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John Charles Fremont and the exploration of the American West - USA Yesterday - Biography
USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 2003 by Gerald F. Kreyche
The ethics of Fremont leaving his disabled men have long been debated. The dictum of "Every man for himself' seems to have governed the action. Certainly that was the way some of the survivors regarded the decision, and they carried a hatred of their leader for the rest of their lives. Fundamentally, the dismal failure was due to hubris and foolhardiness on Fremont's part.
Spending a few days in recovery, Fremont and some of the men regrouped and turned south for warmer climes, eventually winding up in Los Angeles. One cannot help but wonder how the unnecessary death of 10 men sat on Fremont's conscience. From all appearances, he seemed nonplussed and never was remorseful or contrite.
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Jessie and Fremont had arranged to meet in California and, although illness had overtaken her, the reunion was a joyful one. There was good news, too, in that the Mariposa land owned by Fremont proved rich in gold. Fremont lent his talents to running the Mariposa estate amidst claim jumpers and litigants who said his ownership was bogus. It wasn't. Politics became an obsession for the restless explorer, and he ran for and won the position of Senator from the State of California in 1850-51. It was a shortened term, and Fremont spent just 21 days in Congress.
To keep California within the Union, the Federal government sponsored various explorations to search for and to determine the best railroad mute to the West. Fremont, having lost his glory, was not among those invited this time. Nonetheless, be obtained private financing and decided to retry the route of his fourth expedition. This time he succeeded. This was Fremont's last exploration and he confided to his notes that the thrill and exhilaration no longer were there. It was time to move on to other things.
Civil War and political ambitions
Rumblings filled the air of the coming conflict between North and South, the issues of saving the Union, and what to do about slavery. Benton, a Democrat, but an antislaver, lost his senatorial seat because of his abolitionist stance. Fremont also was opposed to slavery and showed his respect for blacks by giving equal employment to one on some of his expeditions.
A new party called Republicans was forming, and Fremont became its presidential candidate in 1856, The explorer was backed by a number of influential persons, such as Horace Greeley, editor of The New York Tribune, and various other liberals. The Democratic candidate was James Buchanan. As with most political campaigns, this was a dirty one fraught with falsehoods and innuendos. Fremont's slogan, "Free soil, free men, Fremont, and victory," was parodied to "Free soilers, Fremonters, free niggers, and freebooters." Even Fremont's bastardy was brought into the electioneering. Fremont was defeated, but it was a respectable loss with possible favorable portents for the future.
Fremont was in Paris with Jessie when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He came home immediately, and Pres. Abraham Lincoln appointed him Major General of the West. It was quickly demonstrated that this was not a position for a man of Fremont's impetuosity and independence. Militarily, he was unsuccessful in battle. In Missouri, without permission and before Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, Fremont exceeded his authority and unilaterally declared the slaves there to be free. The President, as Commander-in-Chief, could not countenance this usurpation of his office and removed Fremont from that command, Ever ready to defend her husband, Jessie won a personal audience about the matter with the President, but his mind was made up. Lincoln made it clear that slavery, wag not the issue of the war; rather, it was preservation of the Union.
