Sacrificing Montgomery Blair (Article 127)

Abraham Lincoln was a master, and very practical, politician and, early in his career, as an Illinois legislator, he showed that he was not above trading votes or favors to obtain an outcome he desired. He did not lose that willingness to deal and compromise when he became President of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln was grateful for the early support the politically influential Blair family from Maryland gave him as he considered his chances for Vice President, or a long-shot chance at President at the Republican Convention in 1860. After Lincoln’s nomination as President, Montgomery Blair, son of the family patriarch, Francis Preston Blair Sr., worked on his behalf to help him win the election. The Blairs probably did not swing too many Republican votes over to Lincoln, but they served to deflect some of the criticism coming at Lincoln from the faction of Democrats who supported the candidacy of Stephen A. Douglas. Although the Blair family had switched to the new Republican Party a few years earlier, Francis (senior) still held some influence with those more moderate Democrats, especially those who opposed secession.

Lincoln saw Montgomery Blair as a soothing political voice and asked him to serve in the new Cabinet; in which Lincoln had already appointed at least three political opponents who did not get along that well with each other. Montgomery was expected to be a moderating influence when issues became heated. Equally important, Montgomery had excellent credentials to become a Cabinet member; he was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, a proven administrator, and a successful lawyer. Lincoln selected him as the Postmaster General, which was a powerful Cabinet position at that point in American history.

And Blair became a successful Postmaster General. He cleaned out pockets of corruption, replaced several incompetent postmasters, incorporated a standard postage rate system based upon weight and distance, and established the postal money order system which minimized the need to mail currency and, which in turn, drastically reduced postal theft. He also helped negotiate the first postal treaties under which mail could be sent internationally using the postage stamp (or mark) of the country of origin. All in all, a good run as Postmaster General.

 Unfortunately, he was not as successful as a mediator of Cabinet disputes as Lincoln had hoped. In fact, Blair, Salmon Chase, the Attorney General, and Edwin Stanton, who had replaced Simon Cameron as Secretary of War, could not stand each other and rarely even had civil conversations. Historian Doris Kerns Goodwin, called them a “Team of Rivals” not just because some had opposed Lincoln for President, but also because they were all opinionated, strong willed, politically astute, and saw each other as rivals for power in the administration. In reality, Abraham Lincoln himself was the only person who seemed to be able to quiet the arguments (and tolerate the ambitions) of the various members.

But, in early 1864, Lincoln was unsure if he would be re-nominated by his Republican Party, and, even if he won the nomination, he thought his chances for reelection as President seemed remote. The reason; the war was proving longer, more destructive, and more deadly than the voters in the North, and Lincoln himself, had expected. Even Lincoln said that the people had good cause to turn-out his administration.

And, within the Republican Party, an old antagonist was rising to challenge Lincoln for the nomination in 1864.

John C. Fremont had been a General early in the Civil War who, without the permission of the President, decided to impose a degree of martial law in an area under his control, and even granted emancipation to some slaves in the conquered territory. This was long before Lincoln was ready to consider emancipation, so he directed the General to reverse the order; however, instead, Fremont hesitated and sought political support against the President. He even sent his wife to Washington to ask Lincoln to reconsider. But the President stated that he was concerned about “Government by the generals” and replaced Fremont. However, Fremont’s stance had won him supporters from the Radical Wing of the Republican Party who wanted harsh treatment of Southerners and were ready to grant emancipation to slaves in areas captured from the Confederates. Now out of the military, Fremont resurfaced in early 1864 as a Republican candidate for the nomination as President.

He was after Lincoln’s job!

In the mid-1800s, new political parties seemed to rise, flourish for a while, and then fragment over internal issues, and disappear. Lincoln and other moderate Republicans had good reason to fear that a campaign by Fremont might divide their party and permit the Democrats to regain the Presidency. That was exactly what had happened to the Democrats in 1860 when they splintered into three factions and allowed Lincoln to win the election with only about 40% of the popular vote. (His Electoral College count was, however, a substantial majority.)

Montgomery Blair, and his family, were opposed to Fremont’s policies and those of other Radical Republicans, especially those in Congress, such as Thaddeus Stevens in the House and Charles Sumner in the Senate. Stevens and Sumner were relentless in their attacks on Lincoln and his administration for the slow pace of victories in the war and objected to any sign of leniency toward the South. Fremont catered to their interests and hoped to receive their support for the nomination. The Blair family vehemently fought against any consideration of Fremont as a nominee for President; however, their animus was personal, as well as for political reasons. Earlier in the War, General Fremont had ordered the arrest of Colonel Frank Blair, Montgomery’s brother, for insubordination! Although the charges were quickly set aside by Fremont’s superior officer, the incident caused extreme embarrassment for the Blairs.

And the Blairs never forgave, nor ever forgot.

The Blair family actively worked for Lincoln’s re-nomination through the months leading to the 1864 Republican convention, but also worked just as diligently to thwart any hope Fremont had of defeating Lincoln. We do not know much the Blairs’ contributed to Fremont’s failure to unseat Lincoln at the Convention; however, Lincoln’s supporters were well organized, Fremont never gathered any traction, and Lincoln won the nomination (again).

But Fremont, and his supporters did not go away!

They contemplated a run that same year for the Presidency as a separate party; a prospect that could doom Lincoln’s already shaky opportunity for a second term. There was no likelihood that Fremont could gather enough votes to actually win the election as President, but it was probable that he would drain away enough votes from Lincoln to permit George McClellan, the Democratic candidate, to be elected.  If that happened, Lincoln believed that McClellan, who would then become President of the United States in the middle of a Civil War, would likely negotiate a peace agreement that left the Confederacy (and slavery) intact. After all, McClellan promised as much in his campaign. Such an outcome was abhorrent to Lincoln after so much sacrifice to restore the Union. 

Abraham Lincoln had many good qualities, but he was also a practical politician with all of the manipulative characteristics which that can imply. So, Lincoln did what politicians have always done.

He made a deal.

Fremont agreed that he would not form a third party and would withdraw his candidacy, and the Radical Republicans would then support (or at least not oppose) Lincoln in the General election. The price; Montgomery Blair would resign as Postmaster General. It appears that Fremont likewise never forgave nor forgot the Blair family’s intrusion in his military career or in his attempt at a political career.

To Montgomery Blair’s credit, he graciously resigned his Cabinet post. While the agreement did not assure Lincoln would win the election, it removed a major obstacle at the time. But, war is unpredictable, and that summer and fall of 1864, the tides began to turn in favor of the North, and Lincoln won the election handily for a second term.

Montgomery Blair and his family, who all understood more than most how the world of politics really worked, remained close to Lincoln. In the early months of January, 1865, (before Lincoln’s death) the family’s work behind the scenes was critical to help secure passage, in the House of Representatives, of the Thirteenth Amendment, which, when ratified by the states later in the year, would abolish slavery in this Country.

But before such landmark legislation and a Constitutional Amendment could become law, Abraham Lincoln needed to win a second term. He would need a sacrificial lamb to fend off Fremont; and, fortunately, Montgomery Blair willingly accepted the role.

Think of that. A politician who put his Country’s well-being ahead of his own ambition. Strange then, and stranger today!