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Lincoln and Democracy, 1863-1865 349 make some new announcement to the people of the South. I am considering , and shall not fail to act, when satisfied that action will be proper. "A UNION OF HEARTS AND HANDS" From His Last Letter, to James H. Van Alen [APRIL 14, 1865] The original text ofthis letter has never been found, nor has the note that inspired it, a plea from a New York general that Lincoln take special precautions against assassination. This reply was published in the Sunday Morning Chronicle on April 23, but by then Lincoln had been dead a week-just as Van Alen had feared, the victim of an assassin. Washington, April 14th, 1865. My dear Sir: I intend to adopt the advice of my friends and use due precaution. . . . I thank you for the assurance you give me that I shall be supported by conservative men like yourself, in the efforts I may make to restore the Union, so as to make it, to use your language, a Union of hearts and hands as well as of States. Yours truly, A. LINCOLN. ...

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