Harris: Honest Abe said “it isn’t the right thing to do”. (On filling SCOTUS seat)
First, Lincoln didn’t say those words.
Secondly, Lincoln did not send a nominee to the Senate in October of 1864, after SC Justice Taney died. That is true. But why? The Senate was out of session until December of that election year, so Lincoln was forced to wait to nominate a successor for Taney. Salmon Chase was nominated to replace Taney on Dec. 6, 1864, and was confirmed by the Senate nine days later on Dec. 15, 1864, according to the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Lastly, it wasn’t that Lincoln refused to nominate a Supreme Court justice, Lincoln couldn’t get anything accomplished until the senate came back into session. The Senate’s schedule, and the logistics of politics in the midst of the carnage of the Civil War, dictated Lincoln’s action. Lincoln wanted the support of the nominee’s, because he wanted them to campaign for him. Lincoln’s main priority was winning the election, which was necessary to win the civil war and end slavery. President Lincoln filled the vacancy at the first practical possible instant.
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