The Election

I was in Chicago when the country took a giant step. I saw history in the making.

I was at the Wigwam, that’s what they called it. It is the Sauganash Hotel. There at the corner of Lake Street and Wacker Drive the Republicans met and fought. Most of them wanted William Seward. His manager Thurwood Weed said, “Who is this man Lincoln? A nobody from nowhere.”

It looked like Seward had it locked up.

I met Thurwood Weed, who was there to get the votes for Seward. I have rarely met a man who was so devious, He would promise one thing to one person. Then another promise to a different person. And none of them would he keep. He lied all day long.

“I’m going to offer Lincoln the Vice Presidency,” Weed told me. Of course he has the Illinois votes. But who else would vote for him. He is not really ready to be president. Look at my man. Seward is a leader. He is smart. He knows how to make decisions. He will not let other people tell him what to do.”

I thought that Weed was a good name for him. He was not a decent man. He was buying votes. He was going to make sure his man got the nomination. He did not care about being honest.

I saw Lincoln’s team leader, David Davis, at the convention. I asked him what he would do to make sure Lincoln got the nomination. He just smiled. Later I learned he had gotten more of their supporters into the hall by giving them extra tickets. They printed those tickets themselves. “Abe would not have liked this at all,“ said Davis, but we were not bribing people like Weed. And the Lincoln team gave them whistles. When Lincoln was nominated, there was so much noise that everyone thought this is our man.

Later after he was elected, Lincoln did something surprising. He made Seward his Secretary of State. I always thought this man is different. He knows how to get elected. He knows how to work with others. He knows how to lead our country.

I’m not sure what is next for our country. It is 1862 and we are at war. I don’t think that Seward would have been able to lead us through this war. I believe Abraham Lincoln can.