Chapter 14: “I Do Not Intend to Be Sacrificed”: Fall 1861

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Okay, let's unpack this.

Imagine you've just been elected president, right?

And it's the most chaotic time in American history.

Yeah.

A war is raging.

Your generals are basically at each other's throats and international powers are threatening to jump in.

How do you possibly lead?

It's a powerful image.

Yeah.

And that's exactly the situation Abraham Lincoln walked into in 1861, right after the Civil War kicked off.

So today we're doing a deep dive into a key chapter from Doris Kearns Goodwin's team of rivals.

We're really focusing on this incredibly turbulent early period.

And what we'll see isn't just what happened, but why these early crises were such a masterclass in leadership under fire.

It shows Lincoln's rapid growth.

That's right.

Our mission today is basically to give you a shortcut to understanding those really complex early challenges Lincoln faced.

We're setting the scene in Washington D .C., the Union capital, a city totally on edge.

The survival of the United States is literally hanging in the balance.

The stakes couldn't be Exactly.

We'll meet Lincoln, obviously, and some of the key figures around him, often pretty challenging figures, actually.

And we'll trace how their conflicts, their decisions really laid the groundwork for everything that came later in the war.

And you'll see how these moments really tested Lincoln, his ability to build a coalition, his own moral growth, and just shrewd political strategy, all while trying to hold that very fragile union together.

It's fascinating stuff.

It really is a real look at the crucible of his presidency.

Okay, let's jump right in.

One of Lincoln's first and honestly most frustrating challenges, General George B.

McClellan.

Ah, McClellan, yes.

This dashing figure shows up in Washington, July 1861.

He's only 34, handsome, West Point grad, distinguished family.

Had it all on paper.

Totally.

And the public just went wild for him.

Someone wrote, nothing but a patent pill was ever suddenly famous.

They called him an eagle chick.

An eagle chick.

Right.

He'd gotten the North's only real early victory out in Western Virginia, and he just radiated confidence.

You could see him restoring morale to the nerve -worn residents and the demoralized troops.

Yeah, he even wrote to his wife about it, didn't he?

Saying how the men brighten up now when I go among them.

You could just picture the relief he brought.

The city was desperate for a hero.

Definitely.

But that instant fame, for McClellan anyway, it fueled this immense self -belief, and that led to tension almost immediately.

Right.

He straight away saw the old general -in -chief, Winfield Scott, as the great obstacle.

His main obstacle.

To his own ambition, basically.

Exactly.

McClellan accused Scott of exaggerating enemy numbers, claiming 100 ,000 men in our front when Scott was saying something else.

Scott was understandably furious.

I bet.

And McClellan, he genuinely felt, God has placed a great work in my hands.

He thought he'd become the power of the land.

Even flirted with the idea of a dictatorship.

Wow.

Yeah.

And his private comments about Scott were just brutal.

Called him a perfect imbecile, a dotard, maybe even a traitor.

It's incredible, isn't it?

A young general talking about his superior and even the president like that.

With utter contempt.

So Lincoln, he watches this whole thing unfolding, and he tries for two months to sort of smooth things over.

Patiently, yeah.

So patient.

He put up with McClellan's flagrant breaches of protocol, like being kept waiting downstairs together with other common mortals.

Lincoln famously said he'd hold McClellan's horse if a victory could be achieved.

Which tells you a lot, doesn't it, about Lincoln's early leadership style?

Facing this super popular but really insubordinate general.

It's a huge lesson, I think.

Prioritizing the mission over ego,

over immediate discipline.

Makes sense.

Lincoln knew, at that point anyway, that McClellan's popularity was a huge morale booster.

The union needed that.

So his patience, while amazing, was also strategic, a calculated choice.

Protecting the coalition, the war aim, even if it meant putting up with personal insults and, well, incompetence.

But that inaction, it became a real problem pretty quickly.

McClellan had these magnificent reviews showing off the troops.

All drills and uniforms.

Exactly.

But people in Washington got restive.

Why weren't the troops leaving camp?

And McClellan's excuse was always, I will not move until I am certain that I am completely ready.

Which started causing political headaches, right?

Especially with the radical Republicans in Congress.

Oh, definitely.

They turned on him fast.

Especially after he issued that slave catching order.

Right.

Telling union troops to return fugitive slaves.

Yeah.

He kept insisting the war was just to preserve the integrity of the union, not to raise up the Negro question.

He even asked his Democratic buddies to help him dodge the nigger.

Shows you where his head was at on emancipation back then.

And his contempt wasn't just for the radicals.

It was like the whole cabinet, basically.

Pretty much.

Seward.

Wells.

He just dismissed them.

Called Seward a meddling, officious, incompetent little puppy, Wells was weaker than the most careless old one.

Just scathing personal insults.

Wow.

So the human cost of all this inactions, arrogance,

it hit home hard with the balls bluff disaster, didn't it?

October 21st, 1861.

Devastatingly clear.

Yes.

The union division just crushed.

Unclear orders.

No support.

And tragically, Colonel Edward Baker, a really close friend of Lincoln's, was killed.

And the worst part for McClellan's character anyway, is that his office got the news first.

And he chose not to tell Lincoln.

He just sat on it.

Lincoln found out later from the dispatch itself.

Someone saw him walking away with bowed head and tears rolling down his furrowed cheeks, almost falling as he stepped into the street.

Just heartbreaking.

And Mary Lincoln, she was shattered too.

They'd named their second son after Baker.

Even young Willie Lincoln, just 10 years old, wrote this poignant poem about it.

Really brings home the cost of the war.

And McClellan.

Predictably, he denied any responsibility, blamed Baker for exceeding orders.

Of course he did.

Meanwhile, the pressure was mounting on General Scott too, who McClellan kept undermining.

Lincoln finally, regretfully, accepted Scott's retirement on November 1st, praised his long and brilliant career.

And McClellan became general in chief, got what he wanted.

Yep.

And then he even lied about Scott's departure, claiming hardly anyone there to see him off.

Which was just false.

A big crowd turned out.

Cabinet, staff, all in the pouring rain.

Shows the ego, doesn't it?

Misrepresenting our respected figures.

Farewell.

Totally.

And once he was in charge, his disrespect for Lincoln just got worse.

Privately, he started blaming Lincoln for delays, calling him the original gorilla, saying he was unworthy of one holding his high position.

Unbelievable.

And then that shocking incident on November 13th.

Lincoln, Seward, and John Hay go to McClellan's house.

They're told he's out, so they wait.

For an hour.

An hour.

McClellan comes home, gets told the president is waiting, and he just walks past the parlor and goes straight up to bed.

No way.

Young John Hay was furious, called it the insolence of epaulettes.

He was worried about military power taking over.

But Lincoln, he seemed not to have noticed it especially, said it was better not to be making points of etiquette and personal dignity right then.

That patience again, just laser focused on the bigger picture of the Union victory over any personal slate.

Remarkable.

Absolutely remarkable.

Okay, so while Lincoln's juggling McClellan's ego and inaction, there's a lot going on inside the White House, too.

Right.

The domestic side of things.

Mary Lincoln, she's trying to distract him, brings old friends around, insists on daily drives for fresh air.

She liked entertaining, too, hosting these soirees in the blue room, trying to keep some normalcy, maybe.

Seems like it.

Bringing in colorful figures, keeping the social scene lively in a very tense city.

But Mary had political influence, too, didn't she?

Oh, yeah.

She really pushed Lincoln on a matter of state.

The execution of William Scott, remember him?

The Vermont soldier who fell asleep on guard duty.

Fell asleep on picket duty, yeah.

Second night in a row on guard.

Tough situation.

Exactly.

Both Tad, their son, and Mary pleaded for mercy.

Lincoln pardoned him, apparently by request of the lady president.

He even said Scott's life is as valuable to him as that of any person in the land.

Shows a different side of Lincoln.

Balancing military discipline with, you know, human circumstances.

But Mary also caused some friction, right, with the White House renovations.

Oh, definitely.

She oversaw this huge renovation project, spent over $20 ,000.

And then went over budget by almost $7 ,000.

Which, in more time.

Lincoln was furious, reportedly said it would stink in the land.

Swore he had never approved the bills for flubdubs for that damned old house.

Even said he'd pay it out of his own pocket.

Well, shows his frugality, maybe.

But also how aware he was of public perception, right?

People sacrificing and the White House spending lavishly.

Not a good look.

Not at all.

But amidst all this, Lincoln found a really key confidant, didn't he?

Secretary of State William Seward.

Yes, absolutely crucial relationship.

He spent more time with Seward than anyone, even family, in that first year.

They had these long evenings of camaraderie at Seward's place.

Talking history, courage, sharing stories.

Seward was often a moderating influence.

But Mary, surprisingly, couldn't stand Seward.

Hated him, apparently.

Feared his fame would overshadow Lincoln's.

Blamed him for criticism the administration got.

She was really angry about Lincoln spending all those evenings at Seward's mansion.

Even snubbed the whole Seward family once when they visited the White House.

Made them and then just refused to see them.

Wow.

That's another layer of complexity to Lincoln's world.

Okay, so while all that's going on, Lincoln's got another equally thorny military mess out west.

In Missouri, General John C.

Fremont.

Right.

Missouri was just chaos, teetering on civil war itself.

Unionists versus secessionists clashing constantly.

Lincoln appointed Fremont, the other famous explorer, first Republican presidential nominee, largely because the powerful Blair family pushed for him.

He had this magical influence initially.

People were excited.

Yeah, big hero energy.

But his command quickly fell apart.

Rumors of recklessness in expenditures like a $6 ,000 mansion, bodyguards.

He was staying in the city, not out with his troops.

And then military setbacks.

General Lyon died.

They lost at Lexington.

It highlighted the poor leadership.

And then came the really big one, Fremont's proclamation, August 1861.

Without even talking to Lincoln first.

Nope.

Declares martial law in Missouri.

Authorizes shooting rebels, confiscating property.

And this, the kicker, declares slaves of active rebels, free men.

Which went way further than the Confiscation Act Congress had just passed, right?

That act only allowed seizing slaves used for the rebellion.

It didn't free them out, right?

Exactly.

Fremont just bypassed all that.

Lincoln finds out by reading the newspapers.

He immediately wrote to Fremont privately, expressing anxiety.

Worried about Confederates retaliating against Union prisoners.

And especially worried about losing border states like Kentucky.

He said it would alarm our Southern Union friends.

He asked Fremont to change that paragraph himself.

Sort of quietly fix it.

Right.

Lincoln saw it as purely political, not a military necessity.

And he stressed that deciding the permanent future condition of slaves, oh, that was the president's job, not a general's.

Seward totally backed him up on that.

But Lincoln's worries were spot on.

Joshua Speed wrote from Kentucky saying the proclamation would crush out every vestige of a union party in the state.

Yeah, the fallout was immediate.

Even Frank Blair, whose family got Fremont the job, told his brother Monte, the postmaster general, that Fremont had to go.

Not just because of the proclamation's effect, but his gross and inexcusable negligence.

And Fremont just dug in his heels.

His wife, Jessie, who Lincoln called quite a female politician, she marches into Washington.

Hand delivers Fremont's refusal to back down.

Insists Lincoln has to publicly order him to change it.

She even hints Fremont might just set up for himself.

Incredible defiance.

So how did Lincoln handle getting rid of him?

Because that seems political tricky too.

Oh, it was textbook Lincoln.

Really shrewd.

First, he issued an open order, rescinding that part of the proclamation, made it public before Fremont even got it so everyone knew the president was in charge.

Okay.

Fremont then retaliated, arrested Frank Blair for insubordination, just fueled the fire.

But Lincoln, even with all this evidence piling up bad reports from Meigs, Monte Blair, even Secretary of War Cameron, plus a blistering report from adjutant general Thomas Lincoln, yielded to delay.

He waited.

Calculated waiting.

Why?

To shape public opinion.

He deliberately waited,

then leaked adjutant general Thomas's really damning report to the newspapers first.

Ah, so the public reads all about Fremont's incompetence.

Exactly.

Powerful arguments for why he needed to be fired.

Then Lincoln sends the dismissal order.

So it looks like he's fired for being incompetent, not for being anti -slavery.

Clever.

How do they even deliver the order?

Get this.

An army captain, disguised as a farmer, with the order sewn into his coat lining, delivered it on November 1st.

Wow.

And the public reaction?

Mostly people generally acquiesce they felt Lincoln was justified.

Fremont didn't have many defenders left by then.

But the abolitionists weren't happy.

No, they were profoundly disappointed.

Joseph Medill called it killing June Frost.

Frederick Douglass, despaired, called it one of the government's biggest blunders.

He really pushed for arming black men.

It just shows Lincoln walking that tightrope, trying to keep that middle ground.

Okay, so he deals with McClellan's ego, Fremont's insubordination, and the whole emancipation question out West.

And then boom, international crisis.

As if he didn't have enough on his plate.

Just one week after the resignation of General Scott and the dismissal of General Fremont, the Trent affair explodes.

Right.

These two Confederate envoys, Mason and Slidell, they sneak through the blockade, get on a British mail ship, the Trent, in Cuba.

And then Union Captain Charles Wilkes, acting completely without orders, intercepts the Trent in international waters, fires a shot, boards it, searches it, and grabs Mason and Slidell, takes them off to prison in Boston.

And the North just goes crazy, right?

They love it.

Absolutely erupted in jubilation.

Wilkes was suddenly a national hero.

The New York Times said he made the American heart ever thrill.

Secretary of War Cameron led three cheers for him.

Even Lincoln initially seemed happy about it, spoke happily of the capture of Mason and Slidell.

But London, not so happy.

Furious.

Utterly furious.

News spread like wildfire.

The London Times called it an outrage on the British flag, demanded reparation and apology.

The British press was threatening war, said they'd clear the sea of the American Navy in a month, maybe even acknowledge the Southern Confederacy.

Serious stuff.

Troops heading to Canada, the fleet on alert.

Yeah, it got very tense very fast.

Seward, meanwhile, is quietly telling British officials,

look, Wilkes acted alone without any instructions,

trying to limit the damage.

Lincoln knew how high the stakes were, that bulldog analogy he used.

Right.

I know the bulldog will not bite.

You know he will not bite.

But does the bulldog know he will not bite?

Perfectly captures the uncertainty, the danger of miscalculation.

And then the British deliver their ultimatum, free Mason and Slidell, return them to British protection and apologize.

Or else the British delegation leaves Washington.

Which means war, a war the US absolutely could not afford on top of the Civil War.

But releasing them would look like caving to Britain and the northern public love that Wilkes had captured them, the real bind.

So how did they get out of it?

Seward, right?

Seward came up with a brilliant solution.

He drafted this long 26 -page reply.

His argument was basically this.

Wilkes was right to search the neutral ship, but he made a mistake by seizing the envoys himself instead of taking the whole ship to an American prize court for illegal ruling.

Okay, illegal distinction.

A crucial one.

Because Seward framed it masterfully.

He said the US was actually defending an old, honored, and cherished American cause.

What cause?

Freedom of the seas.

The very principle the US had argued against Britain for decades back under James Madison protesting British seizure of sailors from American ships.

Ah, so by releasing them now, the US was actually upholding its own long -standing principles about neutral rights.

Exactly.

So Seward says, based on our own principles, we will cheerfully free the prisoners.

No apology needed because we're just following international law as we've always interpreted it.

Genius.

That is clever.

How did the cabinet react?

They debated it for four hours on Christmas morning.

There was a lot of reluctance.

People worried it would look like timidly truckling to the power of England.

Monty Blair supported it early on.

Charles Sumner, head of foreign relations, argued strongly for peace.

Man Lincoln.

This is where his intellectual honesty really shines.

He apparently told the cadet he wanted to, try my hand at stating the reasons why they ought not to be given up.

He tried to argue the popular side.

But he couldn't convince himself.

Exactly.

He later told Seward, with a smile, I found I could not make an argument that would satisfy my own mind, and that proved to me your ground was the right one.

It shows his logic, his lack of ego in admitting someone else was right.

So the cabinet agreed.

Unanimously adopted Seward's dispatch.

And the public.

Ultimately, they reacted with relief, not anger.

Avoiding war with Britain was more important.

A huge crisis averted, thanks to Seward's diplomacy and Lincoln's willingness to listen.

Okay, so international crisis managed.

But the underlying issue, the really explosive one, slavery,

it's still simmering, right?

How did Lincoln's own thinking evolve towards the end of 1861?

Well, things were shifting.

Interestingly, Secretary of War Simon Cameron, who started out pretty conservative, began moving towards the radical Republican view.

He started advocating for ending slavery, arming slaves, aligning himself with Chase.

And then he tried to force the issue with his annual report.

He did.

He drafted his War Department report, and without getting Lincoln's okay, he put in paragraphs officially calling for arming slaves.

Apparently, Edwin Stanton, surprisingly, encouraged him, even added some provocative language.

Then Cameron linked it to the papers before Lincoln even saw the final version.

Lincoln must have been furious again.

Oh, yeah.

He found the inflammatory paragraph and declared, this will never do.

He physically deleted the paragraph himself and ordered postal agents to seize any copies that had already been mailed out.

Shut it down fast.

Why?

What was his reasoning then?

He believed at that point that he didn't have the constitutional authority to just liberate and arm slaves across the board.

Nonetheless, it became absolutely indispensable for saving the nation.

He was also very aware that pushing too hard too soon would alienate the moderate majority, especially those crucial border slave states.

But he did allow some steps with the Navy.

That's a key distinction.

He let Navy Secretary Gideon Wells include rules for dealing with fugitive slaves who reach Union naval ships.

The difference was geography, really.

Naval actions offshore didn't directly threaten the loyalty of Kentucky or Missouri.

The way an army order freeing slaves within those states would have, it was strategic.

So in his own message to Congress that year, what was his proposed policy on slavery?

He was cautious.

He suggested Congress find a way to compensate states that agreed to gradual emancipation.

And for fugitive slaves who came into Union lines, and even for existing free black Americans, he suggested voluntary colonization, sending them at some place in a climate congenial to them.

Voluntary colonization.

That sounds problematic today.

Deeply problematic.

But it reflected a common view then, even among some who opposed slavery.

Lincoln tied his anti -slavery views to the ideal of American opportunity, though.

He argued against slavery because democracy opened the way to all, gave hope to all.

He famously said labor is, prior to, an independent of capital, talked about the prudent, penniless beginner being able to rise a path closed to the slave.

How did people react to that message, the compensation and colonization part?

Sharply divided, as you'd expect.

Abolitionists hated the colonization idea.

Worthington Sneeden called it unstatesmanlike.

Frederick Douglass was outraged.

He argued black men were Americans, their attachment to the place of his birth stronger than iron.

He kept pushing hard for arming black soldiers, believing one black regimen alone would be the full equal of two white ones.

But the moderate.

They praised Lincoln's tact and judgment.

Papers like the New York Times and Tribune contrasted his measured tone with Jefferson Davis's boastful, defiant, and savage address.

So again, you see Lincoln carefully navigating between these intense pressures, trying to hold his coalition together for the long haul.

So what does this all mean for you, our listener, thinking about this period?

We've seen Lincoln just navigate this incredible gauntlet of challenges in just a few months.

It's intense, isn't it?

Yeah, managing McClellan's massive ego and his, well, refusal to fight the diplomatic cliff edge with the Trent affair and this deeply divisive, personal question of emancipation popping up with Fremont and Cameron.

Exactly.

And what really stands out, I think, is his relentless pragmatism and his capacity to grow.

He was afraid to back down or defer when he knew someone else had a better handle on it, like with Seward and the Trent crisis.

That takes humility, but also strategic smarts.

Yeah.

And that political foresight, knowing when to push, when to wait, how to manage public opinion like with Fremont's firing, making sure it was about incompetence, not emancipation to keep that coalition together.

That was vital.

Absolutely vital.

He was building that foundation for leadership through crisis, wasn't he?

Yeah.

One tough decision after another, often under immense pressure, personal and political.

You really get a sense of his genius for holding things together and that evolving moral compass, even if, you know, it wasn't moving as fast as abolitionists like Douglas wanted.

Which brings up a really interesting question for you listening now.

How much of real leadership, especially when things are falling apart, is about sticking rigidly to your convictions?

And how much is about, well, the wisdom to adapt,

to manage people, politics, and sometimes strategically yield for that bigger goal?

Definitely a lot to think about there, wouldn't you say?

We really hope you've gained some valuable insights from this deep dive into Lincoln's incredibly challenging early presidency.

Thanks so much for joining us.

Yeah, thanks for tuning in.

We appreciate it.

Until next time, keep digging deeper.