Abraham Lincoln Papers: Incoming and Contextual Documents Document mal0436800

From James E. Harvey to Abraham Lincoln, November 8, 1860

Private

Philadelphia,

Nov. 8. 1860.

My dear Sir,

Amidst the host of congratulations, which will reach you from every quarter, permit me to add those of one who never doubted the result, & who sees in your election the consummation of sincere & ardent hopes.

I have no advise to obtrude, knowing too well what is due to you & to myself, to assume that gratuitous office, & supposing if you needed such counsel it would be sought. There are a few suggestions however, which may not not be out of place, & which I am sure you will receive in the spirit that prompts them.

Efforts will doubtless be made to induce you to make a declaration in favor of a single term in the Inaugural address. All such professions are received with distrust by the people, and have come to have an interpretation, exactly the opposite of what is declared. Gen Pierce & Mr. Buchanan both volunteered such assurances, & both intrigued for another nomination. Such a declaration seems to me uncalled for and calculated to embarrass us at the outset. The friends of candidates for the succession will think differently, but this is the judgment of discreet & disinterested friends of the cause, which ought to be superior to individual aspirations. The success or failure of your Administration, will determine the result in 1864 for or against us. If it succeeds, as I sincerely trust it may, & as I believe it will do, your name may become necessary to another victory.

The position of Pennsylvania necessarily entitles her to recognition & influence. This is conceded on all hands. But the desire of all true men is, not to embarass you in any way, or to dissipate a proper influence in personal objects. Our aim is to keep the state securely throughout your term & after it, and to furnish you with the moral & political aid of her position, under the difficulties which are to be expected. Certain gentlemen whom it is unnecessary to name, and upon whom we have conferred honors, assume to be leaders, to dictate cabinet officers, and to dispense the Federal patronage. I have no sympathy with either interest, except as they may be made serviceable. “A plague on both your houses” say I. We cannot afford to have one set triumph over the other, because mischievous consequences would follow. When therefore you are pressed by both for a member of the cabinet, be pleased to remember that the body of the people who supported you, would be perfectly satisfied to see you go to New Jersey as a compromise. The plain truth is, we have no man of sufficient mark in Pennsylvania, to whom the concession of such a position, would be spontaneously made. All the interests & sympathies of New Jersey, are identical with those of Pennsylvania, and a selection from these would be perfectly satisfactory, & I think, after much reflection, advisable.

We assume here, that your Administration will be conservative, & have so pledged ourselves on the strength of your past career. Of course the Democratic Senate will throw every obstacle in the way, of making up your cabinet. It is easy to foresee, that they will make a point to reject every strictly “representative man”; hence, if there was the inclination to select such, which I doubt, policy would seem to recommend us to make a virtue of necessity. In this conncection, allow me to call your attention generally, to the names of Hamilton Fish of New York, Solomon Foot of Vermont, W. L. Dayton of New Jersey, & that order of men, as likely to be accepted without difficulty, & to give assurance to the country at once, of a wise & moderate order of things. This is a mere suggestion. The choice of Southern men is limited & perplexing. It will be difficult to find any but Mr. Bates, standing on the pure Republican platform, who would bring us any strength, & even his position, is not better than your own. If you go South then, the selection must be made from the best Union men, who approach nearest to us on general principles. We want aid in Congress, and that cannot be obtained by putting inferior men in the cabinet. Although Mr. Bell is not personally responsible, for the bad and indefencible course of his friends, I suppose he is precluded from consideration. Judge George W. Summers of Western Virginia is a high, able & influential man & an old Whig. James L. Petigru of Charleston, So Ca, is the first lawyer in his section & a pure patriot. I know personally, he is a conservative & devoted to the Union. He told me last spring, that all our present troubles might be traced to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and blamed Toombs & others for favoring it. He has always been a Whig, & in 1851 when secession was threatened, he accepted the U. S. District Attorneyship at Charleston, because no one else had the moral courage to take the office in the midst of that excitement. His exalted character, worth & abilities are universally known in the South. If consistent with your programme of policy, such an offer would make a just impression on the public mind and immediately invoke confidence.

A movement looking to secession will be made in South Carolina, but when the convention shall meet, which the legislature must now authorize, the more discreet States will send commissioners & urge delay for an overt act. This is my calm conclusion, after having seen the former demonstrations, knowing something of the actors, and overlooking the present excitement, from an impartial stand point. Commotion & strife must be expected for a time at least, & your path will not be strewed entirely with roses. Much will depend upon Buchanan, & he is weak & craven for such a crisis. His message will drivel over the Union, & deplore your election, which is but another mode of intensifying the feeling of those, who really suppose themselves wronged, & of others who believe in & desire Disunion.

My purpose is to go to Washington on Saturday, & establish myself there. With some means of access to general intelligence, it is probable I may be able to inform you of the tendency & progress of events there at the Capital, but I am really loth to intrude a correspondence upon you. During the recent campaign, I felt there was no such delicacy as now exists, in writing you freely concerning matters in which you & me had a common stake. Such as my services are however, you may command them freely, & perhaps I may venture to say, without an appearance of too much egotism, that in some respects they may be possibly useful.

Be pleased to make my cordial congratulations to Mrs. Lincoln, upon the result, and say that I hope she now believes in my prophecy.

Very Truly

Yr friend,

James E. Harvey