They had, however, no misunderstanding
of its practical effect. This crude Western lawyer had certain
ideas from which he would not budge, and the party would have to
go along with him. Weed and Seward therefore promptly fell into
line, and Seward accepted the Secretaryship and came out in
opposition to the Compromise. Other Republicans with whom
Lincoln had communicated by letter made known his views, and
Greeley announced them in The Tribune. The outcome was the solid
alignment of all the Republicans in Congress against the
Compromise. As a result, this last attempt to reunite the
sections came to nothing.
Not more than once or twice, if ever, in American history, has
there been such an anxious New Year's Day as that which ushered
in 1861. A few days before, a Republican Congressman had written
to one of his constituents: "The heavens are indeed black and an
awful storm is gathering...I see no way that either North or
South can escape its fury." Events were indeed moving fast
toward disaster. The garrison at Sumter was in need of supplies,
and in the first week of the new year Buchanan attempted to
relieve its wants. But a merchant vessel, the Star of the West,
by which supplies were sent, was fired upon by the South Carolina
authorities as it approached the harbor and was compelled to turn
back.
Pages:
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106