The Writings of Carl Schurz/To Charles Sumner, July 3d, 1865

TO CHARLES SUMNER

Bethlehem, Pa., July 3, 1865.

. . . The President was sick when I was at Washington and I did not see him. I shall write him once more before I leave, to convince him that it would be good policy, under existing circumstances, not to have any elections held in the Southern States previous to the meeting of Congress. This is a point of great importance, and it would be well for our friends to make a united effort in that direction. The President must be talked to as much as possible; he must not be left in the hands of his old associations that are more and more gathering around him. . . .[1]

  1. Several sentences before and several after this paragraph are omitted because they refer to unimportant details of the Southern trip, about to begin.