Lincoln Pumps Fists in Victory? No

Not a Fire-Eater

Lincoln’s Reaction to His Election

As other Civil War sites have noted, there was the expected strong and negative reaction to Lincoln’s victory throughout the South. On November 8, 1860, The New-York Times. published a report from the President-elect’s home about how Lincoln spent the last couple days and to see if he had any words about future plans for his administration. Here are some excerpts:

Special Dispatch to the New-York Times.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Wednesday, Nov. 7—6 P.M.
Mr. LINCOLN has not yet given any public intimation as to the policy of his Administration. I have every reason to believe that he will not depart from the usual custom of newly-elected Presidents. In answer to all inquiries as to what will be his course, he asks, “Have you read my speeches?” If the question is still pressed, he quietly hands over one of the pamphlet publications of his speeches in the late controversy with Mr. DOUGLAS. …

That Mr. LINCOLN is a man of sufficient ability and nerve to meet any exigency, is conceded by all who know him. I believe, from what I see of him here, that he will prove a second JACKSON— only more so. When he thinks proper to make a pronunciamiento, you may depend upon it he will do so. …

The template

Mr. LINCOLN spent most of election-night in the Telegraph-office, where he heard returns and received private dispatches with a most marvelous equanimity. Those who saw him at the time say
it would have been impossible for a bystander to tell that that tall, lean, wiry, good-natured, easy-going gentleman, so anxiously inquiring about the success of the local candidates, was the choice of the
people to fill the most important office in the nation. Even during election day and night, Mr. LINCOLN was about town attending to his business as usual. Many of his Springfield acquaintances will long remember how he sat in a social circle at the Cheny House while the returns were coming in, and indulged alike in pleasant chat and his propensity for story-telling.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Wednesday, Nov. 7—P. M.
Mr. LINCOLN was this evening captured by a number of his friends who carried him to the Hall of the House of Representatives, where about three hundred citizens spontaneously collected and earnestly but vainly pressed him for a speech. They finally got him in the Speaker’ s chair …

Mr. LINCOLN finally, in a jocular way, took advantage of his position as Chairman, to say that it was customary for the presiding officer to call
some distinguished member to the Chair . He accordingly called Mr.KENT to take his place, and retired through a side door, in spite of vociferous calls for him to speak. O., JR .

So Mr. Lincoln exits stage left (or right). Thankfully he showed up in Washington the next March for his inauguration. For a good overview of why the four months between Lincoln’s election and his inauguration were dicey for the country check out The American Civil War and its article about the disunion sentiment in the Buchanan administration.

The word that sticks out for me in The Times report is equanimity. While people in the South were clamoring for war and some Northerners were proclaiming the Union saved (see “Raising the Red Flag” in Civil War Daily Gazette) Lincoln was quietly handing out his speeches to show his intentions. That also showed that Lincoln would live up to his words.

I was a bit surprised when The Times correspondent likened him to Jackson because I don’t think that Jackson was known for his equanimity. But I know the correspondent was talking about Lincoln being strong and decisive and speaking when it was necessary, in his opinion, for the good of the nation.

Can you imagine a victorious politician nowadays refusing to give the media a nice juicy soundbite? Instead, “here’s my speech from two years ago.” By the way, The Times did excerpt some of Lincoln’s speeches in the same November 8th issue.