There seems to be good reason to think that Chase was not taken
by surprise when his radical allies in Congress, in December,
1862, demanded of Lincoln the removal of Seward. It will be
remembered that the elections of the autumn of 1862 had gone
against Lincoln. At this moment of dismay, the friends of Chase
struck their blow. Seward instantly offered his resignation.
But Lincoln skillfully temporized. Thereupon, Chase also
resigned. Judging from the scanty evidence we have of his
intention, we may conclude that he thought he had Lincoln in a
corner and that he expected either to become first minister or
the avowed chief of an irresistible opposition. But he seems to
have gone too fast for his followers. Lincoln had met them,
together with his Cabinet, in a conference in December, 1862, and
frankly discussed the situation, with the result that some of
them wavered. When Lincoln informed both Seward and Chase that
he declined to accept their resignations, both returned--Seward
with alacrity, Chase with reluctance. One of the clues to
Lincoln's cabinet policy was his determination to keep both these
factions committed to the Government, without allowing himself to
be under the thumb of either.
During the six months following the cabinet crisis Chase appears
at his best.
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