“Let our readers glance back to that period; let them take a view of a tall, pale man seated in the chair of state; let them look into his eyes, his soul, and see and even hear the beating pulse of the nation’s heart in his every fibre; let them look out and over the land and hear the maniacs of treason crying for his blood; let them look North, and even there hear the rebel sympathizers breathing curses loud and deep; let them read the first call for 75,000 troops, written with a nervous hand and a quailing heart; then look! behold! a nation obeys the call of the President, and the voice of the Union-loving people cheers and upholds him in his seat. The rebels find _no open aid North_. Covert, treacherous scoundrels, descendants of traitors, thieves, and murderers, met, it is true, in secret councils, but soon fell into their earthly hell before the indignant glance of an aroused people.
“Where now is slavery? Who struck at its very root and sent it shivering into pieces throughout the land? The very men who perfected and planned this revolution.
“Serpent-like, they bit themselves, and are now dying of the poison. Throughout the whole of these trying scenes—from the firing on Fort Sumter to the present—Abraham Lincoln has stood up firmly and consistently for the nation. Party questions have been repudiated and all sectional distinctions laid aside; for he had but one object, _that of saving the Union_! If to do this the destruction of the institution of slavery was necessary, its being powerless, helpless, and dead cannot be laid to his charge: it fell a victim to the acts of men who attempted to place it above the Constitution, and in the doing of which they have _crushed it and themselves out of the Union_. Thank God for this, the only good they have done!”[42]
Mr. Lincoln’s Cabinet was composed of men who set themselves to work in earnest. What they have done is now our country’s glory, our nation’s triumph.
Mr. Blair, in his first report, speaking of the commencement of his term of office, says,—
“Soon after the commencement of my term of office, the country felt the shock of internecine arms. In view of the great crime attempted against the existence of the nation, it became the duty of this, in common with the other departments of the government, to put forth all its energies to prevent the consummation of that crime. By the existing laws, all postmasters and mail-carriers, and all other persons engaged in handling the mails of the United States, or in clerical service, were required to take the usual oath of allegiance to this government, as well as for the faithful performance of their duties. Whenever it was made apparent by their declarations or by their conduct that there was a practical repudiation of the obligation of this oath, whether the party was a postmaster or a postal contractor, I ordered a removal from office in the one case and the deprivation of contract in the other. Not only was it unsafe to intrust the transportation of the mails to a person who refused or failed to recognize the sanctions of an oath, but to continue payment of public money to the enemies of the government and their allies was to give direct aid and comfort to treason in arms. I could not thus permit this branch of government to contribute to its own overthrow. No other course could have reasonably been expected by such contractors. The _bonâ fide_ observance of that oath, and the duty of allegiance itself, entered into and became a condition, a part of the consideration, of the contract itself. This failing, the department was equitably and legally discharged from its literal obligations. Protection on the part of the government and allegiance on the part of the citizen are correlative, and are conditions mutually dependent in every contract; and the highest public interest demanded the rigid enforcement of this rule of action. Occasional local and transient inconvenience resulted of necessity, but far less than would reasonably have been expected. Loyal men everywhere sustained this action, and speedily furnished the requisite means for continuing the service without increased expense. These changes were mainly called for in parts of Virginia and Maryland and in Kentucky and Missouri.