In the meantime I must tell
you once more that I am not the representative of a clique, or faction.
I am the Chief Magistrate of all the people--I am going to save this
Union for them and their children. I hope to live to see the death of
Slavery. That is in God's hands. My duty to-day is as clear as the
noonday sun. I can't lose the Border Slave States at this stage of the
game and save the Union--therefore I must hold them at all hazards. Let
the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things if they will----"
"Then it's a waste of breath to talk!" the Senator suddenly shouted.
The rugged head bowed gracefully:
"I thought so from the first--but I've tried to be polite----"
"Good day, sir!"
"Good day, Senator," the President laughed, "come in any time you want
to let off steam. It'll make you feel easier and it won't hurt me."
Abraham Lincoln knew the real cause of public irritation and loss of
confidence. The outburst of wrath over Fremont was but a symptom. The
disease lay deeper. The people had lost confidence in his War Department
through the failure of his first Secretary and the inactivity of the
army under McClellan. He had applied the remedy to the first cause in
the dismissal of Cameron and the appointment of Stanton. It remained to
be seen whether he could control his Commanding General, or whether
McClellan would control the Government.
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