Recollections of Forty Years in the House, Senate and Cabinet: An Autobiography.Sherman, John
History
Recollections of Forty Years in the House, Senate and Cabinet: An Autobiography.
Sherman, John
Sherman, John, 1823-1900; Statesmen -- United States -- Biography; United States -- Politics and government -- 19th century
Martin J. Crawford, of Georgia, was a lawyer of good standing. He
was elected a Member of Congress in 1854, and continued as such
until the rebellion, in which he took an active part. When Georgia
seceded, he, with his colleagues, formally withdrew from Congress.
Crawford and I had been friendly, and somewhat intimate. He was
a frank man, openly avowing his opinions, but with respectful
toleration of those of others. After he withdrew we met in the
lobby; he bade me good-bye, saying that his next appearance in
Washington would be as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
of the Confederate States. I told him that he was more likely to
appear as a prisoner of war. I then warned him that the struggle
would be to the death, and that the Union would triumph. Long
afterwards, when I visited the fair at Atlanta, he recalled our
conversation and admitted I was the best prophet. We spent the
evening and far into the night talking about the past and the
future. He evinced no regret for the result of the war, but quietly
acquiesced, and was then a judge in one of the courts in that state.
Elbridge G. Spaulding, of New York, was an excellent Member. He
had a taste for financial problems and contributed a good deal to
the measures adopted, in this and the 37th Congress, to establish
a national currency and to build up the public credit. These
Members, with Mr. Morrill and myself, were charged with the most
important legislation in the 36th Congress, and I believe that the
general opinion of the House was that we did our duty well.
CHAPTER IX.
LAST DAYS OF THE BUCHANAN ADMINISTRATION.
My First Appearance Before a New York Audience--Lincoln's Nomination
at the Chicago Convention--I Engage Actively in the Presidential
Canvass--Making Speeches for Lincoln--My Letter to Philadelphia
Citizens--Acts of Secession by the Southern States--How the South
was Equipped by the Secretary of the Navy--Buchanan's Strange
Doctrine Regarding State Control by the General Government--Schemes
"To Save the Country"--My Reply to Mr. Pendleton on the Condition
of the Impending Revolution--The Ohio Delegation in the 36th Congress
--Retrospection.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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