OCR Text |
Show W tirS &&Ct7Z3jDZos??&l 111 V- w w f ,r f TlwBMKft r - 7 rro'or? .?CV7 -r- .r JrAEl ACKr WSESyM:; 'v.v K9mJ How Lincoln Won His Way As a Lawyer and How His Remarkable Diplomacy Saved Our Country From Foreign Entanglements During the Dark Days of the Civil War. Copyright, 1910, by The International Syndicate. jnERHAPS no man in our public H Ify 1If0 waa a better Judge, of hu-j hu-j I man nature than Abraham 1 Lincoln. To his clear inslgrht into motives actuating human action i wa9 duo his success both as a lawyer and diplomat. In tho days whon ho Raa at the bar and on tho frontier u law books tvero few and tho lawyers irero thrown upon their own reason-j reason-j ing powers for tho underlying prln-1 prln-1 clples of Justlco and for 'the rules 1 which should guide men in their rc-"' rc-"' lations toward each other. It was the y hard school of necessity but it cro-I cro-I ated men of thought, of deep feeling Y and self-reliance. I Early Struggles. J Lincoln's early llfo had been one r lonff struggle. With practically no J education except what ho obtained by i his fondness for reading an unusual Jj trait among tho pioneers of the Mld-h Mld-h die West, ho fought his way up the ladder to tho highest ofTlce in our land. Up to tho time his father moved to Illinois Lincoln had made llttlo progress toward his goal In life that of becoming a lawyer. After helping his parent to clear tho land the ambitious ambi-tious young frontiersman decided that I he would start out for himself. One of his first Jobs was tho splitting of several sev-eral thousand rails a labor which has bocomo famous In American history. his-tory. After a while ho secured employment em-ployment as a clork In a grocery storo, but as ho had already decided to be-Icomo be-Icomo a lawyer ho spent moro of his timo In reading and in debates with tho other young men of tho village than he did In tho store. Springfield was not far away and he attended many of tho trials thero. These legal battles only served to whet his appetite appe-tite for law, and he pored over his books far Into tho night. Whon tho Black Hawk war came on Lincoln was ono of tho first to volunteer. He was always popular 1 with his neighbors and was at once elected captain of his company. The1 war did not last long and ho had no chanco to distinguish himself as a soldier, but it was during this war that Major John T. Stuart, of tho Springfield Voluntoers, becamo interested inter-ested in the young captain and gave him tho uso of his law library and encouraged him to continue his legal studies. We next find him running a groccrv store with a man named Berry a dissolute dis-solute fellow who drank up tho prof-Its prof-Its whllo Lincoln, the Junior partner, studied law. Naturally, the storo was a failure although Lincoln still retained his Interest in tho business after he accepted tho office of Postmastor of New Salem, but as the salary attached to It was small ho also becamo the assistant surveyor all tho while studying law in his spare moments Partnership With Major Stuart In 1834 ho became a member of tho Legislature and after serving two terms ho moved to Springfield. This was In March, 1837, whon ho was in his twenty-ninth year. He had little money and llttlo baggage to speak of. but ho found hlmsolf among friends, and a few days after his arrival ho becamo tho law partner of his former for-mer benefactor, Major Stuart. In 1341 Lincoln becamo associated with Judgo Stephen T. Logan, ono of tho most eminent lawyers of his day, and from him tho young man loarned the great art of properly presenting a case. A Man of Plain Type. Lincoln's witty sayings and humorous humor-ous stories aro now famous tho world over. As an orator and debater ho had fow equals, as his speech at Cooper Institute, bis dedication-of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg and his historic political combat with Stephen A. Douglas show. Tot with all these talents ho was a man of the plainest type, always ready to do an act of kindness. In tho rolo of a politician po-litician ho had no peer, and whon his tlmo came to play tho rolo of diplomat dip-lomat It was soon discovered that ho was a past master In tho art of statecraft. state-craft. Ho always avoided collisions. If possible, not because ho lacked courago, but because, llko tho story ho used to tell of the farmer who was unable to removo a big log from his field and "ploughed around it," ho "ploughed around" many delicate situations sit-uations of state which required tho finest art of diplomacy. Critical Period. Lincoln camo to tho Presidential chair at poihaps tho most critical period of our country's existence, and diplomacy in its rarost form was necessary to save tho Ship of Stato from destruction. President Buchanan had practlcully conceded tho claim of tho Confederacy to bo recognized as a nation by tho powers of Europo, thereby admitting that "tho rcdcral Government had no authority to keop a Stato In tho Union if It desjred to secede," and later had sont a message to Congress throwing tho burden of tho affair upon their shoulders. England Eng-land and Franco heard nothing from tho United States on tho subject until late In FVbnnry, when Secretary of '.Be J T72G &&ZZ??IJ2g t?3 State Black Issued a circular to the United States Representatives telling them that our Government had not released its constitutional Jurisdiction anywhere within its territory and did not Intend to do so; also stating "that tho recognition of tho Confederacy by tho foreign powers must not bo allowed." al-lowed." Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated a few days after this message was sent The new Secretary of Stato, Mr. Soward, hastily confirmed Mr. Black's Instructions. Tho replies from both England and Franco wero wordy and unsatisfactory and beforo Mr. Charles Francis Adams, tho newly appointed. ap-pointed. Minister to England, could 1 reach that country an unfriendly , British ministry had Issued a proc-, proc-, lamatlon recognizing tho seceding States as a separate Government. Franco at once followed England and tho relations between tho United States and" these two countries becamo be-camo strained. Lincoln knew that both countries had "an ax to grind" and he sot about to balk their purpose. pur-pose. England was anxious that her : manufacturers should obtain frco trado and cheap cotton, whllo Franco was actuated by a belief that the division di-vision of tho American States would aid them In a plan to erect a long-dreamed long-dreamed of emplro In Mexico. Secretary Seward, whose temper was not of tho mildest type, then wrote a dispatch which In the opin-' Ion of many would have undoubtedly caused a war with England and very llkoly resulted In the success of the Confederacy Happily for our coun-trv coun-trv Lincoln had given orders that no1 dlspatchos bo sont without his first 1 i( I J iMi"Bmmii - NB ,. jP$ v1BBHKHHftHnl Irf f 1 i Ls 1 PRHBKSmSbHPHI 111 : ?Xv t". ."Silt iBIlk 41 KtJB i'--?iV) '?, & ,iZ!bviH ArnitwWi ilil HUfllHlHiH il ijrfStfBMBHIflJHRHKSfliVH (III I2C-772CZCZZ2&t-JZC?zri dZZtemZz?2& ' II reading them, and when this ono camo to his hand ho revlsod It, changing horo and thero a word or tho phras-Ing; phras-Ing; yot without tho message losing any of its dignity or firmness, until In tho end tho burdon of proof was thrown upon tho British Government. A copy of tho documont, which 13 regarded re-garded as tho very perfection of statesmanship, Is preserved In tho Stato Department at Washington. Mason nnd Sliddcll Incident. A short time after this our Government Govern-ment was again involved in a complication com-plication with Groat Britain. This was brought about by the zealous offices of-fices of Captain Charles Wilkes, of tho gunboat "San Jacinto," who overhauled over-hauled tho British mall steamer "Trent" and took from tho passenger cabin ex-Senator J. M. Mason and John Slldell, who had been accredited by tho Confodcrato Government as envoys to tho European courts. Theso mon had eluded tho blockado and sailed from Havana. This act was regarded re-garded by tho British Government as an Insult to their flag and a violation of international law, and tho British Minister was Instructed to close tho legation and return to England unless un-less tho prisoners wero reloascd and a satisfactory apology offered Inside a week. Tho delicacy of the situation was added to by tho fact that tho Secretary Sec-retary of tho Navy had approved of the action of Captain Wilkes and Congress had passed a resolution commending com-mending him for his patriotic conduct con-duct Again tho President took the matter in his own hands and a long and courteous dispatch was prepared suggesting that the matter bo submitted sub-mitted to arbitration, but beforo it could be sent Lincoln saw that tho position of our Government was untenable, un-tenable, and with his keen perception ho thought of a way In which the Unltod States could honorably withdraw with-draw and at tho samo tlmo uso tho incident to our advantago and In the end get tho better of tho controversy. Eight thousand English troops were preparing to start for Canada, the British fleet had been ordered to American waters and tho export of ammunition from England had been forbidden when Lincoln sont tho following fol-lowing message: "Wo must stick to American Ameri-can principles concerning tho I rights of neutrals. We fought jl Great Britain for Insisting by HI theory and practlco on tho 0 1 right to do precisely what l Captain Wilkes had done. If ll. Great Britain shall now pro- II l tost against the act and de- II III mand tholr roloaso, wo must IJJ givo them up and apologize jb for tho act as a violation of N our own doctrines, and thu3 Hfl forever bind hor over to keop the peace In relation to neu- trals, and ho acknowledge I that sho has boen wrong for sixty years." And so it camo to pass that Lin- I coin's sound Judgment not only avert- n od a serious forolgn entanglement but IB forced Great Britain to accopt the Illy American doctrine of tho rights of ' n U neutrals. I Defends Monroo Doctrine. ml Soveral times during his admlnls- C tratlon, President Lincoln was called fl upon .to enforco tho Monroe Doctrino. ' and thero again he handled tho incl- II Hi dent with a diplomatic penetration H m and skill which surprised tho older ty I statesmen. Once moro ho "ploughed jjllj around" tho situation and accom- pllshed his purposo without a col- fa lislon. When tho Emperor of Franco I was about to set up an emplro In 118 Mexico Lincoln expressed his dlsap- fl proval of this to tho powers of Europo as well as to tho Emperor of Franco l hlmsolf, and to strengthen his posl- tlon on tho subject ho suggested to 0 tho Chairman of the Convention of U U 1SC4 that ho give a strong endorso- I ment to the Monroo Doctrino In his lift opening speech and then havo tho Jill! Convention adopt a resolution such as m would leavo no doubt as to opposition PR of the United States to the attempt J B to establish a monarchy In tho land tt to the South of us. This ended tho n! matter. R Lincoln's fidelity to his trust, his Mir original way of doing things, his un- ij jl erring perception of right and wrong II and, above all, his honesty toward hln jl fellow man, have won for him tho Ij II everlasting gratitude of tho American jl IL people. JUJI |