Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865; Presidents -- United States -- Biography; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
There is a personal and political mystery underlying this transaction
which history will probably never solve. Only a few points of
information have come to light, and they serve to embarrass rather
than aid the solution. The first is that Calhoun, although the friend
and protégé of Douglas, and also himself personally pledged to
submission, came to the Governor and urged him to join in the new
programme as to slavery,--alleging that the Administration had changed
its policy, and now favored this plan,--and tempted Walker with a
prospect of the Presidency if he would concur. Walker declared such a
change impossible, and indignantly spurned the proposal. The second is
that one Martin, a department clerk, was, after confidential
instructions from Secretary Thompson and Secretary Cobb, of Buchanan's
Cabinet, sent to Kansas in October, ostensibly on department business;
that he spent his time in the lobby and the secret caucuses of the
convention. Martin testifies that these Cabinet members favored
submission, but that Thompson wished it understood that he was
unwilling to oppose the admission of Kansas "if a pro-slavery
constitution should be made and sent directly to Congress by the
convention." A wink was as good as a nod with that body, or rather
with the cabal which controlled it; and after a virtuous dumb-show of
opposition, it made a pretense of yielding to the inevitable, and
acted on the official suggestion. This theory is the more plausible
because Martin testifies further that he himself drafted the slavery
provision which was finally adopted. The third point is that the
President inexcusably abandoned his pledges to the Governor and
adopted this Cobb-Thompson-Calhoun contrivance, instead of keeping his
word and dismissing Calhoun, as honor dictated. This course becomes
especially remarkable in view of the fact that the change did not
occur until after Walker's rejection of the fraudulent Oxford returns,
which action placed the legislative power of the Territory in the
hands of the newly elected free-State Legislature, as already related.
On the same day (October 22, 1857) on which Walker and Stanton issued
their proclamation rejecting the fraudulent returns, President
Buchanan wrote another highly commendatory letter to Governor Walker.
As it has never before been published, its full text will have special
historical interest.
WASHINGTON CITY,
22d October, 1857.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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