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Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
Lincoln is portrayed as meek and ineffectual is his prosecution of the war. In a wooded scene Lincoln, here in the character of an Irish sportsman in knee-breeches, discharges his blunderbuss at a small bird, "C.S.A." (Confederate States of America). The bird, perched in a tree
at left, is unhurt, but Lincoln falls backward vowing, "begorra, if ye wor at this end o’ th’ gun, ye wouldn’t flap yer wings that way, ye vill’in!" At right Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who has the body of a dog, barks, "Bow-wow."
Lincoln’s rifle is labeled "To Whom It May Concern." These were the opening words of a public letter written by Lincoln in July 1864 which included the stipulation that the Confederate states
abolish slavery before the administration would accept terms for peace. Journalist Horace Greeley had discovered that two emissaries of president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis were in Canada, and urged Lincoln to make an offer of peace. Lincoln sent Greeley to Canada, where he found that the diplomats had
neither credential nor authority. Lincoln afterward announced that "Any proposition which embraces the restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the abandonment of slavery … will be received and considered by the Executive government of the United States."
Source: American Political Prints, 1766 - 1876: A Catalog of the Collections in the Library of Congress, 1991, by Bernard F. Reilly, Jr. |
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