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>> 97 3 “Argument Is Exhausted” An Election, an Insurrection, and an Invasion, 1860–61 Argument is exhausted, and the appeal to arms at last is made. If the border states shall remain passive, all will work out to a successful issue for the Union—but if they go with the Confederated States, the fight will end I think in a final disruption of the Government . In either event, we are in for a long war, during which there will be little use for lawyers, judges, and town lot speculators. —Thomas Ewing Jr., 1861 Tom Ewing’s finances were in wretched shape at the beginning of 1860. He owed nearly $73,000 to one New York creditor and lesser amounts to others . The long drought had driven off thousands of settlers, making Kansas real estate speculation a futile exercise. Indeed, Tom lamented, “There is in fact no market for property at any price whatever.” Worse, the unsettled political situation, both in Kansas and nationally, delayed rail construction. Tom informed his Washington business representative that he had little expectation of Congress moving forward with transportation projects for the West.1 Cump’s and Hugh’s departure from Kansas had left Tom in the company of similarly distressed friends. His law practice kept him occupied, though it seemed as if all Kansas lawyers did was to prosecute thieves, sue each other, and charge 50 percent interest rates on loans secured by land no one wanted. Amid the financial ruins, Tom wrote to his father that “there has been more general embarrassment and depression here than I have seen before, but the general belief is that we have touched bottom.”2 98 > 99 The Kansas branch of the Ewing family also suffered its share of political frustration. Cousin Hamp had gone to Washington seeking appointment as register of the Land Office at Lecompton. Although Denman remained a Democrat, he was, Tom observed, not in good standing with southerners, who resented his opposition to the westward expansion of slavery. President James Buchanan, heeding the demands of his southern Democratic advisers, turned Hamp down. Tom’s reaction to Hamp’s news was vivid: “I sincerely regret your failure. By rejecting you, however, Buchanan has paid you the only compliment in his power to bestow—the damned old scoundrel! Like a toad, he grows more ugly and venomous with increasing age. If the devil don’t get him, then there’s no use keeping a devil.”3 Tom made no secret of his ambition to be selected for the U.S. Senate once Kansas received admission into the Union. However, he knew that Lane would do everything he could to thwart his political plans. Tom regarded Lane as “a decidedly bad man,” but given how few moderate Republicans there were in Kansas he saw little prospect of stopping him. He also anticipated that Lane would promote his dutiful shadow, Samuel Pomeroy, for the other Senate seat.4 Pomeroy had arrived in Kansas as an associate of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. Tom’s allies had little use for Pomeroy, calling him “Pom the Pompous.” His ultimate selection, however, owed much to Lane’s support , as well as to the charitable contributions he collected in New England and then distributed to destitute Kansas farmers. It was a slick move. Pomeroy appeared to be the devout abolitionist warrior back east as he exhorted New Englanders to succor those fighting in the front lines against southern aggression. In Kansas, Pomeroy seemed to be aiding the poor without any expectation of earthly reward—other than a U.S. Senate seat. Tom had to settle for the consolation prize of chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court.5 So far as presidential politics were concerned, Tom expressed the hope that the Republican Party “will give us a leader . . . at least as moderate in his views as Abraham Lincoln.” The last thing the American people needed, Tom believed, was another John Brown “preaching the irrepressible conflict.” Tom wrote to Lincoln assuring him of his support, though warning that most Kansas Republicans were of a “zealous” bent. Their preferred candidate was New York senator William Henry Seward—a man of so little discretion that the senior Ewing had not apprised him of President Taylor’s position on slavery in the territories. (Ewing had not been alone in believing that Seward’s brain and tongue were separated at birth.) Tom informed Lincoln that if he could hold on to his supporters in the early...

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