Not all Radicals condemned Lincoln’s decision. From South Carolina, Edward Lillie Pierce reluctantly criticized Hunter, whose antislavery zeal he shared. “I think there may be some irregularity, almost aberration in his mind,” Pierce told Chase. “This is not the first time since his arrival, where he has acted without premeditation or examination, and the next day recalled an order just issued. He has evidently brooded over the arming of negroes for some time, and seems to be carried away by it, and in his action, ignores all sources of information. … I confess to a want of confidence in his discretion and the regular action of his mind.” The New York Tribune, though disappointed, said: “Let no one be discouraged nor alienated because of this Presidential step.” The Independent pointed out that Lincoln was “very careful not to reject the principle” of emancipation as a military necessity. Samuel J. May, Jr., acknowledged that Hunter’s proclamation interfered with Lincoln’s offer of compensated emancipation and “would even seem to cast a doubt on the sincerity & honesty of it.” While deploring Lincoln’s action, the National Anti-Slavery Standard was “glad to observe that the language of the President encourages the hope that he will himself, ere long, exercise the power he denies to his subordinates, and proclaim liberty, not alone in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, but ‘throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof.’ ” Many Republicans shared that optimism, though some thought Lincoln’s warning a mere “sugar-coated pill” to placate Radicals.
Source: Abraham Lincoln ∶ A Life ▫𓂃
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