miles from Hagerstown, and could not be reached
by the rebel army in ten days, if no hindrance
was interposed.
A. Lincoln.
Herndon, Rowan.
Springfield, June 11, 1839.
Dear Row : Mr. Redman informs me that you
wjsh me to write you the particulars of a con-
HERNDON, WILLIAM H. 105
versation between Dr. Felix and myself relative
to you. The doctor overtook me between Rush-
ville and Beardstown. He, after learning that I
had lived in Springfield, asked if I was ac-
quainted with you. I told him I was. He said
you had lately been elected constable in Adams,
but that you never would be again. I asked him
why? He said the people there, had found out
that you had been Sheriff or Deputy Sheriff in
Sangamon County, and that you came off and
left your securities to suffer. He then asked me
if I did not know such to be the fact. I told him
I did not think you had ever been Sheriff or
Deputy Sheriff in Sangamon ; but that I thought
you had been constable. I further told him that
if you had left your securities to suffer in that
or any other case, I had never heard of it, and
that if it had been so, I thought I would have
heard of it.
If the Doctor is telling that I told him anything
against you whatever, I authorize you to contra-
dict it flatly. We have no news here.
Your friend, as ever,
A. Lincoln.
Herndon, William H.
Washington, December 5, 1847.
Dear William : . . . There is nothing of conse-
quence new here. Congress is to organize to-
morrow. Last night we held a Whig caucus for
the House, and nominated Winthrop of Massa-
chusetts for speaker, Sargent of Pennsylvania
for sergeant-at-arms, Homer of New Jersey
door-keeper, and McCormick of District of Co-
lumbia postmaster. The Whig majority in the
vo6 LETTERS
House is so small that, together with some lit-
tle dissatisfaction, [it] . . . leaves it doubtful
whether we will elect them all.
Yours as ever,
A. Lincoln.
Washington, December 13, 1847.
Dear William : Your letter, advising me of the
receipt of our fee in the bank case, is just re-
ceived, and I don't expect to hear another as good
a piece of news from Springfield while I am
away. I am under no obligations to the bank;
and I therefore wish you to buy bank certificates,
and pay my debt there, so as to pay it with the
least money possible. I would as soon you
should buy them of Mr. Ridgely, or any other
person at the bank, as of any one else, provided
you can get them as cheaply. I suppose, after
the bank debt shall be paid, there will be some
money left, out of which I would like to have
you pay Lavely and Stout twenty dollars, and
Priest and somebody (oil-makers) ten dollars,
for materials got for house-painting. If there
shall still be any left, keep it till you see or hear
from me.
I shall begin sending documents so soon as I
can get them. I wrote you yesterday about a
"Congressional Globe." As you are all so anx-
ious for me to distinguish myself, I have con-
cluded to do so before long.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Washington, January 8, 1848.
Dear William : Your letter of December 27
was received a day or two ago. I am much
HERN DON, WILLIAM H. 107
obliged to yon for the trouble you have taken,
and promise to take in my little business there.
As to speech-making, by way of getting the hang
of the House I made a little speech two or three
days ago on a post-office question of no general
interest. I find speaking here and elsewhere
about the same thing. I was about as badly
scared, and no worse, as I am when I speak in
court. I expect to make one within a week or
two„ in which I hope to succeed well enough to
wish you to see it.
It is very pleasant to learn from you that there
are some who desire that I should be reelected.
I most heartily thank them for their kind par-
tiality ; and I can say, as Mr. Clay said of the
annexation of Texas, that "personally I would
not object" to a reelection, although I thought
at the time, and still think, it would be quite as
well for me to return to the law at the end of
a single term. I made the declaration that I
would not be a candidate again, more from a wish
to deal fairly with others, to keep peace among
our friends, and to keep the district from going
to the enemy, than for any cause personal to
myself; so that, if it should so happen that no-
body else wishes to be elected, I could not refuse
the people the right of sending me again. But
to enter myself as a competitor of others, or to
authorize any one so to enter me, is what my
word and honor forbid.
I got some letters intimating a probability of
so much difficulty amongst our friends as to lose
us the district ; but I remember such letters were
written to Baker when my own case was under
consideration, and I trust there is no more
ground for such apprehension now than there
108 LETTERS
was then. Remember I am always glad to re-
ceive a letter from you.
Most truly your friend,
A. Lincoln.
Washington, January 19, 1848.
Dear William: Inclosed you find a letter of
Louis W. Chandler. ... At all events write me
all about it, till I can somehow get it off my
hands. I have already been bored more than
enough about it ; not the least of which annoy-
ance is his cursed, unreadable, and ungodly hand-
writing.
I have made a speech, a copy of which I will
send you by next mail.
Yours as ever,
A. Lincoln.
Washington, February 1, 1848.
Dear William: Your letter of the 19th ultimo
was received last night, and for which I am much
obliged. The only thing in it that I wish to talk
to you at once about is that because of my vote
for Ashmun's amendment you fear that you and
I disagree about the war. I regret this, not be-
cause of any fear we shall remain disagreed
after you have read this letter, but because if you
misunderstand I fear other good friends may
also. That vote affirms that the war was un-
necessarily and unconstitutionally commenced by
the President; and I will stake my life that if
you had been in my place you would have voted
just as I did. Would you have voted what you
felt and knew to be a lie? I know you would
not. Would you have gone out of the House —
skulked the vote? I expect not. If you had
HERN DON, WILLIAM H. 109
skulked one vote, you would have had to skulk
many more before the end of the session. Rich-
ardson's resolutions, introduced before I made
any move or gave any vote upon the subject,
make the direct question of the justice of the
war; so that no man can be silent if he would.
You are compelled to speak ; and your only alter-
native is to tell the truth or a lie. I cannot doubt
which you would do.
This vote has nothing to do in determining my
votes on the questions of supplies. I have always
intended, and still intend, to vote supplies; per-
haps not in the precise form recommended by the
President, but in a better form for all purposes,
except Locofoco party purposes. It is in this
particular you seem mistaken. The Locos are
untiring in their efforts to make the impression
that all who vote supplies or take part in the war
do of necessity approve the President's conduct
in the beginning of it ; but the Whigs have from
the beginning made and kept the distinction be-
tween the two. In the very first act nearly all
the Whigs voted against the preamble declaring
that war existed by the act of Mexico; and yet
nearly all of them voted for the supplies. As
to the Whig men who have participated in the
war, so far as they have spoken in my hearing
they do not hesitate to denounce as unjust the
President's conduct in the beginning of the war.
They do not suppose that such denunciation is
directed by undying hatred to him, as "The Reg-
ister" would have it believed. There are two such
Whigs on this floor (Colonel Haskell and Major
James). The former fought as a colonel by the
side of Colonel Baker at Cerro Gordo, and stands
side by side with me in the vote that you seem
no LETTERS
dissatisfied with. The latter, the history of whose
capture with Cassius Clay you well know, had not
arrived here when that vote was given ; but, as
I understand, he stands ready to give just such
a vote whenever an occasion shall present.
Baker, too, who is now here, says the truth is
undoubtedly that way ; and whenever he shall
speak out, he will say so. Colonel Doniphan, too,
the favorite Whig of Missouri, and who overran
all Northern Mexico, on his return home in a
public speech at St. Louis condemned the ad-
ministration in relation to the war, if I remember.
G. T. M. Davis, who has been through almost
the whole war, declares in favor of Mr. Clay ;
from which I infer that he adopts the sentiments
of Mr. Clay, generally at least. On the other
hand, I have heard of but one Whig who has been
to the war attempting to justify the President's
conduct. That one was Captain Bishop, editor
of the Charleston Courier, and a very clever
fellow. I do not mean this letter for the public,
but for you. Before it reaches you, you will have
seen and read my pamphlet speech, and perhaps
been scared anew by it. After you get over your
scare, read it over again, sentence by sentence,
and tell me honestly what you think of it. I con-
densed all I could for fear of being cut off by
the hour rule, and when I got through I had
spoken but forty-five minutes.
Yours forever,
A. Lincoln.
Washington, February 2, 1848.
Dear William: I just take my pen to say that
Mr. Stephens, of Georgia, a little, slim, pale-
faced, consumptive man, with a voice like Lo-
HERN DON, WILLIAM H. 1 1 1
gan's, has just concluded the very best speech
of an hour's length I ever heard. My old with-
ered dry eyes are full of tears yet.
If he writes it out anything like he delivered it,
our people shall see a good many copies of it.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Washington, February 15, 1848.
Dear William : Your letter of the 29th January
was received last night. Being exclusively a con-
stitutional argument, I wish to submit some
reflections upon it in the same spirit of kindness
that 1 know actuates you. Let me first state
what I understand to be your position. It is that
if it shall become necessary to repel invasion, the
President may, without violation of the Constitu-
tion, cross the line and invade the territory of
another country, and that whether such necessity
exists in any given case the President is the sole
judge.
Before going further consider well whether
this js or is not your position. If it is, it is a
position that neither the President himself, nor
any friend of his, so far as I know, has ever
taken. Their only positions are — first, that the
soil was ours when the hostilities commenced ;
and second, that whether it was rightfully ours
or not, Congress had annexed it, and the Presi-
dent for that reason was bound to defend it ; both
of which are as clearly proved to be false in fact
as you can prove that your house is mine. The
soil was not ours, and Congress did not annex
or attempt to annex it. ' But to return to your
position. Allow the President to invade a neigh-
boring nation whenever he shall deem it neces-
H2 LETTERS
sary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to
do so whenever he may choose to say he deems
it necessary for such purpose, and you allow
him to make war at pleasure. Study to see if
you can fix any limit to his power in this respect,
after having given him so much as you propose.
If to-day he should choose to say he thinks it
necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British
from invading us, how could you stop him ? You
may say to him, "I see no probability of the
British invading us" ; but he will say to you, "Be
silent: I see it, if you don't."
The provision of the Constitution giving the
war-making power to Congress was dictated, as
I understand it, by the following reasons : Kings
had always been involving and impoverishing
their people in wars, pretending generally, if not
always, that the good of the people was the
object. This our convention understood to be
the most oppressive of all kingly oppressions,
and they resolved to so frame the Constitution
that no one man should hold the power of bring-
ing this oppression upon us. But your view
destroys the whole matter, and places our Presi-
dent where kings have always stood. Write soon
again. Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Washington, June 22, 1848.
Dear William : Last night I was attending a
sort of caucus of the Whig members, held in re-
lation to the coming presidential election. The
whole field of the nation was scanned, and all is
high hope and confidence. Illinois is expected to
better her condition in this race. Under these
circumstances, judge how heartrending it was to
HERN DON, WILLIAM H. 113
come to my room and find and read your dis-
couraging letter of the 15th. We have made no
gains, but have lost "H. R. Robinson, Turner,
Campbell, and four or five more." Tell Arney
to reconsider, if he would be saved. Baker and
I used to do something, but I think you attach
more importance to our absence than is just.
There is another cause. In 1840, for instance,
we had two senators and five representatives in
Sangamon ; now we have part of one senator and
two representatives. With quite one third more
people than we had then, we have only half the
sort of offices which are sought by men of the
speaking sort of talent. This, I think, is the chief
cause. Now, as to the young men. You must
not wait to be brought forward by the older men.
For instance, do you suppose that I should ever
have got into notice if I had waited to be hunted
up and pushed forward by older men? You
young men get together and form a "Rough and
Ready Club," and have regular meetings and
speeches. Take in everybody you can get. Har-
rison Grimsley, L. A. Enos, Lee Kimball, and C.
W. Matheny will do to begin the thing; but
as you go along gather up all the shrewd, wild
boys about town, whether just of age or a little
under age, — Chris. Logan, Reddick Ridgely,
Lewis Zwizler, and hundreds such. Let every
one play the part he can play best, — some speak,
some sing, and all "holler." Your meetings will
be of evenings ; the older men, and the women,
will go to hear you ; so that it will not only con-
tribute to the election of "Old Zach," but will be
an interesting pastime, and improving to the in-
tellectual faculties of all engaged. Don't fail to
do this.
H4
LETTERS
You ask me to send you all the speeches made
about "Old Zach," the war, etc. Now this makes
me a little impatient. I have regularly sent you
the "Congressional Globe" and "Appendix," and
you cannot have examined them, or you would
have discovered that they contain every speech,
made by every man in both houses of Congress,
on every subject, during the session. Can I
send any more? Can I send speeches that no-
body has made? Thinking it would be most
natural that the newspapers would feel interested
to give at least some of the speeches to their read-
ers, I at the beginning of the session made ar-
rangements to have one copy of the "Globe" and
"Appendix" regularly sent to each Whig paper
of the district. And yet, with the exception of
my own little speech, which was published in two
only of the then five, now four, Whig papers, I
do not remember having seen a single speech, or
even extract from one, in any single one of those
papers. With equal and full means on both sides,
I will venture that the "State Register" has
thrown before its readers more of Locofoco
speeches in a month than all the Whig papers of
the district have done of Whig speeches during
the session.
If you wish a full understanding of the war, I
repeat what I believe I said to you in a letter once
before, that the whole, or nearly so, is to be found
in the speech of Dixon of Connecticut. This I
sent you in pamphlet as well as in the "Globe."
Examine and study every sentence of that speech
thoroughly, and you will understand the whole
subject. You ask how Congress came to declare
that war had existed by the act of Mexico. Is
it possible you don't understand that yet? You
HERN DON, WILLIAM H. 115
have at least twenty speeches in your possession
that fully explain it. I will, however, try it once
more. The news reached Washington of the
commencement of hostilities on the Rio Grande,
and of the great peril of General Taylor's army.
Everybody, Whigs and Democrats, was for send-
ing them aid, in men and money. It was neces-
sary to pass a bill for this. The Locos had a
majority in both houses, and they brought in a
bill with a preamble saying: Whereas, War ex-
ists by the act of Mexico, therefore we send Gen-
eral Taylor money. The Whigs moved to strike
out the preamble, so that they could vote to send
the men and money, without saying anything
about how the war commenced ; but being in the
minority, they were voted down, and the pre-
amble was retained. Then, on the passage of the
bill, the question came upon them, Shall we vote
for preamble and bill together, or against both
together? They did not want to vote against
sending help to General Taylor, and therefore
they voted for both together. Is there any dif-
ficulty in understanding this? Even my little
speech shows how this was ; and if you will go
to the library, you may get the "Journal" of
1845-46, in which you will find the whole for
yourself.
We have nothing published yet with special
reference to the Taylor race ; but we soon will
have, and then I will send them to everybody. I
made an internal-improvement speech day before
yesterday, which I §hall send home as soon as I
can get it written out and printed, — and which
I suppose nobody will read.
Your friend as ever,
A. Lincoln.
n6 LETTERS
Washington, July 10, 1848.
Dear William : Your letter covering the news-
paper slips was received last night. The sub-
ject of that letter is exceedingly painful to me ;
and I cannot but think there is some mistake in
your impression of the motives of the old men.
I suppose I am now one of the old men; and I
declare, on my veracity, which I think is good
with you, that nothing could afford me more sat-
isfaction than to learn that you and others of my
young friends at home are doing battle in the
contest, and endearing themselves to the people,
and taking a stand far above any I have ever
been able to reach in their admiration. I cannot
conceive that other old men feel differently. Of
course I cannot demonstrate what I say ; but I
was young once, and I am sure I was never
ungenerously thrust back. I hardly know what
to say. The way for a young man to rise is to
improve himself every way he can, never sus-
pecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.
Allow me to assure you that suspicion and jeal-
ousy never did help any man in any situation.
There may sometimes be ungenerous attempts
to keep a young man down; and they will suc-
ceed, too, if he allows his mind to be diverted
from its true channel to brood over the attempted
injury. Cast about, and see if this feeling has
not injured every person you have ever known to
fall into it.
Now, in what I have said, I am sure you will
suspect nothing but sincere friendship. I would
save you from a fatal error. You have been a
laborious, studious young man. You are far bet-
ter informed on almost all subjects than I have
ever been. You cannot fail in any laudable ob-
HERN DON, WILLIAM H. 117
ject, unless you allow your mind to be improp-
erly directed. I have somewhat the advantage
of you in the world's experience, merely by being
older; and it is this that induces me to advise.
You still seem to be a little mistaken about the
"Congressional Globe" and "Appendix." They
contain all of the speeches that are published in
any way. My speech and Dayton's speech, which
you say you got in pamphlet form, are both, word
for word, in the "Appendix." I repeat again, all
are there. Your friend, as ever,
A. Lincoln.
Springfield, June 5, 1849.
Dear William : Your two letters were received
last night. I have a great many letters to write,
and so cannot write very long ones. There must
be some mistake about Walter Davis saying I
promised him the post-office. I did not so prom-
ise him. I did tell him that if the distribution
of the offices should fall into my hands, he should
have something; and if I shall be convinced he
has said any more than this, I shall be disap-
pointed. I said this much to him because, as I
understand, he is of good character, is one of
the young men, is of the mechanics, and always
faithful and never troublesome ; a Whig, and is
poor, with the support of a widow mother thrown
almost exclusively on him by the death of his
brother. If these are wrong reasons, then I have
been wrong ; but I have certainly not been selfish
in it, because in my greatest need of friends he
was against me, and for Baker.
Yours as ever,
A. Lincoln.
P. S. Let the above be confidential.
il8 LETTERS
Executive Mansion,
Washington, February 3, 1862.
Dear William: Yours of January 30th just
received. Do just as you say about the money
matter. As you well know, I have not time to
write a letter of respectable length. God bless
you, says Your friend,
A. Lincoln.
Hereon, F. J.
War Department,
Washington, May 17, 1863.
Major-General F. J. Herron,
Rolla, Missouri :
Your despatch threatening to resign rather
than to serve under General Schofield has been
received and shown to the President. He directs
me to say that he is unaware of any valid ob-
jection to General Schofield, he having recently
commanded the Department of the Missouri, giv-
ing almost universal satisfaction so far as the
President ever heard. He directs me to add that
he has appreciated the services of General Herron
and rewarded them by rapid promotions ; but
that, even in him, insubordination will be met as
insubordination, and that your resignation will
be acted upon as circumstances may require
whenever it is tendered.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
Hewett, Josephus.
Washington, February 13, 1848.
Dear Hewett : Your Whig representative from
Mississippi, D. W. Tompkins, has just shown me
a letter of yours to him. I am jealous because
HEIVETT, JOSEPHUS
119
you did not write to me — perhaps you have for-
gotten me. Don't you remember a long black
fellow who rode on horseback with you from
Tremont to Springfield nearly ten years ago,
swimming our horses over the Mackinaw on the
trip? Well, I am that one fellow yet. I was
once of your opinion, expressed in your letter,
that presidential electors should be dispensed
with, but a more thorough knowledge of the
causes that first introduced them has made me
doubt. The causes are briefly these: The con-
vention that framed the Constitution had this
difficulty: the small States wished to so form
the new government as that they might be equal
to the large ones, regardless of the inequality of
population ; the large ones insisted on equality
in proportion to population. They compromised
it by basing the House of Representatives on pop-
ulation, and the Senate on States regardless of
population, and the execution of both principles
by electors in each State, equal in number to her
Senators and Representatives.
Now throw away the machinery of electors
and this compromise is broken up and the whole
yielded to the principle of the larger States.
There is one thing more. In the slave States you
have representatives, and consequently electors,
partly upon the basis of your slave population,
which would be swept away by the change you
seem to think desirable. Have you ever reflected
on these things?
But to come to the main point. I wish you to
know that I have made a speech in Congress, and
that I want you to be enlightened by reading it;
to further which object I send you a copy of the
speech by this mail.
120 LETTERS
For old acquaintance's sake, if for nothing else,
be sure to write to me on receiving this. I was
very near forgetting to tell you that on my be-
ing introduced to General Quitman and telling
him I was from Springfield, Illinois, he at once
remarked, "Then you know my valued friend
Hewett of Natchez" ; and on being assured I did,
he said just such things about you as I like to
hear said about my own valued friends.
Yours as ever,
A. Lincoln.
Hicks, G. Montague.
[Indorsement on Letter.]
This note, as Colonel Hicks did verbally yes-
terday, attempts to excite me against the Sec-
retary of War, and therein is offensive to me.
My "order," as he is pleased to call it, is plainly
no order at all.
A. Lincoln.
May 22, 1862.
Hicks, Thomas.