Slowly the policy of the President unfolded itself, developing, as circumstances demanded, rather than along a rigid line defined by arbitrary rules. Again and again was the trend of his thoughts indicated or hinted at by some incisive utterance, just as the fluttering leaves in the tree-tops indicate the direction of the atmospheric currents. More than a hint of his

policy is given in a single sentence or two of his December message, when he says:

"The Union must be preserved, and hence all indispensable means must be employed." Again: "We should not be in haste to determine that radical and extreme measures, which may reach the loyal as well as the disloyal, are indispensable."

Mr. Lincoln's career is, as yet, too recent to place a complete and proper estimate upon it or to say what has been the crowning achievement in his career. The din and turmoil of a hundred battlefields have not ceased echoing through the country, nor has the smoke of burning cities been yet entirely dissipated from the atmosphere. The glorious achievements of his administration, the evolutions of mighty armies, the daring deeds of prowess and the hard-won conquest of a valiant foe, all cast a glamour over the great struggle, which blinds the eyes of beholders and renders them incapable of judging as to the single achievement which shall stand pre-eminent over all others as the most farreaching and beneficent in its results. Shall it be the preservation of republican institutions, the perpetuation of constitutional governmen or the elevation of four millions of slaves to the status of manhood and womanhood? Whatever may be the ver

dict, it is certain that the name of Abraham Lincoln will always be associated with the sacred cause of freedom, that his example will be an inspiration in the great struggle between the powers of right and wrong, and one of the greatest glories of the final victory which his life has done so much to assure. His career is inseparably connected with the history of the American slaves, and to them his name will ever be a sacred one.

His achievements were in no sense accidental, nor did he act as an unreasoning instrument in the hands of Providence, to bring about a foreordained result. It is true that the whole history of the country leads up, in concentering lines, to the grand denouement; that all the forces of political and social life were unconsciously exerted to hasten the crisis; and all the tendencies of modern civilization, together with the example of foreign countries, were towards the elevating of the lowly and the freeing of those who were in bondage. These agencies would either have brought about the desired result in the course of time, or would have relegated all slaveholding countries to the lowest position in the scale of nations and to a condition of comparative barbarism.

The powerful forces of advancing civilization demanded a Lincoln to concentrate, and apply them, and, though the operation nearly rent the continent in twain and caused the rivers to pour crimson tides into the sea, it proved effectual, and the terrible curse of American slavery was forever blotted out. Το bring about this result it is safe to say that Lincoln contributed more than any other man. The cause of Abolition had been made unpopular, in the North as

well as in the South, by the radicalism of its champions. Lincoln was the first to rescue it from the slough of sentimentalism and plant it upon the firm ground of political principle. Before his entrance into the field, it had been recognized only as the visionary scheme of a few enthusiasts. In only a few limited localities had it attained a respectable degree of influence. The Douglas debates and the Cooper Institute speech raised it to the dignity of a great political issue.

No consideration of the question should detract from the value of the immortal deeds of such men as Phillips, Garrison, Sumner, Seward and Whittier, yet it is certain that that their lives were in a large sense only preparatory to the giant achievements of Lincoln. Their extreme utterances appealed to but a small portion of the people; his earnest moderation and reasonable policy aroused far less antagonism and made multitudes of friends among those who would otherwise have been lukewarm or even hostile. A more self-assertive policy would no doubt have wrecked the Government and broken up the country; less resolution and earnestness of purpose would have allowed the opportunity of a century to pass or long years of contention or divided sovereignty would have been the result. In view, then, of the mighty interests preserved, and the weighty problems solved, it is probably not too much to say that Abraham Lincoln will be recognized as the central figure of the nineteenth century in American history.

CHAPTER XVIII.

DURING the first year of the war the prestige had been with the Southern armies. The Confederate leaders had made elaborate preparations and had not only taken the Government unawares but had de- ! prived it, to a large extent, of the means of waging offensive warfare, and compelled it to act mainly upon the defensive until its resources could be recuperated. The first year, therefore, was largely a period of selffortification on the part of the national Government and of preparation of a vantage-ground from which the war might be successfully fought. As next in importance to recruiting and disciplining large armies, the administration directed its energies towards retaining the border States in the Union, for the possession of which the Confederacy was exerting every effort.

It was only through the skillfully planned movements of the Government that a number of these States did not find their way into the Confederacy. Thus were saved to the Union the States of Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri, which afterwards rendered gallant service in its defense.

One of the greatest achievements of the year was the blockade of the South. The rebellious commonwealths were virtually placed in a state of siege; the fleets upon the ocean and the armies on the north and

west almost entirely shutting off communication with the outside world. Never before had an attempt been made to actually enforce so extensive a blockade. Napoleon's famous Berlin decree and the resulting Orders in Council on the part of Great Britain covered an extensive seaboard but both Governments were powerless to enforce them by actual blockade. When the policy was first announced military men abroad sneered at the idea and arrogantly proclaimed its utter impracticability. And the obstacles did seem insurmountable. The numerous harbors of the South, its navigable rivers and complex system of estuaries and sounds seemed to offer so many opportunities for blockade-runners that nothing short of an actual patrol of the entire coast would apparently effect the desired result. Yet in less than a year the South was practically cut off from outside markets and was neither able to sell her own products abroad nor buy the many luxuries which, from common use, had almost come to be necessities. The moral effect of this move was great, both at home and abroad. More than was possible in any other way the whole disaffected district was made to feel the rigor of war, and the serious character of the situation was brought close home to every door, while the loss of Southern products, especially of cotton, brought much suffering upon foreign communities and led the different powers to feel a deeper personal interest in the struggle.

But two great battles had been fought, and in each the National armies had been signally defeated, and though victorious in a number of minor engagements, the laurels of the contest thus far rested on Southern