LINCOLN 



3439 



LINCOLN 



"I go for all sharing the privileges of the gov- 

 ernment who assist in sharing its burdens. Con- 

 sequently I go for admitting all whites to the 

 right of suffrage who pay taxes or bear arms 

 (by no means excluding females)." 



A year later Lincoln issued a public state- 

 ment regarding his attitude toward slavery. 

 This was a year of great agitation, the year in 

 which the abolitionist Lovejoy was murdered 

 at Alton, 111. Lincoln put his opinions on rec- 

 ord in a protest against certain resolutions 

 passed by the Illinois legislature condemning 

 the abolition movement. Lincoln said that he 

 believed that "the institution of slavery is 

 founded on both injustice and bad policy, but 

 that the promulgation of abolition doctrines 

 tends rather to increase than abate its evils." 

 Moreover, he added his belief that Congress 

 had "no power under the Constitution to inter- 

 fere with the institution of slavery in the dif- 

 ferent states." 



Lincoln, the Lawyer. While serving in the 

 legislature he continued the study of law, and 

 in 1837 was admitted to the bar.' He removed 

 to Springfield in 1839, when that city became 

 the capital of Illinois, and there he formed a 

 partnership with one of the leading lawyers, 

 John T. Stuart. Stuart was active in politics, 

 and left much of the detail of his practice to 

 his new partner. In 1841 Lincoln became the 

 junior partner of ex-Judge Stephen T. Logan, 

 one of the best lawyers in .the state. The 

 partnership lasted only two years, being broken 

 because both men sought nomination to the 

 national House of Representatives. Lincoln 

 was defeated, but was elected in 1846, the de- 

 feated candidate being Peter Cartwright (which 

 see). During his single term he spoke against 

 slavery and voted for the Wilmot Proviso. 

 At the close of his term, in 1848, he was of- 

 fered the governorship of the new territory of 

 Oregon, but declined it, so it was said, because 

 his wife refused to go to Oregon with him. 

 He had married Mary Todd, on November 4, 

 1842. 



Lincoln had strongly opposed the Mexican 

 War, an attitude which he felt had practi- 

 cally ruined his political future. At the close 

 of his term in Congress, therefore, he decided 

 to practice law more actively. With an earnest 

 and simple mind, he was strongest in cases in 

 which his client had the fundamental right. 

 He frequently dropped cases after he found 

 that they could be won only on a technicality, 

 and was even known to urge a friend, who was 

 acting jointly with him, to return part of an 

 sjve fee. These characteristics became gen- 



erally known and added to his personal popu- 

 larity; they also assured him the sympathetic 

 attention of any judge or jury whom he hap- 

 pened to be addressing. 



The Approaching Crisis. Lincoln's return to 

 active political life was the result of the same 

 changes which finally led to the War of Seces- 

 sion. Between 1848 and 1854, though nomi- 

 nally inactive, he was still the foremost of the 



HOME IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 



Illinois Whigs, and when the time came for 

 Stephen A. Douglas to justify the Kansas- 

 Nebraska Bill to the voters of Illinois, Lincoln 

 was the logical man to oppose him. In Octo- 

 ber, 1854, he answered Douglas at the state 

 fair, at Springfield, in a speech which was so 

 effective that the Abolitionists attempted on the 

 same day to commit him to their cause. A 

 month later his district again sent him to the 

 legislature, but he at once resigned lest there 

 be some question about his eligibility for the 

 United States Senate. 



A few ballots in the legislature showed that 

 Lincoln could not be elected, but his friends 

 succeeded in electing Lyman Trumbull, who 

 was a Democrat, but opposed to Douglas' poli- 

 cies. Lincoln was active in organizing the 

 Republican party, and at the first national con- 

 vention, in 1856, received 110 votes for Vice- 

 President, a compliment to his reputation .even 

 before the great debates with Douglas made 

 him a national figure. In 1858 the Republicans 

 nominated him for Senator, to oppose Douglas, 

 who was a candidate to succeed himself. .In. his 

 speech accepting the nomination Lincoln used 

 language which may have cost him that elec- 

 tion, but which prepared the way for a greater 

 prize. He said that 



"A 'house divided against itself cannot stand.' 

 I believe this government cannot endure perma- 

 nently half slave and half free. I do not expect 

 the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the 

 house to fall but I do expect it will cease to be 



