US Attorney General James Speed

[major bill]

Near the end of the Civil War James Speed replaced Edward Bates as US Attorney General. We can argue about how radical Bates was but there can be little argument the Speed was not a radical Republican. Speed had worked to keep Kentucky loyal to the Union. He was a former Kentucky State Senator and as senator he introduced a bill to "confiscate the property" of those who supported the Confedercy. Speed was also a commander of the pro Union Louisville Home Guard.

 

[Lubliner]

Kentucky being a neutral state not committed to rebellion, it was exempt from the emancipation proclamation. Knowing that Speed was a friend of Lincoln, I would assume he viewed the end to slavery as a certainty.
Lubliner.