In 1832, the year of Jackson's second election as president, Lincoln made his first appearance in politics as a candidate for the state assembly on the following platform.. " I presume you all know who I am; I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many friends to become a candidate for the legislature. My politics are short and sweet, like the old woman's dance. I am in favor of a national bank; I am in favor of internal improvements, and a high protective tariff. These are my senti ments and political principles. If elected I shall be thankful; if not, it will be all the same." This was straight whig doctrine. Lincoln made a good canvass, but he was not elected. His next venture was as a partner in a. dry goods and igrocery store at New Salem, but the concern failed, the partner fled, and Lincoln was left to settle up a losing business, paying all he owed in 1849. Having no faculty for trade, he now began to read in law, studied hard, and made rapid progress. Then lie suddenly studied survey ing, and tried his hand with compass and chain. In May, 1833, he was appointed post master at New Salem—compensation, next to nothing. Ile was not able to hire a room, aud was said to have "carried the post-office in his hat." The mails came once a week,. and their burden was light. In 1834 Lincoln's personal property was about to be sold by the sheriff to satisfy a judgment; but a new friend, James Short, bid in the property and gave it over to him. In 1834 he was again a candidate for the legislature, and was elected, running far ahead of his ticket. The party now had assumed the name of whig, and he soon became a whig leader. His first love episode was painfully sad. While boarding with James Rutledge, in New Salem, he became enamored of Ann, his landlord's daughter, a well-educated girl of 17, who had at the thne another lover, who promised marriage, but did not keep his word. Lincoln and Ann Rutledge were betrothed in 1835, but the girl's health failed, and in August she died of brain fever. Her loss made Lincoln almost insane, and he raved piteously. " I can never bear to have snow, rain, and storm beat upon her grave," and "in her grave my heart lies buried," he cried out. It was at the time of her death that lie took a liking to the poem by an English writer, the rev. Vicesimus Knox, commencing " Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud," lines that he was never weary of quoting; indeed, ho repeated them so often that many people supposed him to be the author.
On taking his place in the legislature, Lincoln first saw Stephen A. Douglas, with no idea that he would be his competitor for the highest office in the nation. 'In 1836 Lin coln was again a candidate for the legislature on the following characteristic platform: "I go for all sharing the privilege of the government who assist in bearing its burdens. Consequently I go for admitting all whites to the rights of suffrage who pay taxes or bear arms, by no means excluding females." With the opposition candidate Lincoln stumped the district, as was then the custom, and by his vigorous speeches secured a whig victory, the first ever known in Sangamon county. Lincoln and Douglas were both chosen; but Douglas served only one session, and the next year WaS nominated for congress. In the presidential contest in 1836 Lincoln was for Hugh L. White of Ten nessee, but the "hard cider" campaign of 1840 found him vociferous for Harrison and Tyler. With the struggle of Jackson against the U. S. bank and the shifting policy of Van Buren, Lincoln had no interest, attending diligently to his duties as a legislator, and beginning that antislavery, record upon which so nauch of his fame will ever rest. The abolitionists were in the highest activity. George Thompson had just gone back to England after stirring up the small but enthusiastic party in this country; Garrison's Liberator was intensely annoying to the supporters of slavery; there was a great anti-abolitionist meeting in Boston; and president Jackson had, at the close of 1835, invited the attention of congress to the circulation through the mails of what were then called "inflammatory" documents. Henry Clay, Edward Everett, many of the governors of the northern states, and a large majority of the house of representatives strenuously opposed the agitation of the slavery question; all petitions on the subject were laid on the table without reading or debate, and all possible means were taken to. prevent the discussion of the annoying subject. Illinois did not escape, though none of her citizens desired to establish or even uphold slavery. On the night of Nov. 7, 1837, the rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy was mobbed and shot dead at Alton for persisting in publishing an abolition newspaper. At this juncture, when the legislature WAS about to pass resolutions deprecating the antislavery agitation, Lincoln presented his protest, to which be could get but one signer besides himself, in which lie declares slavery to be founded on injustice and bad policy; but that abolition agitation tends to increase its evils; that congress cannot interfere with slavery in the states, but might in the District of Columbia on the request of the people. This protest was meant to avoid extreme views, and so no mention was made of slavery in the territories, that point being covered by the Missouri compromise, which was then in full force. Lincoln was never extreme, and probably till the war began lie saw no hour when he would have altered a word in this protest. When the state capital was removed to Springfield in 1839, Lincoln estab lished himself there. He had been licensed as an attorney two years before, and being at the capital he could attend both to his ditties as a member of the legislature and his legal practice. His business grew rapidly, and lie took into partnership John T. Stuart, a prominent whig, who had been a kind friend in former years, Lincoln preferring to be the junior in the firm. Springfield was a poor village of.about 1500 inhabitants; and Lineoln was poor, indeed much in debt. lt is said that his friend Bill Butler fed and clothed him for several years. In Jan., 1837, he delivered an oration on "The Perpetu ation of our Free Institutions," whose eloquence greatly added to his fame. In Dec., 1839, Lincoln, on behalf of the whigs, challenged the other side to a joint debate, and Douglas and three other democrats were pitted against Lincoln, Logan, and two other whigs, The intellectual struggle between Lincoln and Douglas is still known as " the great debate;" and Lincoln was acknowledged to have had the best of the arguments. In 1840 Lincoln was an elector on the Harrison ticket, and made speeches in all parts of the state. But one-sided speeches were not suited to his temper; he preferred joint debates, where he could ernploy his masterly skill at retort. For twenty years (1838 to 1858) he followed Douglas, who was nearly always ready to accommodate him with a discussion. They fought their battles over and over, until one became president of the United States . and the disappointment of the other had been buried in the grave a few months after 1 Lincoln's inauguration. About 1839 Lincoln made the acquaintance of Mary, the. daughter of hon. Robert S. Todd, of Lexington, Ky. They were engaged to be mar ried; the day was set, and the supper made ready, but Lincoln failed to appear; he hadi gone quite crazy, and remained so for a. year. His friend Speed took him to Kentucky, where he was kept until he had recovered his reason. In honorable fulfillment of his, promise he married 3Iiss Todd, Nov. 4, 1842. Mrs. Lincoln was a politician and a satir ical writer of rare power. Site wrote for the local papers and very soon involved her husband in a duel with Mr. Shields, then state auditor. Shields challenged Lincoln and they met in Missouri, but affairs were explained and the fight did not come off. In 1841 Lincoln was again an elector on the Clay (whig) ticket, and labored hard, but in vain for that great statesman. A_ handful of votes cast in New York for Birney, the aboli tion candidate, being a subtraction from the whig strength, gave the vote of that state to Polk and defeated and politically killed Clay. In 1E46 Lincoln was elected to con
gress by 1511 majority in a district which, two years before, gave him only 914. He took his seat at the opening of the 30th congress, Robert C. Winthrop being speaker. In that house he was the only whig member from Illinois, with such democrats to watch, him as John Wentworth, William A. Richardson, John McClernand; and Stephen A. Douglas in the senate. "There were giants in those days" in congress, such on the whig side as John Quincy Adams, Horace Mann, Washington Hunt, Jacob C. CoRamer, Joseph R. Ingersoll, John M. Botts, Caleb B. Smith, Alexander H. Stephens, Robert Toombs, Samuel II. Vinton, and Robert C. Schenck; of democrats, Wilmot of Penn., McLane of Md., McDowell of Va., Rhett of S. C., Cobb of Ga., Boyd of Ky., Thomp son of Miss., and George W. Jones and Andrew Johnson of Tenn. In the senate were Webster, Calhoun, Benton, Berrien, Clayton, Bell, Hunter, and W. R. King. Lincoln_ was put on the committee on post-offices and post-roads. He was opposed to the Mexi can war, but voted for supplies to carry it on. In 1848 he favored the nomination of Taylor (whig,) for president, and made a strong political speech in the house for that purpose, subsequently speaking in various parts of the country. In the second session. of the 30th congress he made no especial mark. His law partnership with Stuart ended, April, 1841, when he united in practice with ex-judge Stephen T. Logan, and soon after wards formed a partnership with his best friend, William H. Herndon. Dec. 3, 1839, Lincoln was admitted to practice in the federal courts, on the same day with Stephen A.. Douglas. Many curious anecdotes are told of the great story-teller, of his power, his energy, his oddities, and his generosity. He was for a time counsel for the Illinois Central railroad company, by whom he. was badly treated. In 1859 he went to Cincin nati to argue the McCormick reaper case and found Edwin M. Stanton one of his col leagues; but Stanton treated him with such discourtesy that it seems remarkable that Lincoln ever made the haughty Edwin a member of his cabinet. .Lincoln wanted to be commissioner of the general 10.nd-office, but did not get the appointment. He was offered the governorship of Oregon territory, but his wife declined to go there, and he would not accept. For two years after leaving congress lie was not publicly prominent. In 1850 he refused a nomination for congress; July 1, 1852, he was selected at a meeting of citizens to deliver a eulogy on Henry Clay. The bill offered by Douglas, Jan. 4, 1854, to establish a territorial government in _Nebraska reopened the antislavery war, and Lincoln was forced to take decided ground against the extension of slavery into the territories, which he did at the state fair at Springfield in Oct. in a speech of great power. Douglas was there, chafing like a tiger under the scathing remarks of his g.reat opponent. He endeavored to reply, but was too much excited to speak coherently. He promised to conclude in the evening, but did not appear. Other contests between the two followed, but they finally agreed to give up joint discussion. In Nov., in spite of his positive declination, Lincoln was again elected to the legislature. At the same thne he was very desirous to succeed Shields (democrat) in the U. S. senate; but Lyman Trumbull carried off the' prize. During the Kansas excitement Lin coln's sympathies were all in favor of the free-state side, but he discountenanced the use of force. In 1856 he said to the force party: "I agree with you in Providence; but I believe in the providence of the most men, the largest purse, and the largest cannon. You are in a minority—a sad minority—and cannot hope to succeed, reasoning from all human experience. You would rebel against the government, and redden your hands in the blood of your countrymen. If you are it) the minority, as you arc, you cannot succeed. Your attempt to resist the law of Kansas by force is criminal and wicked, and all your feeble attempts will be follies, and end in bringing sorrow on your heads, and ruin the cause you would freely die to preserve." It was at the state convention at 13loomington in 1856 that the republican party in Illinois was formed, and there Lincoln made what is considered by many the greatest of all his speeches. Up to this time he had argued the slavery question on the ground of policy, never reaching to the radical right of the matter. At Bloomington he was baptized to freedom; he was newly born, and had all the fervor of a fresh convert; his heart was alive to the right; he felt justice; the tiame, smothered for years, broke out; his sympathies burst forth, and then and there he unburdened his penitential soul. A hearer said of tho speech: "It was fresh, new, odd, original, filled with fervor and enthu siasm; it was full of fire, energy, and force, of great truths and the sense of right; it was justice and equity set ablaze by the force of the soul; it was hard, heavy, knotted, gnarled, and heated." From that hour to the night of his murder slavery had no more persistent opponent than the man whom slavery assassinated. On June 17,1856, in the first Republican national convention at Philadelphia, Lincoln's name was put forth for vice-president, and was received with considerable favor; but Wm. L. Dayton was :selected, having 259 votes to 110 for Lincoln and 180 scattering. This year, for the third time, Lincoln was on the electoral ticket, now as a republican, and spoke and worked for Fremont's success. All this time the Kansas question was prominent, and in the close of the long struggle it became to Lincoln the passport to the presidency through the per tinacity of Douglas in sticking to his idea of " squatter (or popular) sovereignty." This split the democratic party in 1860, and made Lincoln's success certain. In 1858 he made :a speech at the republican state convention for the put-pose of securing a nomination for -U. S. senator. His friends were surprised, and nearly all agreed that the speech -was injudicious and would ruin his prospects. In this speech he foreshadowed Seward's "irrepressible conflict." One of Lincoln's nearest friends says: "I think the speech was intended to take the wind out of Seward's sails" (for the nomination for president). The state was thoroughly canvassed by Douglas and Lincoln; the democrats carried both branches of the legislature; Douglas was re-elected U. S. senator, and Lincoln was bitterly disappointed. When asked how he felt, he said "like the boy who stubbed his toe; it hurt too bad to laugh, and he was too big to cry." In the winter of 1858-59 Lincoln appeared as a lecturer, starting with Adam and Eve for subject, and coming down to the " invention of negroes and the present mode of using them." Parts of the lecture were witty or humorous, but on the whole it was 'commonplace; his friends were mortified, and he soon gave up the lecturing business. In April, 1859, the people of his own town began to talk of Lincoln as a proper can .didate for president, but he discouraged the idea. In Sept. be made speeches in Ohio in the track of Douglas; in Dec. he spoke at several places in Kansas. He was more and more talked of for a presidential nomination, and finally author ized his friends to work for him. Feb. 25, 1860, on invitation, he appeared in New York to deliver a speech. He spent that day (Saturday) in revising the speech; on Sunday went to hear lir. Beecher preach; on Monday wandered over the city, and finally delivered his speech in Cooper Institute. The address was warmly praised in most of the city journals, and was in fact highly successful, After this he spoke in many cities in New England. He was present, though not ft delegate, at the Illinois state convention, May 9,1860, where he received the most flattering evidences of his great popularity, which was fully assured by the adoption without dissent of a resolution declaring him the choice of the republicans of Illinois for president, and instructing the delegates to the Chicago convention to use all honorable means to secure his nomination.