The minority replies promised to submit
the proposal fairly to the people of their States, but could of course
give no assurance that it would be welcomed by their constituents. The
interview itself only served to confirm the President in an alternative
course of action upon which his mind had doubtless dwelt for a
considerable time with intense solicitude, and which is best presented
in the words of his own recital.
"It had got to be," said he, in a conversation with the artist F.B.
Carpenter, "midsummer, 1862. Things had gone on from bad to worse, until
I felt that we had reached the end of our rope on the plan of operations
we had been pursuing; that we had about played our last card, and must
change our tactics, or lose the game. I now determined upon the adoption
of the emancipation policy; and, without consultation with, or the
knowledge of, the cabinet, I prepared the original draft of the
proclamation, and after much anxious thought called a cabinet meeting
upon the subject.... All were present excepting Mr. Blair, the
Postmaster-General, who was absent at the opening of the discussion, but
came in subsequently. I said to the cabinet that I had resolved upon
this step, and had not called them together to ask their advice, but to
lay the subject-matter of a proclamation before them, suggestions as to
which would be in order after they had heard it read.
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