{"id":175,"date":"2013-06-10T12:46:12","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T12:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/?p=175"},"modified":"2020-09-06T13:42:33","modified_gmt":"2020-09-06T13:42:33","slug":"blind-memorandum-august-23-1864","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/blind-memorandum-august-23-1864\/","title":{"rendered":"Blind Memorandum (August 23, 1864)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Ranking<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: 36px;\">#8<\/span> on the list of 150 Most Teachable Lincoln Documents<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Annotated Transcript<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu\/node\/40367\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected&#8230;.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Audio Version<\/strong><\/h3>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F98686337&visual=true\"><\/iframe>\n<h3>On This Date<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu\/panel\/this_date\/1864-08-23\">HD Daily Report, August 23, 1864<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>I<\/strong><strong>mage Gallery<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-175 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/blind-memorandum-august-23-1864\/abraham_lincoln_seated_feb_9_1864\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Abraham_Lincoln_seated_Feb_9_1864-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Abraham Lincoln seated Feb\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1686\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1686'>\n\t\t\t\tLincoln in 1864\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/blind-memorandum-august-23-1864\/blind1\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Blind1-150x150.gif\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Blind\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1684\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1684'>\n\t\t\t\tMemo (front)\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/blind-memorandum-august-23-1864\/blind2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Blind2-150x150.gif\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Blind\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1685\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1685'>\n\t\t\t\tMemo (reverse)\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/blind-memorandum-august-23-1864\/hd_lincolncabinetcomposite-preview\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/HD_LincolnCabinetComposite.preview-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"HD LincolnCabinetComposite\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1688\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1688'>\n\t\t\t\tLincoln Cabinet, c. 1864\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/blind-memorandum-august-23-1864\/hd_mcclellangb\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/HD_mcClellanGB-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"HD mcClellanGB\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1687\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1687'>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge McClellan\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/blind-memorandum-august-23-1864\/lincoln-mcclellan\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Lincoln-McClellan-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Lincoln McClellan\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-483\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-483'>\n\t\t\t\tLincoln &#038; McClellan in 1862\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<div>\n<dl>\n<dt>\u00a0<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<h3>\u00a0<strong>Close Reading<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/McaWNPYOH8A\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Video-Transcript-Blind-Memorandum.pdf\">Click here for the video transcript<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Custom Map<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps\/ms?msid=214923210427089848626.0004def4e79e2ae545ca4&amp;msa=0&amp;ll=38.902522,-77.037098&amp;spn=0.010921,0.014999&amp;iwloc=0004df09156b186db815a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-558\" alt=\"Blind memorandum\" src=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/files\/2013\/06\/Blind-memorandum.png\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps\/ms?msid=214923210427089848626.0004def4e79e2ae545ca4&amp;msa=0&amp;ll=38.90663,-77.037077&amp;spn=0.023778,0.041413&amp;iwloc=0004df09156b186db815a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">View in Larger Map<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Other Primary Sources<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/memory.loc.gov\/cgi-bin\/ampage?collId=mal&amp;fileName=mal1\/354\/3547800\/malpage.db&amp;recNum=0\">Henry Raymond letter to Abraham Lincoln, August 22, 1864<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/quod.lib.umich.edu\/l\/lincoln\/lincoln7\/1:1129?hi=0;rgn=div1;singlegenre=All;size=25;sort=occur;start=1;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;q1=raymond\">Abraham Lincoln letter to Henry Raymond, August 24, 1864<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/quod.lib.umich.edu\/cgi\/t\/text\/text-idx?c=lincoln;rgn=div1;view=text;idno=lincoln7;node=lincoln7%3A1124\">John Hay diary, November 11, 1864<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=LajfAAAAMAAJ&amp;dq=abraham%20lincoln%3A%20a%20history%20They%20found%20the%20President%20and%20Cabinet%20much%20better%20informed%20than%20themselves&amp;pg=PA221#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\">John Nicolay and John Hay recollection, <em>Abraham Lincoln: A History<\/em>, 1914<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>How Historians Interpret<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Lincoln&#8217;s language revealed not merely his pessimism about his own fortunes but his realistic understanding of the forces that opposed his reelection. \u00a0He did not say that if he was defeated the country would fall into the hands of Copperheads who would consent to the division of the Union and the recognition of the Confederacy. \u00a0He did not think the Democrats were disloyal. \u00a0There had been &#8216;much impugning of motives, and much heated controversy as to the proper means and best mode of advancing the Union cause,&#8217; he conceded, but he derived great satisfaction in recording that &#8216;a great majority of the opposing party&#8217; was as firmly committed as the Republicans to maintaining the integrity of the Union, and he noted with pride that &#8216;no candidate for higher office whatever, high or low, has ventured to seek votes on the avowal that he was for giving up the Union.&#8217; \u00a0Nor did he have doubts about the loyalty of George B. McClellan, whose nomination by the Democrats he anticipated. \u00a0But he did think that if the Democrats elected McClellan the party platform would force the new administration to seek an armistice, which virtually assured Confederate independence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2014David Herbert Donald,\u00a0<em>Lincoln\u00a0<\/em>(New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 1995), 529<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Pressure was building on Lincoln to drop emancipation as a condition for peace and to negotiate an end to the war. \u00a0The situation came to a head August 22, when the Republican National Committee met in New York. \u00a0After the meeting, Raymond delivered the grim news to the president: If the election were held that day, he would lose the key states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Indeed, he might lose every state. \u00a0Raymond blamed Lincoln\u2019s problems on military losses and the general belief &#8216;that we are not to have peace\u00a0in any event\u00a0under this Administration until Slavery is abandoned.&#8217; \u00a0Many Americans, he said, thought emancipation was all that was standing between them and peace. Raymond suggested that Lincoln show the country that Davis, not he, was the problem. \u00a0Offer Davis peace &#8216;on the sole condition of acknowledging the supremacy of the constitution,&#8217; he advised Lincoln. \u00a0Davis would turn it down, insist on independence, and the country would see that he was the true obstructionist. \u00a0Lincoln thought about the strategy and then adopted it. \u00a0On August 24 he wrote a memo authorizing Raymond to meet with Davis and propose an immediate cease-fire based on the restoration of the Union only. \u00a0All other questions, including emancipation, would be dealt with later. \u00a0The problem was that this would send a terrible message to freedmen, especially those who were serving in the Union army. Almost exactly a year earlier, Lincoln had written a public letter in which he acknowledged the crucial role black soldiers were playing in the war. \u00a0&#8216;If they stake their lives for us, they must be prompted by the strongest motive\u2014even the promise of freedom. And the promise being made, must be kept,&#8217; he told his critics in August 1863. \u00a0Three days before Raymond pitched his plan, Lincoln had sworn again he would not abandon the freedmen to sue for peace, saying that he would be &#8216;damned in time &amp; in eternity&#8217; if he did. \u00a0Raymond\u2019s plan was the primrose path. \u00a0Confronted with Raymond\u2019s message of political doom, Lincoln had to make the hardest decision of his political career: abandon emancipation and his own moral code or lose in November. \u00a0Lincoln decided to risk the latter. \u00a0In the words of his hero, Henry Clay, he would &#8216;rather be right than president.&#8217; \u00a0Within twenty-four hours of drafting the memo authorizing Raymond to meet with Davis, Lincoln changed his mind and rejected the idea. \u00a0Sending a commission to Richmond would be worse than losing the Presidential contest\u2014it would be ignominiously surrendering it in advance,&#8217; he told Raymond. \u00a0Lincoln now prepared to lose. \u00a0He wrote a memo to his cabinet, sealed it in an envelope, and asked each of his cabinet members to sign the back of the envelope, contents unseen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2013<a href=\"http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/2027\/spo.2629860.0032.105\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jennifer L. Weber, \u201cLincoln&#8217;s Critics: The Copperheads,\u201d\u00a0<em>Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association 32.<\/em>1 (2011)<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Further Reading<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>For educators:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Civil War Trust, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.civilwar.org\/education\/teachers\/lesson-plans\/election-of-1864-lesson-plan\/lessonplanelection1864-2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Election of 1864<\/a> (Grades 9-12)<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"line-height: 13px;\">NEH EDSITEment, <a href=\"http:\/\/edsitement.neh.gov\/lesson-plan\/abraham-lincoln-and-wartime-politics#sect-activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Abraham Lincoln and Wartime Politics <\/a>(Grades 9-12)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>For everyone:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pinsker, Matthew. \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/emancipation\/files\/2011\/06\/Pinsker-chapter-Blind-Memorandum-20120001.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;Seeing Lincoln&#8217;s Blind Memorandum.&#8221;<\/a> \u00a0In\u00a0<em>Lincoln and Leadership: Military, Political and Religious Decision Making. \u00a0<\/em>Edited by Randall M. Miller. \u00a0New York: Fordham University Press, 2012, pp. 60-77.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"line-height: 13px;\">Weber, Jennifer L. &#8220;Lincoln&#8217;s Critics: The Copperheads.&#8221;\u00a0<em>Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association\u00a0<\/em>32 (Winter 2011),\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/2027\/spo.2629860.0032.105\">http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/2027\/spo.2629860.0032.105<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><em><\/em><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">Searchable Text<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">Executive Mansion<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">Washington, Aug. 23, 1864.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly save it afterwards.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">LINCOLN<\/span><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ranking #8 on the list of 150 Most Teachable Lincoln Documents Annotated Transcript &#8220;This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected&#8230;.&#8221; Audio Version On This Date HD Daily Report, August 23, 1864 Image Gallery \u00a0 \u00a0Close Reading Click here for the video transcript Custom Map [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10859],"tags":[11642,10883,11625,10864,11635,10865,10862,10876],"class_list":["post-175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-savior-of-the-union","tag-management-style","tag-manipulation","tag-nationalism","tag-notes","tag-partisanship","tag-private","tag-wartime","tag-younger-readers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4647,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions\/4647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/lincoln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}