Maryland constitutional questions after Fort Sumter

[David Lockmiller]

A New York Times correspondent reported on President Lincoln’s July 4, 1861 Message to Congress in the July 7, 1861 edition of the Times:

“The Message, which is plain, strong, and characteristic of its author, made a profound sensation in the two houses of Congress. It will be found quite equal to the public expectation, as it regards the vigor of the policy it recommends; and in spite of obvious faults of style, I venture to say that it will add to the popularity of the Rail-splitter. It is evidently the production of an honest, clear-headed and straightforward man; and its direct and forcible logic and quaint style of illustration will cause it to be read with peculiar pleasure by the masses of the people. The announcement that Congress would be called upon to raise an army of four hundred thousand men and a budget of four hundred millions of dollars was received with irrepressible applause. The attention paid to the reading was profound; a fact due, in part, to the intense desire to know what policy the President would recommend, and in part to the absence of printed copies from the desks of the members.”

Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote in her book Team of Rivals at page 368 regarding the Northern newspaper reporting on the President’s Message and, in particular, quoting the New York Times correspondent quoted immediately above:

Northern newspapers generally praised the message, though some failed to appreciate the rigor of Lincoln’s appeal and the clear grace of his language. “In spite of obvious faults in style,” the New York Times correspondent conceded, “I venture to say that it will add to the popularity of the Rail-splitter. It is evidently the production of an honest, clear-headed and straightforward man; and its direct and forcible logic and quaint style of illustration will cause it to be read with peculiar pleasure by the masses of the people.”

I agree with Doris Kearns Goodwin’s assessment!