“The excitement…was upon him”: GW to Isaac N. Arnold, November 27, 1872, folder 1, Isaac Newton Arnold Papers, Chicago Historical Society.
the citizens of Springfield…to their homes: William E. Baringer, A House Dividing: Lincoln as President Elect (Springfield, Ill.: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1945), p. 6.
“I began at once…the burden”: Entry for August 15, 1862, Diary of Gideon Welles: Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson. Vol. I: 1861–March 30, 1864, ed. Howard K. Beale (New York: W. W. Norton, 1960), p. 82.
“into its usual quietness”: JGN to TB, November 11, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
“This was on…finally selected”: Entry for August 15, 1862, Welles diary, Vol. I (1960 edn.), p. 82.
On a blank card…a former Whig: Enclosure in Kinsley S. Bingham, Solomon Foot, and Zachariah Chandler to AL, January 21, 1861, Lincoln Papers; Donald, Lincoln, pp. 261–62.
“the mad scramble”: Harry J. Carman and Reinhard H. Luthin, Lincoln and the Patronage (New York: Columbia University Press, 1943; Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1964), p. 3.
“muddy boots…often ringing laughter”: Henry Villard, Lincoln on the Eve of ’61: A Journalist’s Story, ed. Harold G. and Oswald Garrison Villard (New York: A. A. Knopf, 1941; Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1974), pp. 15, 13.
“showed remarkable tact…always perfect”: Henry Villard, Memoirs of Henry Villard, Journalist and Financier, 1835–1900. Vol. I: 1835–1862 (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1904; New York: Da Capo Press, 1969), pp. 142, 143.
Lincoln’s penchant for telling stories: New York Daily News, reprinted in Daily Ohio Statesman, Columbus, Ohio, November 20, 1860.
“helped many times…disappointments”: Villard, Memoirs of Henry Villard, Vol. I, p. 147.
“he is the very…general disposition”: Villard, Lincoln on the Eve of ’61, pp. 39–40.
John Hay: William Roscoe Thayer, The Life and Letters of John Hay, Vol. I (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1915), pp. 19, 48–49, 52–53, 68–69, 74, 82, 87; Villard, Memoirs of Henry Villard, Vol. I, p. 141.
For Mary…exciting time: Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln, p. 165.
“Is that the old woman”: Villard, Lincoln on the Eve of ’61, p. 20.
he asked Hannibal Hamlin…to meet him in Chicago: AL to Hannibal Hamlin, November 8, 1860, in CW, IV, p. 136.
he invited his old friend: AL to Joshua F. Speed, November 19, 1860, in ibid., p. 141.
“was so full of good humor…with laughter”: Charles Eugene Hamlin, The Life and Times of Hannibal Hamlin. Vol. II. American History and Culture in the Nineteenth Century series (Cambridge, Mass.: Riverside Press, 1899; Port Washington, N.Y., and London: Kennikat Press, 1971), p. 367.
biographical information on Hamlin: See William A. Robinson, “Hamlin, Hannibal,” in Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. IV, ed. Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1931; 1960), pp. 196–99; H. Draper Hunt, Hannibal Hamlin of Maine: Lincoln’s First Vice-President (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1969).
two men began…of both Adams and Welles: Hamlin, The Life and Times of Hannibal Hamlin, Vol. II, pp. 368–70 (quotes p. 368).
“threw himself…can afford to take”: Joshua F. Speed interview, [1865–1866], in HI, p. 475.
Mary had a splendid time: NYH, November 23 and 24, 1860.
“an intensified crossword…to harmonize”: Helen Nicolay, “Lincoln’s Cabinet,” Abraham Lincoln Quarterly 5 (March 1949), p. 258.
“in view of…influence”: JGN memorandum, December 15, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
Seward never questioned: Miller, Lincoln’s Virtues, p. 12.
“Of course… any other person”: Charles Francis Adams to WHS, November 11, 1860, reel 60, Seward Papers.
“You will be offered…in the Presidency”: Simon Cameron to WHS, November 13, 1860, reel 60, Seward Papers.
The Whig Party had provided: Hendrick, Lincoln’s War Cabinet, p. 79.
Thurlow Weed invited Lincoln…Lincoln wisely declined: Entry of December 3, 1865, Welles diary, Vol. II, pp. 388–89; Hendrick, Lincoln’s War Cabinet, pp. 93–94.
“if obnoxious men…otherwise have”: JGN to [TB?], November 16, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
he directed Hamlin…Lincoln’s instructions: Hannibal Hamlin to AL, December 4, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
In reply to Hamlin…“at once”: AL to Hannibal Hamlin, December 8, 1860, in CW, IV, p. 147.
Hamlin caught up…contained the formal invitation: Hamlin, The Life and Times of Hannibal Hamlin, Vol. II, p. 372 (quote); “Alphabetical List of Senators and Representatives, with Their Residences in Washington,” in William H. Boyd, Boyd’s Washington and Georgetown Directory(Washington, D.C.: Taylor & Maury, 1860), p. 230.
“trembled…nervous”: Entry for December 3, 1865, Welles diary, Vol. II, p. 389.
“With your permission…fit to be made”: AL to WHS, December 8, 1860, in CW, IV, p. 148.
“pale with excitement…practicable moment”: Hamlin, The Life and Times of Hannibal Hamlin, Vol. II, pp. 372–73.
“a little time…under existing circumstances”: WHS to AL, December 13, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
Bates in Springfield: Entry for December 15, 1860, in Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. II, p. 301; Cain, Lincoln’s Attorney General, p. 122.
he encountered John Nicolay…“genial and easy”: JGN memorandum, December 15, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
Bates walked over…the afternoon together: Entry for December 16, 1860, in The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866, p. 164 (quote); JGN memorandum, December 15, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
“from the time…its complete success”: Entry for December 16, 1860, in The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866, p. 164.
“should offer…the Attorney Generalship”: JGN memorandum, December 15, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
“peace and order”…under President Fillmore: Entry for December 16, 1860, in The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866, p. 165.
“everybody expects…family to ridicule”: Entry for October 13, 1860, in ibid., p. 153.
“in trouble and danger…of his country”: JGN memorandum, December 15, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
“a good effect…border slave States”: EB to AL, December 18, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
“Let a little…which Department”: AL to EB, December 18, 1860, in CW, IV, p. 154.
“we all feel…way in our power”: Leonard Swett to TW, November 26, 1860, reprinted in Barnes, Memoir of Thurlow Weed, p. 301.
“Mr. Lincoln…his administration”: Swett to TW, December 10, 1860, reprinted in ibid., pp. 301–02.
“present unsettled…a few days ago”: WHS to AL, December 16, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
Weed arrived in Springfield: Entry for December 20, 1860, Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. II, p. 302.
uncovered…“the rising sun!”: Newspaper clipping, Rochester, N.Y., Weed Papers.
“took to each other…of a nation”: Swett to TW, reprinted in Barnes, Memoir of Thurlow Weed, pp. 294–95.
conversation between Weed and Lincoln: Autobiography of Thurlow Weed, ed. Weed, pp. 606–11; Swett, quoted in Barnes, Memoir of Thurlow Weed, pp. 293–94; see also Chicago Tribune, July 14, 1878.
“made strong opposition”: Swett to TW, reprinted in Barnes, Memoir of Thurlow Weed, p. 294.
“more than any one…to Mr. Seward”: GW to Isaac N. Arnold, November 27, 1872, folder 1, Isaac Newton Arnold Papers, Chicago Historical Society, Chicago, Ill.
Far better than Welles: Entry for December 27, 1860, Charles Francis Adams diary, reel 76; NYTrib, June 25, 1877.
disingenuously claimed…“unfit personally”: Swett to TW, reprinted in Barnes, Memoir of Thurlow Weed, p. 294.
Hamlin preferred: Hamlin, The Life and Times of Hannibal Hamlin, Vol. II, p. 375.
Lincoln claimed…“and not theirs”: Entry for August 15, 1862, Welles diary, Vol. I (1960 edn.), p. 82.
“an attractive figure-head…secretary of the navy”: Autobiography of Thurlow Weed, ed. Weed, p. 611.
“Has he been…Blair, Sr.?”: Ibid., p. 607.
regret his selection…“he would appoint him”: Swett to TW, reprinted in Barnes, Memoir of Thurlow Weed, p. 294.
“You seem to forget…and ballasted”: Autobiography of Thurlow Weed, ed. Weed, p. 610.
“capable in the…for himself”: TW in Albany Evening Journal, quoted in Van Deusen, Thurlow Weed, p. 261.
“In one aspect…in the other”: TW to WHS, December 25, 1860, reel 60, Seward Papers.
he had imagined…“for him but acceptance”: Entry for December 27, 1860, Charles Francis Adams diary, reel 76.
“after due reflection…to accept”: WHS to AL, December 28, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
“I have advised…freedom and my country”: WHS to FAS, December 1860, quoted in Seward, Seward at Washington…1846–1861, p. 487.
“In these troublous…here at once”: AL to SPC, December 31, 1860, in CW, IV, p. 168.
“they should be placed…been your friends”: Swett to AL, May 20, 1860, Davis Papers, ALPLM.
“from very strong and unexpected quarters”: AL to Hannibal Hamlin, November 27, 1860, in CW, IV, p. 145.
Cameron to Springfield: Carman and Luthin, Lincoln and the Patronage, p. 25.
“The unexpected arrival”…unsavory reputation: Villard, Lincoln on the Eve of ’61, pp. 45–46 (quotes p. 45).
reached the Chenery House: Entry for December 30, 1860, Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. II, p. 304.
“Shall I have the honor…to call here?”: Simon Cameron to AL, December 30, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
conversation between Lincoln and Cameron: Carman and Luthin, Lincoln and the Patronage, pp. 25–26.
“an exuberant school boy”: Erwin Stanley Bradley, Simon Cameron, Lincoln’s Secretary of War: A Political Biography (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1966), p. 168.
“There is an odor…such an appointment”: Lyman Trumbull to AL, December 31, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
“Since seeing you…tendered you”: AL to Simon Cameron, January 3, 1861, in CW, IV, pp. 169–70.
“travel-stained…from Columbus”: Niven, Salmon P. Chase, p. 222 (quote); entry for January 4, 1861, Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. II, p. 3.
meeting between Lincoln and Chase…“offer it to you”: Schuckers, The Life and Public Services of Salmon Portland Chase, p. 201.
“I frankly said…could give”: SPC to George Opdyke, January 9, 1861, reel 14, Chase Papers.
“without hesitation…the advice of friends”: SPC to George Opdyke, January 9, 1861, reel 14, Chase Papers.
Chase attended Sunday church: Entry for January 6, 1861, Lincoln Day by Day: A Chronology, 1809–1865. Vol. III: 1861–1865, ed. Earl Schenck Miers (Washington, D.C.: Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission, 1960; Dayton, Ohio: Morningside, 1991), p. 4.
Lincoln meets with Koerner and Judd: Entry for January 6, 1861, ibid., pp. 3–4.
“I am in a quandary…at the convention”: Koerner, Memoirs of Gustave Koerner, Vol. II, p. 114.
“It seems to me…brought to co-operate”: AL to Lyman Trumbull, January 7, 1861, in CW, IV, p. 171.
“under great anxiety…I consistently can”: AL to Simon Cameron, January 13, 1861, in ibid., p. 174.
“were entirely free & unreserved”: SPC to James S. Pike, January 10, 1861, reel 14, Chase Papers.
“What is done…to Springfield”: SPC to Hiram Barney, January 8, 1861, reel 14, Chase Papers.
had convinced Lincoln…official offers: Oates, With Malice Toward None, p. 220.
“I think that in allowing…and accept it”: SPC to Elizabeth Ellicott Pike, January 27, 1861, reel 14, Chase Papers.
“a snowballing process”: Elbert B. Smith, The Presidency of James Buchanan (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1975), p. 138.
“desired by all…of the multitude”: Charleston Courier, quoted in Richmond Enquirer, November 16, 1860.
the election of a…the John Brown raid: Smith, The Presidency of James Buchanan, pp. 129–32.
The bachelor president…“let out from school”: Sara Pryor, Reminiscences of Peace and War, rev. and enlarged edn. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1904; New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1905; 1908), pp. 110–11 (quotes p. 111).
“looked stunned…of his chair”: Entry for December 20, 1860, in E. B. Long, The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865 (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1971), p. 13.
“both the authority…integrity”: [JGN to TB?], November 15, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
“indefatigable…authorities, etc.”: Villard, Lincoln on the Eve of ’61, p. 37.
willing to reduce…“a period of years”: AL, quoted in Helm, The True Story of Mary, p. 161.
“a position towards…for his election”: Koerner, Memoirs of Gustave Koerner, Vol. II, p. 105.
He was determined to stand…impact on the South: Donald, Lincoln, p. 260.
“I could say nothing…clamor all the louder”: AL to Nathaniel P. Paschall, November 16, 1860, in CW, IV, pp. 139–40.
“each and all of the States…any administration”: AL, “Passage Written for Lyman Trumbull’s Speech at Springfield, Illinois,” November 20, 1860, in ibid., p. 141.
“On the contrary…war against them”: AL to Henry J. Raymond, November 28, 1860, in ibid., p. 146.
“has eyes…does not hear”: AL, quoted in Oates, With Malice Toward None, p. 213.
“blaze of passion…offended deity”: William Smedes to Henry J. Raymond, December 8, 1860, enclosed in Raymond to AL, December 14, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
“What a very mad-man…forgery out and out”: AL to Henry J. Raymond, December 18, 1860, in CW, IV, p. 156.
the “Great Secession Winter”: See Henry Adams, The Great Secession Winter of 1860–61 and Other Essays, ed. George Hochfield (New York: Sagamore Press, 1958).
“no compromise…any time hereafter”: AL to Lyman Trumbull, December 10, 1860, in CW, IV, pp. 149–50.
“fugitive slaves…amongst us”: AL to WHS, February 1, 1861, in ibid., p. 183.
“the Constitution should”…Fugitive Slave Law be repealed: Footnote to AL, “Resolutions Drawn up for Republican Members of Senate Committee of Thirteen,” [December 20, 1860], in ibid., p. 157n.
Seward agreed…John Crittenden: WHS to AL, December 26, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
The Crittenden Compromise: Potter, The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861, pp. 531–32.
“the slightest…Loyalty stronger”: WHS to AL, December 26, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
three federal forts…all three were in its domain: Entry for December 22, 1860, in Long, The Civil War Day by Day, p. 14.
three commissioners…Buchanan administration: Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, p. 95.
“From the first…the federal government”: JGN to TB, December 30, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
“to surrender…hang him!”: JGN to [TB?], December 22, 1860, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
“to either hold… may require”: AL to Elihu B. Washburne, December 21, 1860, in CW, IV, p. 159.
“vying”…bolster Buchanan’s will: Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, pp. 91, 93 (quote).
Anderson preempted…Castle Pinckney: Entries for December 26 and 27, 1860, in Long, The Civil War Day by Day, pp. 15–16.
Buchanan agreed…and headed north: Entries for January 2, 5, 8, and 9, 1861, in Long, The Civil War Day by Day, pp. 21–24; entries for January 4 and 5, 1860, Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. III, p. 3.
“a feverish excitement”: WHS to AL, December 28, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
Edwin Stanton…“traitors and spies”: Edwin L. Stanton, quoted in George C. Gorham, Life and Public Services of Edwin M. Stanton, Vol. I (2 vols., Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin and The Riverside Press, 1899), p. 168.
If Maryland and Virginia…“& the navy”: Stephen H. Phillips to Horace Gray, January 31, 1861, Papers of Horace Gray, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
“be made to believe… this danger”: EMS to SPC, January 23, 1861, reel 14, Chase Papers.
“came to a momentous…for him to turn”: Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, pp. 98 (first quote), 99 (second quote), 100.
Watson would call…“discussed and settled”: Henry Wilson, “Jeremiah S. Black and Edwin M. Stanton,” Atlantic Monthly 26 (October 1870), p. 465.
“At length I have gotten…prudence is omitted”: WHS to AL, December 29, 1860, Lincoln Papers.
“treason is all around and amongst us”: WHS to FAS, December 29, 1860, quoted in Seward, Seward at Washington…1846–1861, p. 488.
“abettors near the President”: WHS to TW, December 29, 1860, quoted in ibid., p. 487.
Stanton secretly spread word: Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, pp. 108, 110, 111; Henry Wilson, “Edwin M. Stanton,” Atlantic Monthly 25 (February 1870), p. 237.
“By early disclosure…enemies of their country”: Henry L. Dawes, “Washington the Winter Before the War,” Atlantic Monthly 72 (August 1893), p. 163.
Stanton invited Sumner to his office: Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, p. 111; Wilson, “Jeremiah S. Black and Edwin M. Stanton,” Atlantic Monthly (1870), p. 466.
“found and read…place of deposit”: Dawes, “Washington the Winter Before the War,” Atlantic Monthly (1893), p. 163.
“held the key to all discontent”: “Two Manuscripts of Gideon Welles,” ed. Muriel Bernitt, New England Quarterly XI (September 1938), p. 589.
“came to be regarded…Republican party”: Wilson, “Jeremiah S. Black and Edwin M. Stanton,” Atlantic Monthly (1870), p. 465.
“By common consent…ruler of the country”: Adams, The Great Secession Winter, p. 22.
“Never in the history…from Lincoln himself”: Chicago Tribune, January 17, 1861.
“The families of nearly”…Jefferson Davis: NYTrib, January 19, 1861.
“No man was…his every word”: Boston Atlas and Bee, reprinted Cincinnati Commercial, January 20, 1861.
“to set forth…destruction would involve”: NYT, January 14, 1861.
of “perpetual civil war…everything is lost”: WHS, January 12, 1861, Congressional Globe, 36th Cong., 2nd sess., p. 342.
“difficult to restrain…his handkerchief”: Boston Atlas and Bee, reprinted Cincinnati Commercial, January 20, 1861.
“to meet prejudice…shall have ended”: WHS, January 12, 1861, Congressional Globe, 36th Cong., 2nd sess., pp. 343–44.
five Southern senators: See farewell remarks of Senators Yulee, Mallory, Clay, Fitzpatrick, and Davis, January 21, 1861, Congressional Globe, 36th Cong., 2nd sess., pp. 484–87; entry for January 21, 1861, in Long, The Civil War Day by Day, pp. 28–29.
“inexpressibly sad”: William C. Davis, Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour (New York: HarperCollins, 1991), pp. 295–96 (quote p. 296).
“in a state…on despair”: NYT, January 23, 1861.
“I am sure…wish you well”: Farewell remarks of Jefferson Davis, January 21, 1861, Congressional Globe, 36th Cong., 2nd sess., p. 487.
Seward himself had visited…Democrats and Republicans: Davis, Jefferson Davis, p. 261.
“Your man outtalked…but I didn’t”: Ishbel Ross, First Lady of the South: The Life of Mrs. Jefferson Davis (New York: Harper & Bros., 1958), p. 85.
“Mrs Jef asked me…bonds between us”: EBL to SPL, December 17, 1860, in ed. Laas, Wartime Washington, p. 18.
packed up their belongings…“ended in Washington”: Margaret Leech, Reveille in Washington, 1860–1865 (New York: Harper & Row, 1941; New York: Carroll & Graf, 1991), p. 31.
His “great wish…of the disunionists”: Adams, The Great Secession Winter, pp. 13, 14.
“As an indication…of every section”: NYT, January 14, 1861.
“many are sanguine…tide of secession”: NYT, January 16, 1861.
“fought…took new courage”: Adams, The Great Secession Winter, p. 23.
“Secession has run its course”: Entry for February 20, 1861, Diary of George Templeton Strong. Vol. III: The Civil War, 1860–1865, ed. Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1952), p. 100.
“for the new Administration…to subside”: WHS to FAS, January 23, 1861, quoted in Seward, Seward at Washington…1846–1861, p. 497.
“I deplore S[eward]’s speech”: CS to John Jay, January 17, 1861, reel 74, Sumner Papers.
“read me his speech…no such thing”: CS to Samuel Gridley Howe, January 17, 1861, reel 64, Sumner Papers.
“seeks to purchase peace…years war”: Thaddeus Stevens to SPC, February 3, 1861, reel 14, Chase Papers.
“What do you think…be found wanting”: Carl Schurz to his wife, February 4, 1861, in Carl Schurz, Intimate Letters of Carl Schurz, 1841–1869, trans. and ed. Joseph Schafer, orig. published as Vol. XXX of the Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1928 (New York: Da Capo Press, 1970), pp. 242–43.
“There he was…left him at Auburn”: Adams, Jr., Charles Francis Adams, 1835–1915, p. 79.
“Eloquent as your speech…of your dangers”: FAS to WHS, January 19, 1861, reel 14, Seward Papers.
“I am not surprised…most effective weapons”: WHS to FAS, quoted in Seward, Seward at Washington…1846–1861, pp. 496–97.
“It will do…by and with”: TW to WHS, January 19, 1861, reel 61, Seward Papers.
“In the cars…jealousies and hatreds”: TW to WHS, February 14, 1861, reel 61, Seward Papers.
“Your recent speech…over the country”: AL to WHS, January 19, 1861, in CW, IV, p. 176.
“he had heard from…on it at present”: Entry of February 5, 1861, Charles Francis Adams diary, reel 76.
“Seward made all…says so openly”: Carl Schurz to his wife, February 9, 1861, in Schurz, Intimate Letters of Carl Schurz, 1841–1869, p. 247.