Speech at Kalamazoo, Michigan, August 27, 1856 Fellow countrymen: — Under the Constitution of the U.S. another Presidential contest approaches us. All over this land— that portion at least, of which I know much — the people are assembling to consider the proper course to be adopted by them. One of the first considerations is […]

Fragment on Sectionalism, July 23, 1856 It is constantly objected to [John C.] Fremont and [William] Dayton, that they are supported by a sectional party who, by their sectionalism, endanger the National Union. This objection, more than all others, causes men, really opposed to slavery extension, to hesitate. Practically, it is the most difficult objection […]

1856 In 1854, Mr. Lincoln avoided meeting with the organizers of the new Republican Party. In 1856, Mr. Lincoln was maneuvered into taking a leadership role by his law partner, William H. Herndon. Herndon wrote in his biography of Mr. Lincoln: “Finding himself drifting about with the disorganized elements that floated together after the angry […]

Speech at Peoria, October 16, 1854 On Monday, October 16, Senator DOUGLAS, by appointment, addressed a large audience at Peoria. When he closed he was greeted with six hearty cheers; and the band in attendance played a stirring air. The crowd then began to call for LINCOLN, who, as Judge Douglas had announced was, by […]

1854 When Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas introduced congressional legislation in January 1854 that became the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he inadvertently sowed the seeds of his own political demise. His downfall was slow; culminating in defeat in 1860 and death in 1861, but the deterioration of his Illinois base and his national aspirations clearly began in 1854. […]

1848 Campaign Before the end of the 1847-1848 congressional session, Mr. Lincoln commented on the upcoming presidential contest and slavery on the House floor. “Our democratic friends seem to be in great distress because they think our candidate for the President don’t suit us. Most of them can not find out that Gen: Taylor has […]

Congress The first settlers of Illinois came predominantly from slave-holding states like Kentucky. Later settlers came from northern states with strong anti-slavery traditions. Lincoln chronicler Blaine Brooks Gernon wrote: “Sentiment in central and northern Illinois against slavery in any form had been growing slowly but surely, due to the large influx of settlers pouring in […]