Lincoln's Last Days: Office Seekers
A common complaint of many of the 18th and 19th century presidents is that at the commencement of their terms of office, they were beset upon by hordes of "office-seekers", persons who were seeking an appointment to a position in the federal government. Patronage was a key political weapon, especially before meaningful civil service reform, and many biographies of presidents make mention of this being a common annoyance for new presidents trying to get their work done. It was certainly a problem for Lincoln at the start of his first term, and it was something he faced again, albeit to a lesser extent, at the start of his second term.
In Team of Rivals, at page 703, Doris Kearns Goodwin writes about how Lincoln compared these office seekers to Egyptian locusts, and how he said "The bare thought of going through again the first year here, would crush me." During his second term, Lincoln decided that he didn't want to repeat the experience he had with office seekers in his first term. He told New Hampshire Senator Daniel Clark, "I think now that I will not remove a single man, except for delinquency. To remove a man is very easy, but when I go to fill his place, there are twenty applicants, and of these I must make nineteen enemies." Lincoln made an exception in the case of disabled veterans. He tried to find places in government for these men, and tried to find many of them jobs in the Sanitation Commission.
The Journals of the Senate for March 10, 1865 (150 years ago today) show that on that day, Lincoln submitted a great number of names to the Senate for appointment to various posts. In addition to the assorted civil service positions, he also submitted a number of names of officers in the Union army for "brevet" promotions (i.e. they would hold the increased rank while serving in the field, and would revert to their former rank after leaving the conflict). For these, Lincoln simply asked the senate to accept the recommendations of his Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, and Stanton set out the names. One of the names on Stanton's list is "S.S. Seward", whose promotion to brevet Lieutenant-Colonel is recommended for gallantry as an aide-de-camp during the campaign of 1864. This was not a son of Secretary of State William H. Seward, but may have possibly been a relative. The record shows that the senate consented to all of these appointments on the same day.
One of the more notable appointments that Lincoln made was that of Hugh McCulloch to the position of Secretary of the Treasury. The position had become vacant in 1864 when Salmon Chase was appointed to the position of Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, following the death of Roger Taney. The post was filled by Maine Senator William Fessendon, but he sought re-election to the Senate in 1864 and was successful, leaving the post vacant.
Doris Kearns Goodwin writes, of McCulloch (at page 704):
Hugh McCulloch was entirely familiar with Treasury operations, having served as comptroller of the currency. When Lincoln first approached him, however, he was nervous about accepting the position. "I should be glad to comply with your wishes", he told Lincoln, "if I did not distrust my abilities to do what is required of the Secretary of the Treasury." Lincoln cheerfully replied, "I will be responsible for that, and so I reckon we will consider the matter settled." McCulloch would remain at his post for four years and was "never sorry" that he had accepted Lincoln's wishes.
On March 9, 1865, McCulloch was appointed as the 27th Secretary of the Treasury by Lincoln. It was McCulloch who later remarked that on the morning of Lincoln's assassination:
"I never saw Mr. Lincoln so cheerful and happy. The burden which had been weighing upon him for four long years, and which he had borne with heroic fortitude, had been lifted; the war had been practically ended; the Union was safe."
McCulloch continued to serve in the Presidential Cabinet of Andrew Johnson until the close of his administration in 1869. He was called into service as Treasury Secretary again later in his career from October 1884 until the close of President Chester A. Arthur's term of office in March 1885.
Also on March 10, 1865, the Liberator, the famous abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison and published out of Boston, published the text of Lincoln's second inaugural address, as well as this quote from the President:
In Team of Rivals, at page 703, Doris Kearns Goodwin writes about how Lincoln compared these office seekers to Egyptian locusts, and how he said "The bare thought of going through again the first year here, would crush me." During his second term, Lincoln decided that he didn't want to repeat the experience he had with office seekers in his first term. He told New Hampshire Senator Daniel Clark, "I think now that I will not remove a single man, except for delinquency. To remove a man is very easy, but when I go to fill his place, there are twenty applicants, and of these I must make nineteen enemies." Lincoln made an exception in the case of disabled veterans. He tried to find places in government for these men, and tried to find many of them jobs in the Sanitation Commission.
The Journals of the Senate for March 10, 1865 (150 years ago today) show that on that day, Lincoln submitted a great number of names to the Senate for appointment to various posts. In addition to the assorted civil service positions, he also submitted a number of names of officers in the Union army for "brevet" promotions (i.e. they would hold the increased rank while serving in the field, and would revert to their former rank after leaving the conflict). For these, Lincoln simply asked the senate to accept the recommendations of his Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, and Stanton set out the names. One of the names on Stanton's list is "S.S. Seward", whose promotion to brevet Lieutenant-Colonel is recommended for gallantry as an aide-de-camp during the campaign of 1864. This was not a son of Secretary of State William H. Seward, but may have possibly been a relative. The record shows that the senate consented to all of these appointments on the same day.
One of the more notable appointments that Lincoln made was that of Hugh McCulloch to the position of Secretary of the Treasury. The position had become vacant in 1864 when Salmon Chase was appointed to the position of Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, following the death of Roger Taney. The post was filled by Maine Senator William Fessendon, but he sought re-election to the Senate in 1864 and was successful, leaving the post vacant.
Doris Kearns Goodwin writes, of McCulloch (at page 704):
Hugh McCulloch was entirely familiar with Treasury operations, having served as comptroller of the currency. When Lincoln first approached him, however, he was nervous about accepting the position. "I should be glad to comply with your wishes", he told Lincoln, "if I did not distrust my abilities to do what is required of the Secretary of the Treasury." Lincoln cheerfully replied, "I will be responsible for that, and so I reckon we will consider the matter settled." McCulloch would remain at his post for four years and was "never sorry" that he had accepted Lincoln's wishes.
On March 9, 1865, McCulloch was appointed as the 27th Secretary of the Treasury by Lincoln. It was McCulloch who later remarked that on the morning of Lincoln's assassination:
"I never saw Mr. Lincoln so cheerful and happy. The burden which had been weighing upon him for four long years, and which he had borne with heroic fortitude, had been lifted; the war had been practically ended; the Union was safe."
McCulloch continued to serve in the Presidential Cabinet of Andrew Johnson until the close of his administration in 1869. He was called into service as Treasury Secretary again later in his career from October 1884 until the close of President Chester A. Arthur's term of office in March 1885.
Also on March 10, 1865, the Liberator, the famous abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison and published out of Boston, published the text of Lincoln's second inaugural address, as well as this quote from the President: