Senator Charles Sumner to George Sumner, April 29, 1851

I send you papers which will show the close of the long contest here in Massachusetts. The New York “Tribune” of Friday, April 25, candidly states the states the position I have occupied.  Never was any contest in our country of any kind so protracted; never did any, except a Presidential contest, excite so much interest. The ardor and determination of the opposition to me has not been less flattering than the constant and enthusiastic support which I have received. The latter is particularly enhanced by the circumstance, well known, that I did not in any way seek the post, but expressly asked to be excused. In truth, I did not desire it. And now that the victory is won, my former dislike and indifference to it have lost none of their strength. From the bottom of my heart I say that I do not wish to be senator.¹ The honors of the post have no attraction for me; and I feel a pang at the thought that I now bid farewell to that life of quiet study, with the employment of my pen, which I had hoped to pursue. At this moment, could another person faithful to our cause be chosen in my place, I would resign. I am humbled by the importance attached to the election. Throughout Massachusetts, and even in other States, there have been bonfires, firings of cannon, ringing of bells, public meetings, and all forms of joy, to celebrate the event. As I read of these I felt my inability to meet the expectations aroused. Again, I wish I was not in the place. I am met constantly by joyful faces, but I have no joy; my heart is heavy. Never did I need sympathy and friendly succor more than now, when most of the world regards me as a most fortunate man, with a prospect of peculiar brilliancy.

The antislavery cause in Massachusetts is destined shortly to a complete and absolute triumph. The Boston set, chiefly from State Street, are profoundly ignorant of the real sentiment of the Commonwealth. I know it thoroughly. They remind me of the Bourbons and their friends. I long to commune with you on these things, and to draw from your treasures of experience and study.

_______________

¹ The same avowal was made in letters to several friends, written in reply to congratulations.

SOURCE: Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner, Vol. 3, p. 246-7

Senator Charles Sumner to John Bigelow, May 2, 1851

I would not affect a feeling which I have not, nor have I any temptation to do it; but I should not be frank if I did not say to you that I have no personal joy in this election. Now that the office is in my hands, I feel more than ever a distaste for its duties and struggles as compared with other spheres. Every heart knoweth its own secret, and mine has never been in the Senate of the United States, nor is it there yet. Most painfully do I feel my inability to meet the importance which has been given to this election and the expectation of enthusiastic friends. But more than this, I am impressed by the thought that I now embark on a career which promises to last for six years, if not indefinitely, and which takes from me all opportunity of study and meditation to which I had hoped to devote myself. I do not wish to be a politician.

Nothing but Boutwell's half-Hunkerism prevents us from consolidating a permanent party in Massachusetts, not by coalition, but by fusion of all who are truly liberal, humane, and democratic. He is in our way. He has tried to please Hunkers and Free Soilers. We can get along very well without the Hunkers, and should be happy to leave Hallett and Co. to commune with the men of State Street. The latter have been infinitely disturbed by the recent election. For the first time they are represented in the Senate by one over whom they have no influence, who is entirely independent, and is a “bachelor!” It was said among them at first that real estate had gone down twenty-five per cent!

I regret the present state of things in New York [the absorption of the Barnburners by the Democratic party, because it seems to interfere with those influences which were gradually bringing the liberal and antislavery men of both the old parties together. Your politics will never be in a natural state till this occurs.

SOURCE: Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner, Vol. 3, p. 247-8

George Stillman Hillard to Senator Charles Sumner, April 25, 1851

[Court Street, April 25, 1851.]

MY DEAR SUMNER, — I cannot congratulate you on your election, because, with my political connections, that would be insincere; but I can and do say that I am glad that the lot has fallen upon you, since it must needs fall on one of your party. So far as your elevation shall prove a source of increased happiness and usefulness to you, I shall rejoice in it. No one will watch with more interest your career than I shall, or be more pleased with any accession to your solid and enduring reputation. I shall always judge of your sayings and doings in a candid and just spirit. You have now before you a noble career. May you walk in it with a statesman's steps, and more than gratify the good wishes of your friends, and more than disappoint the ill wishes of your enemies.

Yours faithfully,

G. S. H.

SOURCE: Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner, Vol. 3, p. 250

Senator Charles Sumner to John Jay, May 23, 1851

My aim, while attending to all the duties of my post, will be to do something to secure a hearing for our cause; and I wish in advance to bespeak the counsels of our friends, though I feel that in the last moment much must be left to my own personal discretion. As a stranger to the Senate and to all legislative bodies, I regard it to be my first duty to understand the body in which I have a seat before rushing into its contests.

SOURCE: Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner, Vol. 3, p. 252

John J. Crittenden to Leslie Coombs, November 1, 1851

WASHINGTON, November 1, 1851.

DEAR COOMBS [sic],—I received your kind and friendly letter, for which I thank you. My position in respect to the senatorial election is just this, no more, no less: At the instance of some friends in Kentucky, I consented to their presenting my name as a candidate if they thought proper to do so upon the meeting of the legislature and upon a survey of all the circumstances. I thought I might go thus far without presumption or giving just cause of offense, and yet I confess that I felt some reluctance to do even that, because it might cross or conflict with the hopes and wishes of good friends and cause some dissatisfaction on their part. Yet, having yielded my seat in the Senate to obey the wishes of the Whigs of Kentucky in becoming, at their bidding, a candidate for the office of governor, it seemed to me that I might naturally and reasonably indulge the desire of being restored to my former position; yet I did not make myself a candidate,—I left that to the discretion and the will of others. From what I hear, I suppose they have presented me as a candidate. I therefore desire to be elected; it is the situation most agreeable to me, and a re-election would be felt as a great honor. Still, I want nothing that cannot be freely awarded to me; I am not to be regarded as a disturber of the party. Disturbance already existed so far as it could be produced by the conflicting pretensions or claims of many candidates, each one of whom is, to say the least, as chargeable as I am with causing any controversy. But enough of this. I desire, of course, not to be beaten, and I thankfully accept your proffered services and friendship. I hope that you will go to Frankfort and take such part in the contest as you deem proper. I never felt less like controversy. Wounded as I have been, I naturally turn away from the battle like a bleeding soldier. My friends must act for me.

Your friend,

J. J. CRITTENDEN.

Gov. LESLIE COOMBS.

SOURCE: Ann Mary Butler Crittenden Coleman, Editor, The Life of John J. Crittenden: With Selections from His Correspondence and Speeches, Vol. 2, p. 19-20

John J. Crittenden to Orlando Brown, November 12, 1851

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 1851.

DEAR ORLANDO,—Before this can reach you, the senatorial question will have been disposed of, and, as I anticipate, by a postponement. Some few letters, and particularly two received from Morehead, lead me to that conclusion. Such a result is not the most gratifying to me, but I can bear it calmly and patiently.

I shall feel some curiosity and interest to know the course of some individuals in respect to this election, and will thank you for the information. The course of Judge Robertson and of Mr. Dixon does not much surprise me, though, as I am informed, they have displayed a sort of personally hostile opposition to me, for which I never gave either of them cause.

I understand that my old friend Ben Hardin speaks kindly of me, but opposes my election. I confess that in this I have been disappointed and mortified. He and I are cotemporaries. We have been long associated, and have stood together as friends through many years. The path which remains for us to travel is not very long, and I regret that he has found it necessary to part from me on this occasion. I do not mean to complain of him, but only to express my regret. My feelings and my memory suggest to me much more on this subject; but I will only add that I think if Hardin had considered it in all its points of view, his judgment, as well as his friendly feelings, I doubt not, would have decided him to take sides with me rather than with my opponents. There is not the least unkindness towards him mingled with the regret I feel on this occasion, and, as the matter will all be over before this reaches you, I am willing he should know. Indeed, I wish you would inform him how I feel and what I have here written in regard to him.

What part does our Frankfort senator and representative take? Farewell.

Your friend,

J. J. CRITTENDEN.

ORLANDO BROWN, Esq.

P.S. To my good friends, and better never were, give a hearty shake of the hand from me.

J. J. C.

SOURCE: Ann Mary Butler Crittenden Coleman, Editor, The Life of John J. Crittenden: With Selections from His Correspondence and Speeches, Vol. 2, p. 20-1

John J. Crittenden to Orlando Brown, December 5, 1851

WASHINGTON, December 5, 1851.

MY DEAR SIR,—You and other friends have been so remiss in writing to me that I have been, and am still, to a great extent, ignorant of the proceedings and incidents of the late attempts made in the Kentucky legislature to elect a senator to the Congress of the United States. This, however, I do not complain of. I am, perhaps, fortunate, in that it has saved me from some portion of those unpleasant feelings which are unavoidable in such contests. I have learned enough, however, to give me uneasiness and pain. The use which my friends have thought proper to make of my name seems to have been a cause of disturbance and controversy among the Whigs. I owe to them too many obligations for favors and honors received in times past to be willing now to be an obstacle in their way or to be a cause of dissension among them. If it will restore harmony and give them satisfaction, I hope that those of them who have desired my election will yield at once and withdraw my name from the contest. So far as I am concerned, I will be a willing sacrifice to the reunion of the Whigs. Honorable and desirable as it would be to me to be restored to a seat in the Senate, my ambition is not so selfish as to make me seek it through discord and alienation among my Whig friends. I prefer the good opinion of Kentucky to any office, and I would not excite the ill will of any considerable number of Kentuckians by any strife or contention for office with political friends. I do not see that the mere presentation of my name as a candidate ought to have produced any excitement against me, or among Whigs. I think I have not deserved this, and that there are few who will not agree with me when the passions excited by the contest are past. Still, we must look to the fact, and act upon it accordingly. For my part, I can say that I want no office which is not freely and willingly bestowed, and that I want no contest in which I am to conquer, or be conquered, by my friends. I would rather yield to them than fight them. By the first course, harmony might be restored among them for their own and the country's good; in the latter, nothing but discord and division could be the result. I am averse to be placed in any situation where I could, with any propriety, be regarded as the cause of such evils. I do not mean by this that I would feel bound or willing to yield to a competitor, however worthy, simply upon the ground that he preferred the place for himself, or that his friends preferred it for him. To ask such a submission would be illiberal, and to grant it would be unmanly. Such differences among friends of the same party ought to be settled in a generous and friendly spirit and leave no ill feeling behind. In such settlements, my aim would be not to be outdone in liberality and concession. I should dislike exceedingly to be engaged in any personal or illiberal struggle, and sooner than an election, which ought to be made, should be postponed, I would for the public interest and for harmony prefer to retire from the contest. There might be some mortification attending such a course; but this would be relieved by considering that it was done from motives honorable, friendly, and patriotic. I have served Kentucky a long time; I have served her faithfully, and, I hope, with no discredit to her; but I have no wish to intrude myself upon her for reluctant favors. When my services cease to be acceptable to her, to hold office under her would no longer be an object of ambition for me.

Yours,

J. J. CRITTENDEN.

SOURCE: Ann Mary Butler Crittenden Coleman, Editor, The Life of John J. Crittenden: With Selections from His Correspondence and Speeches, Vol. 2, p. 22-4

John J. Crittenden to Orlando Brown, December 8, 1851

WASHINGTON, December 8, 1851.

MY DEAR SIR,—I received to-day your letter of the 3d inst. You know precisely how much and how little I have had to do in the presentation of myself as a candidate for the Senate of the United States. I think I may say that it has been the action of my friends; and since the contest began, I have looked passively upon it. I had left it to my friends,—friends deserving all my confidence,—and there I will, as you advise, leave it. It would be ungrateful as well as unjust in me now to thwart or cross them in the midway of a controversy, in which, for my sake, they have involved themselves, and about which I really know so little. I know that whatever they have done has been done in sincerity of friendship for me, and I will abide by it to the last. As they pitch the battle so let it be fought.

But in this contest it is always to be remembered that you are contending against friends, who, by accident or circumstances, have been made opponents for the present, and to whom a liberal and generous treatment is due. You, who are upon the ground, well know how to distinguish between such opponents and those who prove themselves to be enemies. I wish that all of you who are supporting me will remember, also, that you are not supporting an exacting friend, but one who would not be outdone in liberality, generosity, or conciliation; one who would rather suffer anything himself than see his generous friends involved in difficulties or perils on his account. I hope that they will act accordingly in this matter. But whatever they shall do or determine, that will I abide by, that will I maintain as right, and go to all honorable extremity with them in defending and making good.

I wrote to Mr. T. F. Marshall before the receipt of your letter, and before I read his letter in the Louisville Journal. I wrote upon the information of his course derived from the newspapers.

Somehow or other I cannot be a man of words on such occasions, but my whole heart is full almost to bursting at acts of free and manly friendship and devotion. I love Tom Marshall. Oh, if he will be but true to himself, how I would strive for his advancement! How I would love to strive for it!

I was touched to the heart, too, at what you tell me about my old friend (for such I may now call him) Ben Hardin. I felt like breaking at the root when I heard that he was against me, for in the days of our youth—of our growth—we were together, and have passed thus far through life in more of amity and good will than falls to the lot of most men occupying our position. Upon reading what you wrote me my eyes were not dry. Time gives a sort of sacredness to the feelings that arise from old associations and friendships. I wish I could live long enough, or had the means of repaying, Orlando [Brown], all the debts Ï owe my friends. But therein I am a bankrupt indeed.

Do give my grateful regards to my friends Caldwell and Cunningham, and to all the friends that in my absence have stood by me; my heart is full of thankfulness. And I really hope and believe that many of those who have taken part against me have been influenced to do so by circumstances that do not affect their good opinion and kind feelings towards me. I bear no ill will to them.

Your friend,

J. J. CRITTENDEN.

ORLANDO BROWN, Esq.

SOURCE: Ann Mary Butler Crittenden Coleman, Editor, The Life of John J. Crittenden: With Selections from His Correspondence and Speeches, Vol. 2, p. 24-5

Charles Francis Adams Sr. to Charles Sumner, December 10, 1850

If our friends decide to risk themselves in that ship, I trust we may get a full consideration for the risk; and the only full consideration that we can receive is in securing your services in the Senate. If anything can be done with that iron and marble body, you may do it. You know how hopeless I think the task, and every time I come here my notions become more rigid.

SOURCES: Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner, Vol. 3, p. 233

Charles Sumner to Charles Francis Adams Sr., December 15, 1850

I am particularly moved to this [to write] by your allusion to me in connection with a certain post. I appreciate your generosity, and am proud of your confidence. I am not entirely insensible to the honor that post would confer, though I do not feel this strongly, for I have never been accustomed to think highly of political distinction. I feel that it would, to a certain extent, be a vindication of me against the attacks to which, in common with you and others of our friends, I have been exposed. And I am especially touched by the idea of the sphere of usefulness in which it would place me. But notwithstanding these things, I must say that I have not been able at any time in my inmost heart to bring myself to desire the post, or even to be willing to take it. My dreams and visions are all in other directions. In the course of my life I have had many; but none have been in the United States Senate. In taking that post, I must renounce quiet and repose forever; my life henceforward would be in public affairs. I cannot contemplate this without repugnance. It would call upon me to forego those literary plans and aspirations which I have more at heart than any merely political success. Besides, even if I could incline to this new career, there are men in our ranks, my seniors and betters, to whom I defer sincerely and completely. Mr. Phillips, by various titles, should be our candidate. If he should be unwilling to take the place, then we must look to you. In seeing you there I should have the truest satisfaction. You are the man to split open the solid rock of the United States Senate. I shrink unfeignedly from the work. For this I have never “filed my mind.” I shall see you soon, I trust, when we may talk of these things.

SOURCES: Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner, Vol. 3, p. 233

Diary of Gideon Welles: Tuesday, March 27, 1866

The proceedings of the Senate, though exciting, do not overshadow the interest felt in the Connecticut election. Although the President strives to be disinterested and indifferent between the candidates for Governor, I cannot be mistaken in the fact that he inclines favorably to English. I am sorry for this, because his friends, those who elected him, are almost all of them supporters of Hawley. Those who voted for him, those who have stood by his measures since called to administer the Government and are sincerely friendly to his policy are committed to Hawley and the ticket which he heads. True, Hawley on mere organized party grounds is himself inclining to Congress, and I am constrained to believe will eventually identify himself with the centralists. English will be the opposite. But these questions are not made controlling in this election, as they should have been at the beginning of the contest.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 465

Daniel Webster to Francis Haven, July 23, 1850

Washington, July 25, 1850—Friday, twelve o'clock.

MY DEAR SIR,—I thank you for all the good wishes and kind expressions in your letter, and hope my transfer to this position may be in some measure useful to the country.

If we could only get the measure now pending in the Senate passed into a law, we should have a glorious prospect before us indeed. But you see how decided is the hostility of the Massachusetts members. With their consent, it would become a law in a week. If it fail, we must try something else.

An eminent Northern Senator came to me last night to know what he could do to insure the passage of this bill. He was ready to do any thing but to vote for it. Half a dozen others are in exactly the same condition. They became committed to a favorite measure of the late President before his death. All that holds them to it now, is the notion of consistency. I was not without hopes last night that the bill would pass the Senate.

Yours truly,

DANIEL WEBSTER.

SOURCE: Fletcher Webster, Editor, The Private Correspondence of Daniel Webster, Vol. 2, p. 379-80