raised by some onlooker, however, he was permitted to take his place in the line of guests, where in due time he was cordially greeted by the President. For Lincoln, although he knew the prejudices of others, had a respect for the feelings as well as for the rights of the members of this enslaved race. "Mr. Lincoln," said Douglass, "is the only white man with whom I have ever talked, or in whose presence I have ever been, who did not consciously or unconsciously betray to me that he recognized my color." He invited Douglass to tea in his cottage at the Soldiers' Home, and many negroes attended the President's New Year's reception in the closing days of the war, laughing and crying with joy as they stood in their new manhood before their emancipator. LINCOLN AND HIS CABINET - A group of naturally discordant advisers moulded and harmonized by Lincoln's unsuspected mastery of men. Seward or Chase expected to be the real power behind the chair of the unknown and untried President. Seward's amazing proposal to Lincoln, April 1, 1861, and the kindly firmness with which the latter rejected it. - Chase's pathetic failure to understand his chief. — Attempt of the Senate to reconstruct the cabinet, December 19, 1862, and Lincoln's successful method of meeting the crisis. Lincoln and Stanton a strangely matched team. "I have very little influence with this administration." How Lincoln slowly and gently gained the lead over all. Chase's resignation, June 28, 1864, and Lincoln's generous appointment of him to the Chief-justiceship, December 6, Estimates of Lincoln's leadership by Seward and 1864. Stanton. LINCOLN hated to dictate. He shrank from assuming to control the members of his cabinet until forced by circumstances to take upon himself the responsibility. His natural preference was to work with, rather than to lead men. He could not bear to humble any fellow-being, however low his rank. He found, however, as emergencies arose, that some one must rule, and that as President he alone was responsible to the people. His courage never permitted him to shirk a duty, and thus little by little his power was modestly put forth until his quiet mastery was complete. When the members of Lincoln's cabinet first met, probably no one among them suspected that their counsels would be ruled by the man who sat at the head of the table. None of them knew him, and most of them felt they were the superiors of the untried and untrained President. They had all been chosen by him for political and party reasons. had been his competitors for the nomination at Chicago. He had not one personal friend in the group. Four The construction of such a cabinet was a daring venture. There was no binding tie between the secretaries. Rivals or strangers to Lincoln, they were not united in loyalty to him. Drawn from hostile factions, there was no harmony of purpose among them. Only a President with the power to mould and master men could hold together a group of advisers naturally so discordant. Few, if any, imagined that Lincoln would dominate them. For twenty years there had been a succession of weak Presidents, reigning but not ruling. The Chief Executive had come to be no more than the figurehead of a strong faction. Lincoln's administration, therefore, was expected to be his only in name. Two men in the cabinet, Seward and Chase, representing opposing forces in the new Republican party, |