Gideon Welles
Auteur de Diary of Gideon Welles, secretary of the navy under Lincoln and Johnson
A propos de l'auteur
Crédit image: Brady-Handy Photographs,
Loc Prints and Photographs Division,
(LC-DIG-cwpbh-00848)
Loc Prints and Photographs Division,
(LC-DIG-cwpbh-00848)
Œuvres de Gideon Welles
The Civil War Diary of Gideon Welles, Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy: The Original Manuscript Edition (The Knox… (2014) 18 exemplaires
Diary Of Gideon Wells Secretary Of The Navy Under Lincoln And Johnson - Volume II April 1, 1864 - December 31, 1866 (1911) 8 exemplaires
Diary Of Gideon Welles V1, Secretary Of The Navy Under Lincoln And Johnson: 1861-March 30, 1864 (2007) 5 exemplaires
Diary Of Gideon Welles..Secretary Of The Navy Under Lincoln And Johnson...Volume III...January 1,1867-June 6,1869 3 exemplaires
A Connecticut Yankee in Lincoln's Cabinet: Navy Secretary Gideon Welles Chronicles the Civil War (2014) 2 exemplaires
Letter from the Secretary of the Navy…In Relation to the Construction of the Iron-Clad Monitor 2 exemplaires
Steven’s Battery: Letter from the Secretary of the Navy in Relation to the Expenditure of the Appropriation for the… 1 exemplaire
Selected essays. 1 exemplaire
Ship Timber: Letter from the Secretary of the Navy 1 exemplaire
Letter of the Secretary of the Navy, to the Hon. J. W. Grimes,…in Relation to the Appointment of Enlisted Persons to… 1 exemplaire
Pay and Allowances of Officers of Navy and Marine Corps. Letter from the Secretary of the Navy. 1 exemplaire
Naval Vessels: Letter from the Secretary of the Navy 1 exemplaire
Read-Admiral Goldsborough. Letter from the Secretary of the Navy, in Answer to a Resolution of the House of the 17th… 1 exemplaire
Officers of the Navy Retained in Active Service after Fifty-Five Years’ Service: Letter from the Secretary of the… 1 exemplaire
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- Norwich University
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United States Secretary of the Navy (1861-1869)
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Welles was a doctrinaire, rigid, judgmental man who, during this period of time that was characterized by the struggle between Congressional Republicans and Andrew Johnson as to the course of Reconstruction, filled page after page after page of his diary raging against Johnson’s opponents, in the harshest of terms. He might think at least somewhat well of a Congressman or Senator, but let there be any indication that that person was at all for the Republican Reconstruction policies, and Welles immediately turned against him in the harshest fashion. Not only Congress but other members of the Cabinet, and Army and Navy officers were targets; Grant in particular comes in for scathing remarks. Some examples out of hundreds:
“The conservative and timid Republicans and some Radicals have been intimate with McCulloch and impressed him with their cowardly, shrinking views.”
“It is a misfortune that a man so ignorant, so wanting incivility as well as intelligence as E.B. Washburne should be in the position he occupies.”
“A shameless, brazen effrontery and villainy mark certain Senators. Howard and Chandler of Michigan, Sumner, Cameron, Conkling, and others have already made themselves parties against the main whom they are to adjudge {Johnson’s impeachment trial}...have broken down the barriers of the Constitution, while the President has striven to defend them, and for his defense he is to be tried, and condemned by these violators, conspirators and perjurers.”
“Stevens, with his arrogance, insolence, and vicious despotism...”
And on and on. You get the idea.
His hatred of Seward and Stanton continued unabated from the Lincoln years, and if anything, increased.
His portrait of Andrew Johnson is fascinating. He and Johnson agreed almost point-for-point in their political views, but Welles became increasingly disillusioned with what he saw as Johnson’s hesitation, too conciliatory an attitude towards Congress, especially the Senate, and his concession of too much of executive rights to Congress. But no one was more loyal in Johnson's defense during impeachment than Welles
Welles, despite his condemnation of the Radicals and anyone else who disagreed with him, was a politician of his times. He was an overt racist as were the overwhelming majority of Americans of the period; he condemns Senator Sumner from Massachusetts and Congressman Stevens from Pennsylvania for their policies and denounces them as having no principles, no morals, no ethics, just grasping for power--cunning, deceitful men--those are some of his nicer remarks--but in reality, Sumner and Stevens with a few others were about the only ones who were truly egalitarian with respect to the ex-slaves and Afro-Americans in general. Johnson had nothing but contempt for “the nigger” and openly proclaimed that the US was a white man’s land to be governed by white men only. So Welles was not alone nor in the minority. It’s difficult reading.
But Welles also always kept in focus what he considered the crucial questions of the times, and those centered around what the Constitution allowed the Federal government to do and what were the rights and prerogatives of the states. The Civil War had necessitated a much greater concentration of power in the federal government out of necessity. The Radical Republicans and many moderates wanted to extend that power to grant civil rights to the freedmen; Stevens was outspoken in his belief that the Federal government should impose a social revolution on the South. There is almost no right or wrong on these questions--just which interpretation of the Constitution serves during what period of time. That discussion goes on today (and at times with far less intelligence than in 1866-8).
While this diary can be read on its own, I don’t recommend it. You can get so caught up in Welles’ world view that you begin to wonder if he was right in his judgment of nearly everyone. After all, the years 2001-2009 in the US do not inspire confidence in US politicians in any aspect of government, and I find it all too easy to believe in corruption, lack of principle, abuse of power, lack of truthfulness, and other unpleasant but too prevalent behaviors in politics.
To try to get some sort of balanced view, about half way through this volume I started reading Eric Foner’s Reconstruction. I highly recommend that book whether or not you ever pick up the Welles’ diaries, but it is especially eye-opening in relation to Welles' statements. Read Welles on Sumner and Stevens and then read excerpts of speeches and writings of those two men, and you wonder if Welles was talking about entirely different people. The blatant racism of Johnson, Welles and others, who denounced black suffrage because blacks “weren’t ready”--were ignorant, lazy, degenerate etc., etc-- is shown to be the falsehood it is. This is no place for a review of Foner, but I recommend it if you start in on Welles once you get past the Lincoln years.
Although not for everyone, the diary is very accessible with the caveats listed, and I think a must for those who are interested in a really neglected period of US history, Reconstruction. Highly recommended.… (plus d'informations)