hem to abide by their decisions. He returned to Washington
without telling them what he meant to do.

The next day closed a chapter and opened a chapter in the history of
the Federal army. Stanton's brief and inglorious career as head of the
national forces came to an end. He fell back into his rightful
position, the President's executive officer in military affairs. Lincoln
telegraphed another Western general, Halleck, ordering him to Washington
as General-in-Chief.(34) He then, for a season, turned his whole
attention from the army to politics. Five days after the telegram to
Halleck, Chandler in the Senate, loosed his insatiable temper in what
ostensibly was a denunciation of McClellan, what in point of fact was a
sweeping arraignment of the military efficiency of the government.(35)

XXII. LINCOLN EMERGES

While Lincoln was slowly struggling out of his last eclipse, giving
most of his attention to the army, the Congressional Cabal was laboring
assiduously to force the issue upon slavery. The keen politicians who
composed it saw with unerring vision where, for the moment, lay their
opportunity. They could not beat the President on any one issue then
before the country. No one faction was strong enough to be their
stand-by. Only by a combination of issues and a coalition of
factions could they build up an anti-Lincoln party, check-mate the
Administration, and get control of the government. They were greatly
assisted by the fatuousness of the Democrats. That party was in a
peculiar situation. Its most positive characters, naturally, had taken
sides for or against the government. The powerful Southerners who had
been its chief leaders were mainly in the Confederacy. Such Northerners
as Douglas and Stanton, and many more, had gone over to the Republicans.
Suddenly the control of the party organization had fallen into the hands
of second-rate men. As by the stroke of an enchanter's wand, men of
small caliber who, had the old conditions remained, would have lived
and died of little consequence saw opening before them the role of
leadership. It was too much for their mental poise. Again the subjective
element in politics! The Democratic party for the duration of the war
became the organization of Little Men. Had they possessed any great
leaders, could they have refused to play politics and responded to
Lincoln's all-parties policy, history might have been different. But
they were not that sort. Neither did they have