'He Once Again Felt Himself A Leader'

LINCOLN'S COTTAGE AT THE SOLDIER'S HOME

39th of 45 excerpts from Lincoln by David Herbert Donald:

The rest of the summer [of 1863] was a relatively tranquil time for the President. Military affairs were under control, with capable professionals like Meade and Grant in command of the armies. The Congress had adjourned, and the President was not constantly badgered by demands from Capitol Hill. During the exceptionally hot weather Lincoln stayed mostly at the Soldier's Home. . . .

During this quiet period Lincoln had time to assess his administration, and on the whole he was pleased with what he had been able to accomplish. Now that he had roused himself from the torpor into which repeated military and political reverses had cast him, he once more felt himself a leader with a loyal constituency. Increasingly self confident, he relied less and less on the advice of his cabinet officers. In their separate spheres he recognized their expertise and let them have their own way. When Secretary Chase came to him with a set of complicated regulations for trading with the South, the President promptly signed them, saying, "You understand these things: I do not." But the cabinet as a whole he consulted only sporadically.

Lincoln was not being intentionally rude to his advisers. Sharing "the general impression that we near the end of the war," he simply did not think that they could offer any useful ideas on how to eradicate slavery and bring the Southern states back into the Union. The problems the President alone could solve. He did not shrink from the responsibility, and now that he had asserted himself as a popular leader, he rather enjoyed his role as leader of opinion. "The Tycoon is in fine whack," John Hay reported in August. "I have rarely seen him more serene and busy. He is managing this war, the draft, foreign relations, and planning a reconstruction of the Union, all at once. I never knew with what tyrannous authority he rules the Cabinet, till now. The most important things he decides and there is no cavil."