In a Previously Unknown Letter, Abraham Lincoln Defines How a Democracy Should Work

As early as 1846, Abraham Lincoln was one of only two Northern congressmen who joined with some Southerners to advocate that the Whig Party nominate Zachary Taylor for President in 1848. He was an active Taylor supporter up to and through the Whig convention in June 1848, and after Taylor's nomination, he plunged into the campaign with enthusiasm. Taylor was a slaveholder from Louisiana whose views on the great national questions were yet unknown, and many in the North were suspicious of him. A Free Soil Party was formed by antislavery men, and it nominated former President Martin Van Buren to oppose Taylor and Democratic nominee Lewis Cass. So with Northerner Whigs having the option to vote for Van Buren on an avowedly antislavery plank, Taylor needed the help of Northern proponents to keep Whigs in the fold. Lincoln, whose stance against slavery was well known, was an important ally.

When Lincoln's one and only term in Congress ended in 1848, he remained in Washington for several weeks, corresponding with Whigs to promote the Taylor presidential campaign. Just then a political problem in Massachusetts commanded his attention. Massachusetts was a bastion of the Whigs, but many there were dissatisfied with a slaveholder as nominee and flirted with jumping to Van Buren. So when Lincoln left Washington in September of 1848, instead of taking a family vacation as planned, he went to Massachusetts instead to rally support for Taylor. On September 12, he arrived in Worcester to attend a Whig state convention and gave a speech there, arguing that the Free Soil men were not ahead of the Whigs in their opposition to the extension of slavery. Moreover, while the Whigs were a broad-based party with positions on all the great questions, the Free Soilers had only one position and could not win. The effect of voting Free Soil would be to place Cass in the Executive Mansion. Lincoln barnstormed intensively for Taylor throughout Massachusetts over the next 10 days, and then left to return to Illinois where he worked for the Taylor cause there.

Taylor won the Presidential election in November. Illinois was an important Western state at the time, and Lincoln, as a former congressman, one of its foremost Taylor advocates. Having worked hard to put Taylor in office, Lincoln had a say in the distribution of government jobs in his state, particularly in central Illinois.

The job of postmaster of a city or town was then quite a political plum, and competition for these posts was fierce. Lincoln had the influence to assist postmaster candidates, and he used it, relying on recommendations he received from Whig residents of a town for names to be submitted for the posts. However, his job was not as simple as it might seem, as the leading Whigs of a place could often not agree on one candidate. This made Lincoln's job much more difficult.

William D. Briggs was a lawyer and staunch anti-slavery man from Tremont, Illinois. Lincoln and Briggs were acquainted, and would later work on a case together. On April 19, 1849, Briggs wrote Lincoln a letter on the subject of appointing postmasters, the original of which is in the Library of Congress. He wrote, "There have been some movement in this place to obtain a new postmaster and recommendations were sent on to the department in favor of Dr. Stockwell and David Roberts, but there have been no return as yet. I have just learned that you had written to Mr. Jones on the subject and that Mr. Jones handed the letter to Mr. Kellogg, the brother-in-law of Dr. Stockwell, and that he obtained the names of a few persons to a recommendation for Dr. Stockwell. I have also learned that Dr. Shaw has made application for the same office. Now sir I do not have any interest in the matter any further than to have a good Whig Taylor man appointed. It is well known that Dr. Stockwell is an avowed abolitionist and did not vote for Gen. Taylor. Dr. Shaw is a strong anti-slavery man and did not vote for the Gen. and both of them threw cold water on the cause during the canvass.  There is a very good and worthy man who wishes the office by the name of John H. Ball, a true Whig and out-and-out Taylor man, and I feel assured that his appointment will meet with the hearty approval of the friends of the administration and will promote the interest of our cause in this vicinity. For Heaven's sake do not let those who did nothing for Old Zack be the first benefited by his election."

Until now, it was not known whether Lincoln ever responded to this letter.  This letter is his newly discovered response.  His reply started out by saying that the Tazewell County Whig leaders needed to stop pulling him in multiple directions at once, and come together on a recommendation, the letter concludes with a statement on how politics, and by extension government, should function in a democracy. In this letter he defines how the people’s work should be conducted.  Interestingly, he encourages the Whigs to solicit input from the opposition Democrats. 

Autograph letter signed to Briggs, Springfield, April 21, 1849.  "Dear Sir: I received letters from both you and Garth this morning, protesting against the appointment of either Stockwell or Roberts as P.M; and recommending Mr. Ball. This perplexed me some, having already written the Department to appoint that one of the two first, whose recommendation there is most numerously signed.  I now write the Department that if the appointment is not already made to suspend it a while.

And now I request you, and Garth, Jones, Ben. James, P. Menard, and Dr. Shaw, and everybody else, to get up a full and fair meeting of the Whigs (and Democrats too if you think fit) within the limits accommodated by that office; and give a decisive expression as to who shall be Post Master. Let it be public, full, and fair.  No cliqueism or cheatery about it.  As the matter is now presented to me, it is impossible for me to know how to act properly. Yours as ever, A. Lincoln." Roberts ultimately received the appointment.

If in the Gettysburg address Lincoln defined the basis of a democracy, here he set standards and defined how a democracy should operate. A government’s actions must be "public, full and fair". This is a clear call for transparency and integrity, and a firm opposition to secrecy and manipulation. There must be no "cliqueism" (by which he meant favoritism), nor any cheating or dishonesty whatsoever. A thorough search of Lincoln's writings reveals in no other place can be found such a clear and concise definition of Lincoln's attitude on how politics and government ought to work. No future biography of Lincoln will likely be written without including reference to this letter, which defines both the man and his views.