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"I WILL RISK THE DICTATORSHIP"
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Lincoln and Liberty, 1862-1863 "I WILL RISK THE DICTATORSHIP" Letter to General Joseph Hooker [J ANU AR Y 26, 1863] 275 After a series ofbattlefield defeats, Lincoln named "Fighting Joe" Hooker to command the Union army in early 1863. Lincoln then heard that the general entertained Napoleonic ambitions. With this letter, he adroitly affirmed the civilian authority, making light ofHooker's alleged lust for dictatorship. Major General Hooker: General. Executive Mansion, Washington, January 26, 1863. I have placed you at the head ofthe Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons. And yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which, I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a brave and a skilful soldier, which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is a valuable, if not an indispensable quality. You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm. But I think that during Gen. [Ambrose] Burnside 's command ofthe Army, you have taken counsel ofyour ambition, and thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country, and to a most meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a Dictator. Ofcourse it was not/or this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain successes, can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The government will support you to the utmost ofit's ability, which is neither more nor less than it has done and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the Army, ofcriticis- 276 LINCOLN ON DEMOCRACY ing their Commander, and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as far as I can, to put it down. Neither you, nor Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army, while such a spirit prevails in it. And now, beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with energy, and sleepless vigilance, go forward, and give us victories. Yours very truly A. LINCOLN "RESIST . .. SUCH RECOGNITION" Resolution Condemning Pro-Slavery Nations [APRIL 15, 1863] For much ofhispresidency, Lincoln worried that European nations would intervene in America's Civil War-on the side of the Confederacy. He drafted this resolution in the hope that it would be adopted at pro-Union meetings in England, and at the least influence the British government to remain neutral. Senator Charles Sumner, who was summoned to the White House to receive the resolution, forwarded it to John Bright, a pro-Lincoln member of British Parliament. Whereas, while heretofore, States, and Nations, have tolerated slavery, recently, for the first [time] in the world, an attempt has been made to construct a new Nation, upon the basis of, and with the primary, and fundamental object to maintain, enlarge, and perpetuate human slavery , therefore, Resolved, That no such embryo State should ever be recognized by, or admitted into, the family of christian and civilized nations; and that all ch[r]istian and civilized men everywhere should, by all lawful means, resist to the utmost, such recognition or admission. ...