otherRepublicansmoreconspicuousthanLincoln——SewardinNewYork，SumnerinMassachusetts，ChaseinOhio——butallthesehadinveterateenemies。Despitetheirimportancewoulditbesafetonominatethem？Wouldnotthepartybecompelledtotakesomerelativelyminorfigure，someessentiallynewman？Inaword，whatweknowasa“darkhorse。“Believingthatthiswouldhappen，theybuilthopefullyontheirfaithinLincoln。
Towardtheendoftheyearhewasatlastpersuadedtotakehiscandidacyseriously。ThelocalcampaignforhisnominationhadgonesofarthatafailuretogofurtherwouldhavethelookofbeingdiscardedasthelocalRepublicanleader。Thisargumentdecidedhim。Beforetheyear’sendhehadagreedtobecomeacandidatebeforetheconvention。Inhisownwords，“Iamnotinapositionwhereitwouldhurtmuchformetonotbenominatedonthenationalticket；butIamwhereitwouldhurtsomeformetonotgettheIllinoisdelegates。“[4]
ItwasshortlyafterthismomentousdecisionthathewenttoNewYorkbyinvitationandmadehismostcelebrated，thoughnotinanyrespecthisgreatest，oration。[5]AlargeaudiencefilledCooperUnion，February27，1860。WilliamCullenBryantpresided。DavidDudleyFieldescortedLincolntotheplatform。
HoraceGreeleywasintheaudience。Again，theperformancewaspurelyliterary。Noformulationofnewpolicies，noappealforanynewdeparture。Itwasamasterlyrestatementofhisposition；oftheessenceofthedebateswithDouglas。ItcleansedtheRepublicanplatformofallaccidentalaccretions，asifaship’shullwerebeingscrapedofbarnaclespreparatorytoavoyage；itgavetheunderlyingissuessuchinflexibledefinitionthattheycouldnotbejuggledwith。Againheshowedapoweroflucidstatementnotpossessedbyanyofhisrivals。AnincidentofthespeechwashisunsparingcondemnationofJohnBrownwhoseraidanddeathwereoneverytongue。“Youchargethatwestirupinsurrectionsamongyourslaves，“saidhe，apostrophizingtheslave-holders。“Wedenyit，andwhatisyourproof？’Harper’sFerry；JohnBrown!’JohnBrownwasnoRepublican；andyouhavefailedtoimplicateasingleRepublicaninthisHarper’sFerryenterprise……
“JohnBrown’seffortwaspeculiar。Itwasnotaslaveinsurrection。Itwasanattemptbywhitementogetuparevoltamongslaves，inwhichtheslavesrefusedtoparticipate。Infact，itwassoabsurdthattheslaveswithalltheirignorancesawplainlyenoughthatitcouldnotsucceed。Thataffairinitsphilosophycorrespondswiththemanyattemptsrelatedinhistoryattheassassinationofkingsandemperors。Anenthusiastbroodsovertheoppressionofthepeopleuntilhefancieshimselfcommissionedbyheaventoliberatethem。Heventurestheattemptwhichendsinlittleelsethanhisownexecution。Orsini’sattemptonLouisNapoleon，andJohnBrown’sattemptatHarper’sFerrywere，intheirphilosophy，preciselythesame。TheeagernesstocastblameonoldEnglandintheonecaseandonNewEnglandintheother，doesnotdisprovethesamenessofthetwothings。“
TheCooperUnionspeechreceivedextravagantpraisefromalltheRepublicannewspapers。Lincoln’sardentpartisansassertthatittookNewYork“bystorm。“Rathertooviolentawayofputtingit!Buttherecanbenodoubtthatthespeechmadeadeepimpression。Thereafter，manyoftheEasternmanagerswerewillingtoconsiderLincolnasacandidate，shouldfactionaljealousiesproveuncompromising。Anyportinastorm，youknow。Obviously，therecouldbeportsfarmoredangerousthanthis“favoriteson“ofIllinois。
ManynationalconventionsintheUnitedStateshavedecideduponacompromisecandidate，“adarkhorse，“throughjustsuchreasoning。ThemostnotedinstanceistheRepublicanConventionof1860。WhenitassembledatChicagoinJune，themostimposingcandidatewasthebrilliantleaderoftheNewYorkRepublicans，Seward。Butnomaninthecountryhadmorebitterenemies。HoraceGreeleywhosepaperTheTribunewasbyfarthemostinfluentialRepublicanorgan，wenttoChicagoobsessedbyonepurpose：becauseofirreconcilablepersonalquarrelshewouldhaverevengeuponSeward。OtherswhodidnothateSewardwereafraidofwhatGreeleysymbolized。Andallofthemknewthatwhateverelsehappened，theWestmustbesecured。
TheLincolnmanagersplayedupontheEasternjealousiesandtheEasternfearswithgreatskill。Therewaslittlesleepamongthedelegatesthenightprevioustotheballoting。Atjusttherightmoment，theLincolnmanagers，thoughtheirchiefhadforbiddenthemtodoso，offeredpromiseswithregardtoCabinetappointments。[6]AndtheysucceededinpackingthegalleriesoftheConventionHallwithaperfectlyorganizedclaque-“rooters，“themodernAmericanwouldsay。
TheresultonthethirdballotwasarushtoLincolnofalltheenemiesofSeward，andLincoln’snominationamidaroaringfrenzyofapplause。
Aftertwenty-threeyearsofsuccessivedefeats，Lincoln，almostfortuitously，wasatthecenterofthepoliticalmaelstrom。
Thecluetowhatfollowsisinthewayhehaddevelopedduringthatlongdiscouragingapprenticeshiptogreatness。Mentally，hehadalwaysbeeninisolation。Socially，hehadlivedinanearhorizon。TherealtragedyofhisfailureatWashingtonwasintheclosingagainsthimoftheopportunitytoknowhiscountryasawhole。HaditbeenLincolninsteadofDouglastowhomdestinyhadgivenaresidenceatWashingtonduringthe’fifties，itisconceivablethatthingsmighthavebeendifferentinthe’sixties。Ontheotherhand，Americawouldhavelostitsgreatestexampleoftheartistinpolitics。
Andwithoutthatartist，withouthisextraordinaryliterarygift，hispartymightnothaveconsolidatedin1860。Averycuriouspartyitwas。Ithadsprungtolifeasadenial，asadeviceforhaltingDouglas。Lincoln’sdoctrineofthegoldenmean，becameforonceapoliticalpower。Menofthemostdiverseviewsonotherissuesacceptedintheirneedtheaxiom：
“Standwithanybodysolongashestandsright。“Andstandingright，forthatmomentinthemindsofthemall，meantkeepingslaveryandthemoneypowerfromdevouringtheterritories。
TheartistofthemovementexpressedthemallinhisdeclarationthatthenationneededtheTerritoriestogivehomeandopportunitytofreewhitepeople。EventheAbolitionists，whohithertohadrefusedtomakecommoncausewithanyotherfaction，enteredthenegativecoalitionofthenewparty。SodidWhigs，andanti-slaveryDemocrats，aswellasotherfactionsthenobscurewhichweshouldnowlabelSocialistsandLabormen。
However，thiscoalition，whichinoriginwaspurelynegative，revealed，themomentitcoalesced，twopositivefeatures。Tothemanofthenearhorizonin1860neitherofthesefeaturesseemedoffirstimportance。Tothemanoutsidethathorizon，seeingtheminperspectiveasrelatedtothesumtotalofAmericanlife，theyhadasignificancehedidnotentirelyappreciate。
ThefirstofthesewasthetemperoftheAbolitionists。
Lincolnignoredit。Hewascontentwithhisringingassertion，of，thegoldenmean。Buttherespokethemanoflettersratherthanthestatesman。Oftemperinpoliticsasanabstractidea，hehadbeenkeenlyconsciousfromthefirst；buthislackoffamiliaritywithpoliticalorganizationskepthimfromassigningfullvaluetothetemperofanyonefactorasaffectingthejointtemperofthewholegroup。Itwasappointedforhimtolearnthisinasupremelyhardwayandtoapplythelessonwithwonderfulaudacity。Butin1860thatsternexperiencestillsleptinthefuture。HehadnosuspicionasyetthathemightfinditdifficulttocarryouthisownpromisetostandwiththeAbolitionistsinexcludingslaveryfromtheTerritories，andtostandagainsttheminenforcingtheFugitiveSlaveLaw。Hedidnotyetseewhyanyoneshoulddoubtthevalidityofthispromise；whyanyoneshouldbeafraidtogoalongwithhim，afraidthatthetemperofoneelementwouldinfectthewholecoalition。
ButthisfearthatLincolndidnotallowfor，possessedalreadyagreatmanyminds。ThousandsofSoutherners，ofthesortwhomLincolncreditedwithgoodintentionsaboutslavery，fearedtheAbolitionistsNotbecausetheAbolitionistswantedtodestroyslavery，butbecausetheywantedtodosofiercely，cruelly。
LikeLincoln，theseSouthernerswhowereliberalsinthoughtandmoderatesinaction，didnotknowwhattodoaboutslavery。
LikeLincoln，theyhadbutonefixedideawithregardtoit，——slaverymustnotbeterminatedviolently。Lincoln，despitehisnearhorizon，sensedthemcorrectlyasnotbeingatonewiththegreatplutocratswhowishedtoexploitslavery。ButwhentheAbolitionistpouredoutthesamefuryofvituperationoneverysortofslave-holder；whenhepromisedhissoulthatitshouldyethavethejoyofexultingintheruinofallsuch，themoderateSouthernersbecameasflint。WhentheAbolitionistsproclaimedtheiraffiliationwiththenewparty，thefirststepwastakentowardageneralSoutherncoalitiontostoptheRepublicanadvance。
Therewasanotherpositiveelementblendedintothenegativecoalition。In1857，theRepublicansoverrulingthetraditionsofthosememberswhohadoncebeenDemocrats，settheirfacestowardprotection。TomostoftheNorthernersthefatefulnessofthestepwasnotobvious。TwentyyearshadpassedsinceaserioustariffcontroversyhadshakentheNorth。Financialdifficultiesinthe’fiftiesweremoreprevalentintheNorththanintheSouth。Businesswasinaquandary。Laborwasdemandingbetteropportunities。Protectionasasolution，oratleastasapalliative，seemedtothemassoftheRepublicancoalition，eventotheformerDemocratsforalltheirfreetradetraditions，notoutrageous。TotheSouthernersitwasanalarmbell。TheSouthernworldwasagricultural；itsstaplewascotton；thebulkofitsmarketwasinEngland。Eversince1828，theSouthernmindhadbeenconstantlyonguardwithregardtotariff，unceasinglyfearfulthatprotectionwouldbeimposedonitbyNorthernandWesternvotes。TohavetosellitscottoninEnglandatfreetradevalues，butatthesametimetohavetobuyitscommoditiesatprotectedvaluesfixedbyNorthernmanufacturers——whatdidthatmeanbutthedespotismofonesectionoveranother？WhentheRepublicanstookupprotectionaspartoftheircreed，ageneralSoutherncoalitionwasrenderedalmostinevitable。
This，Lincoln{Missingtext}。Againitistobeaccountedforinpartbyhisnearhorizon。HadhelivedatWashington，hadhemet，frequently，Southernmen；hadhepassedthosecrucialyearsofthe’fiftiesindebateswithpoliticalleadersratherthaninstory-tellingtournamentsonthecircuit；perhapsallthiswouldhavebeenotherwise。Butonecannotbequitesure。
Financeneverappealedtohim。AwideapplicationmaybegiventoHerndon’sremarkthat“hehadnomoneysense。“AlltherestoftheRepublicandoctrinefindsitsbeststatementinLincoln。
Ontheonesubjectofitseconomicpolicyheissilent。
Apparentlyitistobeclassifiedwiththeroutinesideofthelaw。Toneitherwasheeverabletogivemorethanaperfunctoryattention。Asanartistinpoliticshehadthedefectofhisqualities。
Whathisqualitiesshowedhimweretwothings：theallianceoftheplutocraticslavepowerwiththeplutocraticmoneypower，andtheessentialrightnessinimpulseofthebulkoftheSouthernpeople。Hencehisconclusionwhichbecamehisparty’sconclusion：that，intheSouth，apolitical-financialringwasdominatingaleaderlesspeople，Thiswasnotthetruth。
Lincoln’sdefectsin1860limitedhisvision。Nevertheless，tothesolitarydistantthinker，shutinbythenearhorizonofpoliticalSpringfield，therewaseveryexcusefortheerror。
Thepalpableevidenceallconfirmedit。Whatmighthavecontradicteditwasacloudofwitnesses，floating，incidental，casual，tacit。JustwhatanaturelikeLincoln’s，ifonlyhecouldhavemetthem，wouldhaveperceivedandcomprehended；
whatanaturelikeDouglas’s，nomatterhowplainlytheywerepresentedtohim，couldneitherperceivenorcomprehend。ItwastheironyoffatethatanopportunitytofathomhistimewassquanderedupontheunseeingDouglas，whiletotheseeingLincolnitwasdenied。Inaword，theSouthernreactionagainsttheRepublicans，liketheRepublicanmovementitself，hadbothapositiveandanegativeside。Itwasthepositivesidethatcouldbeseenandjudgedatlongrange。AndthiswaswhatLincolnsaw，whichappearedtohimtohavecreatedthedominantissuein1860。
ThenegativesideoftheSouthernmovementhedidnotsee。Hewastoofarawaytomakeoutthedetailsofthepicture。
Thoughhemayhaveknownfromthecensusof1850thatonlyone-thirdoftheSouthernwhitesweremembersofslave-holdingfamilies，hecouldscarcelyhaveknownthatonlyasmallminorityoftheSouthernfamiliesownedasmanyasfiveslaves；