Abraham Lincoln – The Pivot of 1862

Not long ago I acquired an old “Forget Me Not” album signed by Abraham Lincoln and William Seward on January 24th, 1862. In my mind (as well as many others), Lincoln remains the greatest President this country has seen. The year in which he signed this album, 1862, was perhaps the most pivotal of his entire life–it is when Lincoln became the Lincoln we know. Prior to 1862, he was a President playing catch-up to the events he was thrust into; namely, a Civil War that the Union was losing. Despite often disagreeing with members of his cabinet and military leadership, he would often acquiesce, citing their vast experience in comparison to what little he had. But as 1861 turned to 1862, the burdens began to overwhelm the country. The treasury was out of money. Union soldiers weren’t getting the proper weaponry. His army was idle and he couldn’t get General McClellan to take action. The Confederates were winning. His Secretary of War, Cameron, was useless. Things were so bad that, in mid-January, Lincoln explained to a friend, “the bottom is out of the tub!”

The President soon realized delegation was not the solution, and his hands-on participation was required, even if it meant overruling those with much more experience. Lincoln would meet and then approve the use of Greenbacks to address the lack of funds. He personally tested firearms on the White House lawn so that the best options were sent to the troops. He began to offer war strategy to top military officials and signed two orders to provoke the idle, do-nothing General McClellan into action. Lincoln removed Cameron as Secretary of War, nominating Edwin Stanton in his place (Stanton had previously harbored an extreme dislike of Lincoln. By Lincoln’s assassination, Stanton loved him more than he did any other non-family member). The President also weighed in on the fate of Captain Gordon, who was imprisoned and sentenced to death for illegal slave trading, a case that provoked the interest of many…even Ralph Waldo Emerson would visit Lincoln to share his opinion of it. While it was common for such illegal slave traders to be excused, Lincoln–who was known to pardon–had Gordon’s execution upheld. This was an early signal from the new President. All of these things happened in January 1862. Unfortunately, exactly one month after signing the album, on February 24th, 1862, Lincoln would be attending the funeral of his favorite son, Willie. Without question, Willie’s death would affect the President greatly, and further crystallize the faith of a man who once considered himself an atheist.

The early part of 1862 saw Lincoln personally and professionally transform in to the great man and leader we know today. By the end of 1862, the President would have drafted the Emancipation Proclamation, a major step in his efforts to permanently free the slaves. And while many know of Lincoln’s involvement in this pursuit of freedom, many do not know that Lincoln was also the first major political figure to promote a woman’s right to vote. In software, we refer to directional changes as “pivots”. 1862 was Abraham Lincoln’s grande pivot, without which the Unites States would likely be a very different place today.