by a
small vote in party caucus, were in all cases claimed to be decisive,
and to be obeyed by the Executive, the judiciary, and the people,
regardless of the Constitution. Parliamentary discussions were not
permitted, or of little avail. The acts of caucus were despotic,
mandatory, and decisive. The several propositions and plans of President
Lincoln to reestablish the Union, and induce the seceding States to
resume their places and be represented in Congress, were received with
disfavor by the radical leaders, who, without open assault, set in
motion an undercurrent against nearly every Executive proposition as the
weak and impotent offspring of a well meaning and well intentioned, but
not very competent and intelligent mind. It was the difference between
President Lincoln and the radical leaders in Congress on the question of
reconciliation, the restoration of the States, and the reestablishment
of the Union on the original constitutional basis, which more than even
his genial and tolerant feelings toward the rebels led to political
intrigue among Republican members of Congress for the nomination of new
candidates, and opposition to Mr. Lincoln's reelection in 1864. At one
period this intrigue seemed formidable, and some professed friends lent
it their countenance, if they did not actually participate in it, who
ultimately disavowed any connection with the proceeding.

Singular ideas were entertained and began to be developed in
propositions of an extraordinary character, relative to the powers and
the construction of the Government, which were presented to Congress,
even in the first year of the war. Theoretical schemes from cultivated
intellects, as well as crude notions from less intellectual but extreme
men, found expression in resolutions and plans, many of which were
absurd and most of them impracticable and illegal. Foremost and
prominent among them were a series of studied and elaborate resolutions
prepared by Charles Sumner, and submitted to the Senate on the 11th of
February, 1862. Although presented at that early day, they were the germ
of the reconstruction policy adopted at a later period. In this plan or
project for the treatment of the insurrectionary States and the people
who resided in them, the Massachusetts Senator manifested little regard
for the fundamental law or for State or individual rights. The high
position which this Senator held in the Republican party and in Congress
and the country, his