Lincoln, Abraham, as Sixteenth President

Engraved broadside signed, on paper (14 3/8 x 18 3/4 in.; 365 x 475 mm), accomplished in a clerical hand, Washington, 5 March 1861, being Caleb B. Smith's appointment as Secretary of the Interior, countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward, with fine embossed paper seal; fold separations and repairs, some marginal chipping, mounting residue on verso.

Katherine Graham (Sotheby's, New York, 13 December 2002)

Engraved broadside on paper (14 3/8 x 18 3/4 in.; 365 x 475 mm), signed ("Abraham Lincoln") and accomplished in a clerical hand, Washington, 5 March 1861, being Caleb B. Smith's appointment as Secretary of the Interior, countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward, with fine embossed paper seal; fold separations and repairs, some marginal chipping, mounting residue on verso.
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The cabinet appointment that helped Lincoln secure the Republican presidential nomination.

Signed on Lincoln's first full day in office; the only one of the seven original appointments for his first cabinet to appear at auction for at least sixty years; almost certainly the earliest presidential signature of Lincoln in private hands.

"Reposing special trust and confidence in the Patriotism, Integrity and Abilities of Caleb B. Smith of Indiana, I have nominated, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate do appoint him to be Secretary of the Interior of the United States and do authorize and empower him to execute and fulfil the duties of that Office according to Law and to have and to hold the said Office, with all the powers, privileges and emoluments thereunto of right appertaining unto him, the said Caleb B. Smith, during the pleasure of the President of the United States, for the time being."

When the nascent Republican party convened its second national convention at Chicago's "Wigwam" on 16 May 1860, Lincoln's nomination was far from certain. While not a true dark horse, the Illinois railsplitter was clearly not the front runner, either. That distinction belonged to William Seward of New York. Salmon Chase of Ohio, Edward Bates of Maryland, and Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania—all of whom, like Seward, would find places in Lincoln's cabinet—also had early support that rivalled Lincoln's.

David Davis, the convention manager of Lincoln's campaign, sought to exploit his candidate's regional appeal (the first Republican presidential candidate, John Charles Frémont, failed to carry either Illinois or the adjacent state of Indiana) and packed the hall with boisterous local supporters of the host state's favorite son. Davis also made (or authorized) overtures to Caleb B. Smith, the head of Indiana's delegation, which came to the convention uncommitted to any candidate. Smith had served with Lincoln in the House of Representatives, where they both opposed the Mexican War; they both also vigorously campaigned for Zachary Taylor in the 1848 presidential election.

There is no historical consensus about the type and degree of persuasion that Davis may have applied to win Smith's support. James McPherson writes that Lincoln incurred "a debt to Indiana for early support," which was discharged by Smith's appointment (Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 260). Both Allan Nevins's The Emergence of Lincoln and Kenneth Stampp's Indiana Politics During the Civil War allege that Davis actually promised the cabinet spot to Smith, without Lincoln's knowledge—from Springfield Lincoln had famously directed his convention team to "Make no contracts that will bind me" (Basler 4:50). Even David Herbert Donald, who believes that there is "no foundation" to the charge of some kind of political deal being brokered for Smith's support, quotes a post-election letter by David Davis in which he reminded the president-elect that "No one rendered more efficient service from Indiana ... without his active aid and co-operation the Indiana delegation could not have been got as a unit to go for you" (Lincoln, p. 265).

Whatever Smith's motivation—and there is little doubt that he coveted a cabinet seat—he did deliver the Indiana delegation to Lincoln; he did make the seconding speech for Lincoln's nomination himself; he did campaign tirelessly for Lincoln during the general election; and Lincoln, unlike Frémont, did win Indiana's electoral votes from the Democrats.

After all the horse trading needed to gain a cabinet position, Smith's tenure as Secretary of State was decidedly anticlimactic. He was plagued by poor health and was often out of sympathy with Lincoln's views, especially regarding the Emancipation Proclamation. He resigned from the cabinet in December 1862, and was replaced by John Palmer Usher, the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Lincoln subsequently appointed Smith a judge of the Indiana District Court; he died in that office a year later.