Authors: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Mississippi called for a convention: Potter,
The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861,
pp. 88, 94, 104.
“We read…nuptial couch, everywhere!”: Thomas Hart Benton, May 31, 1848,
Appendix to the Congressional Globe,
30th Cong., 1st sess., p. 686.
“We must concern…of life and death”: John Randolph, quoted in Margaret L. Coit,
John C. Calhoun: American Portrait
(Atlanta, Ga.: Cherokee Publishing Co., 1990), p. 166.
“antagonistical elements”: WHS, “The Election of 1848, Cleveland, Ohio, October 26, 1848,”
Works of William H. Seward,
Vol. III, p. 295.
“It is a great mistake…except force”: John C. Calhoun, “The Compromise,” March 4, 1850,
Congressional Globe,
31st Cong., 1st sess., p. 453.
All eyes turned to…Henry Clay: Robert V. Remini,
Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union
(New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1991), pp. 730–38.
“regarded by all…man for a crisis”: AL, “Eulogy on Henry Clay,” July 6, 1852, in
CW,
II, p. 129.
“the spirit and the fire of youth”: James S. Pike, “Mr. Clay’s Speech,” May 20, 1850, from the
NYTrib,
reprinted in James S. Pike,
First Blows of the Civil War: The Ten Years of Preliminary Conflict in the United States
(New York: American News Company, 1879), p. 72.
Henry Clay speech, resolutions: “Compromise Resolutions. Speech of Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, in the Senate of the United States, February 5 and 6, 1850,”
Appendix to the Congressional Globe,
31st Cong., 1st sess., pp. 115–27 (quotes pp. 115, 127).
denied a jury trial…hunt down escapees: Potter,
The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861,
pp. 130–31.
“if the direful…heart-rending spectacle”: “Compromise Resolutions. Speech of Mr. Clay,”
Appendix to the Congressional Globe,
p. 127.
Frances Seward in the gallery: FAS to LW, February 10, 1850, reel 119, Seward Papers.
F Street house in Washington: Van Deusen,
William Henry Seward,
p. 118; Seward,
Seward at Washington…1846–1861,
p. 111. The house was located on the north side of F Street, NW, between Sixth and Seventh Streets.
“He
is
a charming…I supposed”: FAS to LW, February 10, 1850, reel 119, Seward Papers.
John Calhoun in the Senate: Pike, “Speeches of Webster and Calhoun,” from the
Portland Advertiser,
March 9, 1850, in Pike,
First Blows of the Civil War,
p. 15; Ben: Perley Poore,
Perley’s Reminiscences of Sixty Years in the National Metropolis,
Vol. I (Philadelphia, 1886; New York: AMS Press, 1971), p. 365.
Calhoun’s speech read by Mason: John C. Calhoun, “The Compromise,” March 4, 1850,
Congressional Globe,
31st Cong., 1st sess., pp. 451–55.
the “great triumvirate”: Richard N. Current, “Webster, Daniel,” in
The Reader’s Companion to American History,
ed. Foner and Garraty, p. 1139.
“crammed”…previous occasion:
National Intelligencer,
Washington, D.C., March 8, 1850.
the rumor that Webster…was watching: FAS to LW, March 10, 1850, reel 119, Seward Papers.
“I wish to speak”: “Compromise Resolutions. Speech of Mr. Webster, of Massachusetts, in the Senate, March 7, 1850,”
Appendix to the Congressional Globe,
31st Cong., 1st sess., pp. 269–76 (quote p. 269).
“Mr Webster has deliberately…years in doing”: Journal BO, p. 217, in
The Journals and Miscellaneous Notebooks of Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Vol. XI:
1848–1851,
ed. A. W. Plumstead and William H. Gilman (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1975), pp. 347–48.
Frances Seward on Webster’s speech: FAS to LW, March 10, 1850, reel 119, Seward Papers.
speech won nationwide approval from moderates: Robert V. Remini,
Daniel Webster: The Man and His Time
(New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1997), pp. 674–75.
“How little they know…he thinks just”: FAS to LW, March 10, 1850, reel 119, Seward Papers.
Antislavery advocates had no need: Hendrick,
Lincoln’s War Cabinet,
p. 23.
He had talked at length…before Frances: FAS to WHS, July 8, 1850, reel 114, Seward Papers; Seward,
An Autobiography,
p. 703; Van Deusen,
Thurlow Weed,
p. 175.
description of Seward’s speaking style: Van Deusen,
William Henry Seward,
p. 122; Bancroft,
The Life of William H. Seward,
Vol. I, pp. 190–91.
he quoted Machiavelli: Pike, “Governor Seward’s Speech,” March 12, 1850, from the
Boston Courier,
in Pike,
First Blows of the Civil War,
p. 18.
Webster was riveted…“sat still”: Holman Hamilton,
Zachary Taylor: Soldier in the White House,
Vol. II (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1951; Norwalk, Conn.: Easton Press, 1989), p. 316.
content of Seward’s speech: WHS, “California, Union, and Freedom. Speech of William H. Seward, of New York, in the Senate, March 11, 1850,”
Appendix to the Congressional Globe,
31st Cong., 1st sess., pp. 260–69 (quotes pp. 262, 263, and 265).
With this single speech: Van Deusen,
William Henry Seward,
p. 128.
Tens of thousands of copies: WHS to TW, March 22 and 31, 1850, in Seward,
Seward at Washington…1846–1861,
p. 129.
“live longer…of the Session”:
NYTrib,
March 19, 1850.
Chase prepares with Sumner: CS to SPC, February 19, March 22 and 23, 1850, reel 8, Chase Papers.
“I find no man…yourself”: SPC to CS, September 15, 1849, reel 8, Chase Papers.
“a tower of strength”: CS to SPC, February 7, 1849, reel 7, Chase Papers.
“confirm the irresolute…confound the trimmers”: CS to SPC, February 7, 1849, reel 7, Chase Papers.
“I cannot disguise…throughout the country”: CS to SPC, March 22, 1850, reel 8, Chase Papers.
Chase’s speech: SPC, “Union and Freedom, Without Compromise. Speech of Mr. Chase, of Ohio, in the Senate, March 26–27, 1850,”
Appendix to the Congressional Globe,
31st Cong., 1st sess., pp. 468–80.
Chase’s speaking style: Blue,
Salmon P. Chase,
p. 102; Warden,
Private Life and Public Services,
p. 340.
“infinitely below…who expected much”: SPC to Sarah Bella Chase, March 27, 1850, reel 8, Chase Papers.
“You know…received not much”: SPC to Stanley Matthews, May 6, 1850, reel 8, Chase Papers.
Benton-Foote argument: William Nisbet Chambers,
Old Bullion Benton, Senator from the New West: Thomas Hart Benton, 1782–1858
(Boston: Little, Brown, 1956), pp. 360–62; Henry S. Foote,
Casket of Reminiscences
(Washington, D.C.: Chronicle Publishing, 1874), pp. 338–39; March 26–27, April 2, and April 17, 1850, in
Congressional Globe,
31st Cong., 1st sess., pp. 602–04, 609–10, 762–63.
“I disdain to carry…the assassin fire!”: Thomas Hart Benton, quoted in
Congressional Globe,
31st Cong., 1st sess., p. 762.
Sumner’s praise…“Seward is with us”: CS to SPC, April 10, 1850, reel 8, Chase Papers.
“You mistake…Anti Slavery opinions”: SPC to CS, April 13, 1850, reel 8, Chase Papers.
“I have never been…a politician for me”: SPC to CS, December 14, 1850, reel 9, Chase Papers.
relationship between Chase and Seward: WHS to SPC, October 2 and 22, 1843; August 4, 1845; reels 5, 6, Chase Papers.
“I made this resolution…me to keep it”: Entry for April 29, 1831,
Chase Papers,
Vol. I, pp. 57–58.
reaction to Seward’s “Higher Law” speech: Seward,
Seward at Washington…1846–1861,
pp. 128, 130; FAS to LW, March 19 and March 21, 1850, reel 119, Seward Papers; Van Deusen,
William Henry Seward,
pp. 124–27.
“Senator Seward is against…the South”:
NYH,
March 13, 1850.
Seward was initially untroubled: Seward,
Seward at Washington…1846–1861,
pp. 120–21.
“spoken words…when I am dead”: WHS to TW, March 31, 1850, in ibid., p. 129.
When she looked at him: FAS to LW, undated letter, in ibid., p. 120.
“Your speech…relieved my apprehensions”: TW to WHS, March 14, 1850, reel 36, Seward Papers.
“despondency…shame”: WHS to TW, March 31, 1850, Weed Papers.
death of Taylor, succession of Fillmore: Hamilton,
Zachary Taylor,
Vol. II (1951 ed.), pp. 388–94.
Under the skillful leadership…omnibus bill was broken up: Potter,
The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861,
pp. 109–12; Johannsen,
Stephen A. Douglas,
pp. 294–96.
Douglas regarded…“drop the subject”: Stephen Douglas, quoted in Potter,
The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861,
p. 121.
Upon its passage:
NYH,
September 8, 9, and 10, 1850.
“The joy of everyone seemed unbounded”:
NYTrib,
September 10, 1850.
“The crisis is passed—the cloud is gone”: Lewis Cass quoted in
NYH,
September 10, 1850.
“The elements…but never overcome”:
Columbus [Ga.] Sentinel,
reprinted in
Charleston [S.C.] Mercury,
January 23, 1851.
“devotion to…inclined them”: AL, “Speech at Peoria, Illinois,” October 16, 1854, in
CW,
II, p. 253.
Rejecting Seward’s concept…: AL, “Endorsement on the Margin of the
Missouri Democrat,”
[May 17, 1860], in
CW,
IV, p. 50.
He relished the convivial life: Strozier,
Lincoln’s Quest for Union,
p. 144.
“The local belles…and eloquence”: Whitney,
Life on the Circuit with Lincoln,
p. 63.
“plenty of bedbugs”: David Davis to Sarah Davis, May 1, 1851, quoted in King,
Lincoln’s Manager,
p. 77.
“half an inch thick”: David Davis to Sarah Davis, April 24, 1851, David Davis Papers, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Ill. [hereafter Davis Papers, ALPLM].
slept two to a bed…in a room: Whitney,
Life on the Circuit with Lincoln,
p. 62.
David Davis: See King,
Lincoln’s Manager,
esp. pp. 9–13, 17, 61.
“warm-hearted” nature: David Davis to Sarah Davis, November 3, 1851, Davis Papers, ALPLM.
“exceeding honesty & fairness”: David Davis to Sarah Davis, March 23, 1851, Davis Papers, ALPLM. 150 “too well to thwart her views”: David Davis, quoted in King,
Lincoln’s Manager,
p. 42.
the judge’s letters about Lincoln: David Davis to Sarah Davis, May 3 and October 20, 1851, Davis Papers, ALPLM.
“He arrogated…personal affection”: Unidentified lawyer, quoted in Tarbell,
The Life of Abraham Lincoln,
Vol. I, p. 247.
At mealtimes…prisoners out on bail: Whitney,
Life on the Circuit with Lincoln,
pp. 63, 72.
“such of us…those who have”: AL, “Temperance Address delivered before the Springfield Washington Temperance Society,” February 22, 1842, in
CW,
I, p. 278.
“in full laugh till near daylight”: WHH to “Mr. N.,” February 4, 1874,
Grandview [Ind.] Monitor,
March 15, 1934, quoted in Burlingame,
The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln,
p. 18 n67.
“eyes would sparkle…than his”: Jonathan Birch, “A Student Who Was Aided by Mr. Lincoln,” in Wilson,
Intimate Memories of Lincoln,
p. 105.
Ethan Allen/George Washington story: Abner Y. Ellis statement, January 23, 1866, in
HI,
p. 174.
“who had a great…‘than that dress’”: John Usher interview with George Alfred Townsend, December 25, 1878, scrapbook, Papers of George Alfred Townsend, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
“is the nature…is cradled”: Walter Benjamin, “The Storyteller,” in
Illuminations,
ed. Hannah Arendt, trans. Harry Zohn (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968; New York: Schocken Books, 1969), p. 91.
“Would we do…thought and experience”: Whitney,
Life on the Circuit with Lincoln,
p. 66.
“It makes human nature…is possible”: AL on George Washington, quoted in ibid., p. 67.
When the court closed…throughout the weekend: Jesse W. Weik,
The Real Lincoln: A Portrait
(Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1923), p. 90.
“wondered at it…pleasant, inviting homes”: David Davis, quoted in Herndon and Weik,
Herndon’s Life of Lincoln,
p. 249.
“as happy as…no other place”: David Davis interview, September 20, 1866, in
HI,
p. 349.
“his home was
Hell…Heaven
”: WHH,
A Letter from William H. Herndon to Isaac N. Arnold,
n.p. 152 “Lincoln speaks very…children”: David Davis to Sarah Davis, November 3, 1851, quoted in King,
Lincoln’s Manager,
p. 85.
Davis described a letter…Tad was born: David Davis to Sarah Davis, May 17, 1852, and September 18, 1853, Davis Papers, ALPLM; King,
Lincoln’s Manager,
pp. 74, 84.