solid protocol as to how such events were handled was in place in 1861, but if they were as strict then as they are now, Mary Lincoln would have had no choice. And, she is the one who dreamed of the pomp, ceremony, and pageantry that went with the office of President. Let's hope for once that she understood the situation,