The resolution was passed and Lincoln's nomination became a
mere formality.
But Senator Winter had only begun to fight. His whole life as an
Abolitionist had been spent in opposition to majorities. He had no
constructive power and no constructive imagination. His genius was
purely destructive, but it was genius. Without a moment's delay he began
his plans to force the President to withdraw from his own ticket in the
midst of his campaign.
The one ominous sign which the man in the White House saw with dread was
the rapid growth through these dark days of a "Peace-at-any-Price"
sentiment within his own party lines in the heart of the loyal North.
Again Horace Greeley and his great paper voiced this cry of despair.
The mischief he was doing was incalculable because he persisted in
teaching the millions who read his paper that peace was at any time
possible if Abraham Lincoln would only agree to accept it. As a
Southern-born man, the President knew the workings of the mind of
Jefferson Davis as clearly as he understood his own. Both these men were
born in Kentucky within a few miles of each other on almost the same
day. The President knew that Jefferson Davis would never consider any
settlement of the war except on the basis of the division of the Union
and the recognition of the Confederacy.
Pages:
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515