'we're in a hopeless minority' - An Abe Lincoln Story

 

After the Civil War exploded across the nation in April 1861, the new President Abraham Lincoln was beset with one crisis or catastrophe after another that first year as he tried to get a handle on being "The President".

But Lincoln was brilliant, goal driven, adaptable, and most importantly, decisive. He displayed all of those traits during an international crisis in November 1861 that threatened to overwhelm the Union cause. The Trent Affair was precipitated by an overzealous, impulsive U.S. Navy captain seeking fame and recognition. [1]

As it happened, two Confederate diplomats, James M. Mason and John Slidell were on their way to London (Mason) and Paris (Slidell) aboard a British mail packet the R.M.S. Trent to seek the diplomatic recognition of the Confederacy as a legitimate nation by those governments and to arrange military and financial aid for the war effort.

On November 8th, the U.S. Navy warship captained by Wilkes - the U.S.S. San Jacinto - stopped the Trent in the open Atlantic Ocean, forcibly removed the two Confederate emissaries and their secretaries James E. McFarland and George Eustis, and released the Trent to continue its voyage. Wilkes then sailed for Hampton Roads, Virginia where he wired Washington the news of his arrest of the two diplomats and their entourage. [1]

The Northern newspapers, members of Congress, and several members of the President's new cabinet hailed Captain Wilkes as a hero and praised him for his 'derring-do'.  Even Lincoln initially approved.

The British government, however, was not impressed. They protested Wilke's seizure of the diplomats as a breach of international law and a violation of Britain's neutrality. They also mobilized troops and threatened to send them to Canada for an possible invasion of the North if the diplomats from the Confederacy were not allowed to continue their mission. France supported Britain's demands. [1]

Lincoln then realized that this incident could lead to diplomatic recognition by England and France, as well as open a second front in a war with England at the Canadian border. He called a cabinet meeting. 

He laid out the diplomatic possibilities they were facing, and his reluctance to go to war with England over the affair. Despite the gravity of the situation, only one cabinet member agreed with him; the rest felt it was a point of honor.

Lincoln said the lopsided support against him reminded him of a story back home in Illinois.

 A drunk strayed into a church while a revival meeting was in progress. He walked up the aisle to the very front pew, joined audibly in the singing, and said a loud "Amen" at the close of the prayers. After a while, the drunk became drowsy and fell asleep. Before the meeting closed, the pastor asked the usual question, 'Who are on the Lord's side?' and the congregation arose en masse. When he asked 'Who are on the side of the Devil?' the congregation sat down. About that time, the sleeper wok up, and, seeing the minister on his feet, arose. Looking around the drunken man said, 'I don't exactly understand the question, but I'll stand by you, parson, to the last. But seems to me, we're in a hopeless minority.' [2]

At that point, in spite of being in the minority, Lincoln said to his cabinet - decisively - 'one war at a time', and ordered the Confederate emissaries released. Great Britain then backed down from its threat to send troops, and the crisis subsided. Neither France nor Britain ever diplomatically recognized the legitimacy of the Confederacy.

After the crisis of the Trent Affair had passed, Lincoln said the peaceful resolution reminded him of an incident that occurred in his youth.

There were two fields behind our house separated by a fence. In each field was a big bulldog, and those dogs spent the whole day racing up and down, snarling at each other through the fence. One day they both came at the same moment to a hole in the fence big enough for either of 'em to get through. What do you think they did? They just turned tail and scampered away as fast as they could in opposite directions.

Lincoln then summarized the entire Trent Affair: "England and America are like those bulldogs." [2]

This was another tale from Abe Lincoln, Storyteller.

Mac

Works Cited

[1] Mahin, Dean B. One War at A Time: The International Dimensions of the Civil War. (1999) Lincoln, Nebraska: Potomac Books, Inc. pp. 59, 61, 69.

[2] Leidner, Gordon. Lincoln's Gift: How Humor Shaped Lincoln's Life and Legacy. (2015) Naperville, Illinois: Cumberland House. pp. 131-132.