A Potter’s Vessel

“This is all about your sense of the law, Jerald, which I admit is sincere even if unrealistic,” Gamaliel said. “You knew that the likelihood of success – to obtain a favorable ruling and actually see it enforced in the Nation – was virtually nil. What was it your brother called it? ‘A ludicrous idea?’ But you went forward with it and you are succeeding personally even as you have no hope of succeeding professionally. You still can’t even give me my freedom in Tennessee after I have become a lawyer and an advocate for the state before the Nation’s Supreme Court - and in favor of secession, no less.” Gamaliel paused long enough to take a deep breath, signaling his conclusion and then expressed it. “Yes, Jerald, this was always about you.” Now it was Jerald’s turn to breathe deeply. Gamaliel heard it plainly and recognized the reflex from his many years of debate with his master. It meant that he was about to concede a point but was still considering how to do so without admitting ultimate defeat.

“And if I were to accept that premise,” Jerald answered slowly, “would it preclude a finding that the Nation and its inhabitants, including the slaves – and especially you - could benefit from my self-centered action? I think not,” he answered without waiting for a reply from Gamaliel and then conceded, “but I do see that a meeting between you and Mister Lincoln could hasten the process.”

“A president,” Gamaliel answered without emotion, “is obviously more powerful than an attorney general, and when teamed with the Congress is likely to be more powerful than the Supreme Court.”