threatening secession, could really desire a dissolution of the Union that had done them nothing but good—his own opinion that Congress had not the power to abolish slavery in the States where it existed, was well known before his nomination. The convention by which he was nominated with full knowledge of that opinion nominated him, and with full knowledge of both these facts he had been constitutionally elected. He would not consent to, or advise his friends to consent to, any bargain or compromise that amounted to a purchase of the constitutional rights growing out of the election. So doing would invite defeated parties in future elections to pursue the course now being pursued with the hope of achieving like success by similar means, thus reducing our Government to a level with Mexico, which is in constant fear of revolution. He would bear and forbear much to preserve the integrity of the Union, but if the issue was clearly made between war and dissolution of the Union, however much he might regret the necessity, he would use all of the constitutional powers of the Government for its preservation, relying upon justice and the patriotism of the people for success.
Governor Kirkwood said of this interview thirty years later:
Before the President-elect was inaugurated, seven States had seceded from the Union, and had organized armies to seize its forts and resist the execution of its laws. On the 12th of April, 1861, the Rebel army in South Carolina, under General Beauregard, opened fire on Fort Sumter and on the 14th the fort surrendered. The news of the inauguration of war produced the most intense excitement throughout the country. On the 15th President Lincoln
