Lincoln’s Legacy: Historic Americana from the Life of Abraham Lincoln

1 p. on bifolium; 9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. (247 x 197 mm). Inscribed "Private" at top in a contemporary hand; facsimile of Pomeroy's signature printed at bottom; several folds reinforced on verso.

"...EVEN WERE THE RE-ELECTION OF MR. LINCOLN DESIRABLE, IT IS PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE AGAINST THE UNION OF INFLUENCES WHICH WILL OPPOSE HIM..."

In February 1864 a curious circular bearing the signature of National Executive Committee Chairman Samuel Clarke Pomeroy began circulating among influential Republicans in Congress. This document, in five points, argued against the re-nomination of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency. It claimed that Lincoln's proposed leniency towards the Confederate States alone made him unfit to continue prosecution of the Civil War. In his stead, Pomeroy proposed the nomination of Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, whose animosity toward Lincoln's reconciliation policies was well-known and who had spent much of his time in office stealthily building up support for a primary run against Lincoln in the 1864 election.

As soon as this circular appeared, Chase wrote to President Lincoln strenuously denying that he had had anything to do with it. Two letters written by Secretary of the Interior John Palmer Usher discussing the circular are known to survive. Usher wrote to former Indiana congressman Richard W. Thompson on 17 February stating that, "A secret circular has just been issued signed by Pomeroy chairman for Chase for President. Mr. C. must have knowledge of & approved it. It contains reflections upon the President of such an offensive character that there will have to be explanations and will I think cause a rupture in the cabinet." In another letter sent a week later to Thompson, Usher wrote, "I suppose you have seen the Pomeroy circular and have been amazed that Mr. Chase should have allowed such a paper to go to the public."

In a speech before the Senate on 10 March, Pomeroy finally addressed the circular, answering charges that he was attempting to start a new political party. This address had the unexpected effect of increasing support in the Senate for Lincoln's re-election and effectively killed Chase's presidential aspirations once and for all.

A full account of the "Pomeroy Circular" and the ensuing scandal was printed in the 15 May 1939 issue of Lincoln Lore, printed by the Lincoln Life Insurance Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

EXCEEDINGLY RARE. One of only two known copies extant, the other being in the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection. Online records show only one example selling at auction, in 1967, at Charles Hamilton Galleries (possibly this very copy).

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California