VII. LINCOLN AND THE WAR
It is one thing to be elected President of the United States,--
that means triumph, honor, power: it is quite another thing to
perform the duties of President,--for that means labor,
disappointment, difficulty, even danger. Many a man envied
Abraham Lincoln when, in the stately pomp of inauguration and
with the plaudits of the spectators ringing about him, he took
the oath of office which for four years transforms an American
citizen into the ruler of these United States. Such envy would
have been changed to deepest sympathy if they could have known
what lay before him. After the music and cannon were dumb, after
the flags were all furled and the cheering crowds had vanished,
the shadows of war fell about the Executive Mansion, and its new
occupant remained face to face with his heavy task--a task which,
as he had truly said in his speech at Springfield, was greater
than that which rested upon Washington.
Then, as never before, he must have realized the peril of the
nation, with its credit gone, its laws defied, its flag insulted.
The South had carried out its threat, and seven million Americans
were in revolt against the idea that "all men are created equal,"
while twenty million other Americans were bent upon defending
that idea. For the moment both sides had paused to see how the
new President would treat this attempt at secession.
Pages:
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121