Letter to Reverdy Johnson (1862)

Political Context:

This letter is written just a few days after Abraham Lincoln has shared his first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. In this letter try to see the emotion that Lincoln is feeling towards not only Maryland Senator Reverdy Johnson, but those that he claims to speak for in Louisiana. Reverdy Johnson claims in this letter that there are many who are loyal to the union, who are unhappy with the military rule they are living under in Louisiana. The Civil War has been going on for just over a year at this point and the particularly in the summer of 1862 there have been many missteps for the Union army.

What Historians Say:

“The failure of the Peninsular campaign marked a key turning point in the war. If McClellan had won, his triumph – combined with other successes of Union arms that spring, including the capture of New Orleans, Memphis, and Nashville – might well have ended the war with slavery virtually untouched. But in the wake of such a major Union defeat, Lincoln decided that the peculiar institution must no longer be treated gently. It was time, the thought, to deal with it head-on.

— Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life

Vocabulary:

Sincerity

Notwithstanding

Repentance

honesty, or integrity

in spite of, or nevertheless

the act of showing regret or remorse

Excerpt:

You are ready to say I apply to friends what is due only to enemies. I distrust the wisdom if not the sincerity of friends, who would hold my hands while my enemies stab me. This appeal of professed friends has paralyzed me more in this struggle than any other one thing. You remember telling me the day after the Baltimore mob in April 1861, that it would crush all Union feeling in Maryland for me to attempt bringing troops over Maryland soil to Washington. I brought the troops notwithstanding, and yet there was Union feeling enough left to elect a Legislature the next autumn which in turn elected a very excellent Union U. S. Senator!

I am a patient man—always willing to forgive on the Christian terms of repentance; and also to give ample time for repentance. Still I must save this government if possible. What I cannot do, of course I will not do; but it may as well be understood, once for all, that I shall not surrender this game leaving any available card unplayed.

Yours truly

A LINCOLN

Audio (1:37-2:59)

Source Information and Complete Document:

Reading Analysis Support Video:

Questions:

Does Lincoln think the people Reverdy Johnson is referring to are true friends of him and his cause? Why?
What risky decision did Abraham Lincoln make in Maryland? How did it work for him?
In the final section Lincoln says, "What I cannot do, of course I will not do;". What is the limit on a President's power?
When Lincoln says, "I shall not surrender this game leaving any available card unplayed." What game is Lincoln playing? What does it mean he won't leave any cards unplayed.

Thesis Focus:

In this letter is Lincoln reacting to change in slavery? Is it a positive or negative change in Lincoln's opinion? Why?
Is the strength and intensity of Lincoln's reaction in proportion to the changes in slave policy?
How does this reaction compare to his previous thoughts on the topic?

Required Documents

Sources

— Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (2 volumes, originally published by Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008) Unedited Manuscript By Chapter, Lincoln Studies Center, Volume 2, Chapter 27 (PDF), pp. 2982

Matthew Pinsker, ed. , "Letter to Williamson Durley (1845),” Lincoln’s Writings: The Multi-Media Edition, http://housedivided.dickinson.edu/sites/lincoln/letter-to-reverdy-johnson-july-26-1862/ (accessed July 30, 2016).

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