One thought it would cost the
Republicans the fall elections. Another preferred that
emancipation should be proclaimed by military commanders in their
several military districts. Secretary Seward, while approving the
measure, suggested that it would better be postponed until it
could be given to the country after a victory, instead of issuing
it, as would be the case then, upon the greatest disasters of the
war. "The wisdom of the view of the Secretary of State struck me
with very great force," Mr. Lincoln's recital continues. "It was
an aspect of the case that, in all my thought upon the subject, I
had entirely overlooked. The result was that I put the draft of
the proclamation aside, as you do your sketch for a picture,
waiting for a victory."
The secrets of the administration were well kept, and no hint
came to the public that the President had proposed such a measure
to his cabinet. As there was at the moment little in the way of
war news to attract attention, newspapers and private individuals
turned a sharp fire of criticism upon Mr. Lincoln. For this they
seized upon the ever-useful text of the slavery question. Some of
them protested indignantly that the President was going too fast;
others clamored as loudly that he had been altogether too slow.
His decision, as we know, was unalterably taken, although he was
not yet ready to announce it.
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