 McClellan 's antipathy to emancipation added to the pressure on him , as he received bitter criticism from Radical Republicans in the government . He viewed slavery as an institution recognized in the Constitution , and entitled to federal protection wherever it existed ( Lincoln held the same public position until August 1862 ) . McClellan 's writings after the war were typical of many Northerners : " I confess to a prejudice in favor of my own race , & can 't learn to like the odor of either Billy goats or niggers . " But in November 1861 , he wrote to his wife , " I will , if successful , throw my sword onto the scale to force an improvement in the condition of those poor blacks . " He later wrote that had it been his place to arrange the terms of peace , he would have insisted on gradual emancipation , guarding the rights of both slaves and masters , as part of any settlement . But he made no secret of his opposition to the radical Republicans . He told Ellen , " I will not fight for the abolitionists . " This put him in opposition with officials of the administration who believed he was attempting to implement the policies of the opposition party . 
