March 4, 1861 Monday Inauguration of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln of Illinois was inaugurated sixteenth President of the United States. In the morning President Buchanan and his Cabinet met at the Capitol to examine final bills. Sec. of War Holt informed the President that he had word from Maj. Anderson that without twenty thousand reinforcements Fort Sumter could not be held or supplied. Holt indicated he would inform the President-elect.
Morning cloudy and raw; 30,000 gather to hear Inaugural Address; no disturbance occurs during day. Lincoln sends letter to Sen. Seward (N.Y.) asking him to remain in cabinet and to reply by 9 A.M. next day. President-elect receives Judge Davis, Edward Bates, Gideon Welles, and others. Gives final touches to Inaugural Address. Shortly after 12 M. President Buchanan and Lincoln emerge from 14th Street door of hotel and join Sens. James A. Pearce (Md.) and Edward D. Baker (Oreg.) of Arrangements Committee. In open carriage they ride in procession to Capitol. Files of soldiers line streets; riflemen on rooftops watch windows; artillery is posted near Capitol, which Lincoln enters through boarded tunnel. Senate is called to order, and oath of office administered to Hannibal Hamlin by Vice President Breckinridge. Buchanan and Lincoln occupy seats in front of secretary's desk. On portico of Capitol about 1 P.M. Baker introduces Lincoln. Weather is bright and clear. On rising to deliver Inaugural Address Lincoln "could hardly find room for his hat, and Senator Douglas reaching forward, took it with a smile and held it during the delivery of the Address."
Lincoln adjusts glasses, unfolds manuscript, and reads: "Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States, that by the accession of a Republican Administration, their property, and their peace, and personal security, are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. . . . I take the official oath to-day, with no mental reservations, and with no purpose to construe the Constitution or laws, by any hypercritical rules. . . . I hold, that in contemplation of universal law, and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual. . . . It follows from these views that no State, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union,—that resolves and ordnances to that effect are legally void; . . . I therefore consider that in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union is unbroken; and, to the extent of my ability, I shall take care, . . . that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States. . . . In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence; and there shall be none unless it be forced upon the national authority. . . . One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute. . . . The Chief Magistrate derives all his authority from the people, and they have conferred none upon him to fix terms for the separation of the States. . . . By the frame of the government under which we live, this same people have wisely given their public servants but little power for mischief; . . . While the people retain their virtue, and vigilence [sic], no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government, in the short space of four years. . . . If it were admitted that you who are dissatisfied, hold the right side in the dispute, there still is no single good reason for precipitate action. . . . In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. . . . We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, streching [sic] from every battelefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." He finishes in half an hour. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney administers oath of office. Marine band plays "God Save Our President," and procession to White House begins.
Lincoln and Buchanan exchange farewells at Executive Mansion. President's first official act is to sign John G. Nicolay's appointment as private secretary. About 17 persons sit down with President to first dinner in White House. Lincoln interrupts dinner and speaks to delegation of nearly 1,000 New Yorkers. Presidential party arrives at Inaugural Ball at 11 P.M. Sen. Henry B. Anthony (R.I.) and Vice President Hamlin attend President, who leads Grand March arm in arm with Mayor Berret (Washington). Douglas escorts Mrs. Lincoln and dances quadrille with her. President returns to White House at 1 A.M.; Mrs. Lincoln remains at ball. Later recalls: "The first thing that was handed to me after I entered this room, when I came from the inauguration was the letter from Maj. Anderson saying that their provisions would be exhausted before an expedition could be sent to their relief."
Reaction to the inaugural address was about as expected. Justice John A. Campbell of the Supreme Court, soon to join the Confederacy, called it a “stump speech not an inaugural message” and “incendiary.” The Arkansas True Democrat proclaimed, “If declaring the Union perpetual means coercion, then Lincoln’s inaugural means war!” The Montgomery Weekly Advertiser proclaimed that the address meant “War. War, and nothing less than war, will satisfy the Abolition chief.” The Charleston Mercury: “A more lamentable display of feeble inability to grasp the circumstances of this momentous emergency, could scarcely have been exhibited.” While many in the North applauded, there was dissatisfaction also. The New York Herald said the country is “no Wiser than it was Before.” But the New York Tribune said, “Every word of it has the ring of true metal.”
The new Cabinet had been decided on – Secretary of State, William H. Seward of New York; Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase of Ohio; Secretary of War, Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania; Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles of Connecticut; Secretary of the Interior, Caleb Blood Smith of Indiana; Postmaster General, Montgomery Blair of Maryland; and Attorney General, Edward Bates of Missouri. Three members, Seward, Chase, and Bates, had been leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, and even Cameron and Smith had been vaguely mentioned. The Cabinet represented diverse factions of the new Republican party and diverse opinions on the issues of the day but no Southern representation. Political deals had entered into the appointment of Cameron and Smith.
Confederate Convention in Montgomery adopts the "Stars and Bars" as the nation's flag.
In St Louis the Missouri State Convention, aiming at secession, gathered.
The Confederate Congress confirmed the appointment of Stephen Mallory of Florida as Secretary of the Navy, but only after some discussion as two Florida Congressional representatives objected to the appointment.
_________________ Gen Ned Simms 2/XVI Corps/AotT Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em. VMI Class of '00
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