The Reputation of Presidents Takes a Hit in Their Second Term

[David Lockmiller]

Doris Kearns Goodwin added the following information in her text at pages 695-696:

“The proposition met with unanimous disapproval from the cabinet, all of whom were present except Seward. . . . Had Seward been there, Usher mused, ‘he would probably have approved the measure.’ Without a trace of support among his colleagues at the table, Lincoln felt compelled to forsake his proposition, which, in any event, as Jefferson Davis made clear, was unacceptable to the Confederacy. So the war would continue until the South capitulated.”

Roger, what do you (or anyone who would like to voice an opinion) think of these statements?