, 1860-02-23
ABR AMAM LINCOLN.


ind suatain the patty Of constitutional freedom
which now predoninatea in most Of tue free
itates, there is no one who has n trmer hold on
be confidence and affections of the people Of
he Great West, or ID more m object of their en-
hraiastic admiration, than Abraham Lincoln,
3f Spring field, Illinois. No traveller &hat vsits
he valley OF the Mississippi, north Of tue Ohio.
;an fail to be impressed with the unriIaled
popularity OF that eminent Republican chief
thrnughout that whole region and it ID impos-
,ihlc 70 doubt that lie will be vigorously press
ID upon the Chicago Convention, BY the repre-
Of large and earnest con6ti.uency, |
As proper standard bearer Of onr great nation /
a party in the impending struggls for the Pres
idcncy.
Abraham Lincoln IL native Of Hardin ceun-
tv. Kentucky. He wax born on the 18th day Of |
1909. His parents were bo h born in |
Virginia nud were certninly not Of the FIRST fam.
ties:. Ills patcrnal grandfather, Abraham Lin
coin, emigrated from Rockingham county, Vir- |
sinia, 10 Kentucky, about lTsl or,i2, where
year or two later be was killed By Indians, not
to open farm ID the forest His ancestors,
who srero respectable members Of the Society
Of Friends. went to Virginia from Berka coun-
II, Pennsylvania Descendants Of the same
sock still reside in The eastern part Of this
State.
Mr. Iincoln's father, 1t the death Of HE father,
IVES but six years Of age. and he grew up liter
alfy without education Lie removed from Ken
lucky to wllat ia now Spencer County, Indiana,
IN 1885, The family reached tllsir new home
about the time the Statc WAS admitted into the
Union. The region in which they settled was
years. the hard experience Of & froutier life, in
which the struggle With nature for existence
and security is to be maIntatned only by con
stant vigilance and efforts: Bears. wolves and
other riid animals still infested the woods, and
young Lincoln acquired more skill in the use Of
The rife shan kno @1edge Of books. There were
institutions here md there known By the fat-
tasing denomination d" sclonls," but no quali-
icatjon was required Of a teacher beyond tread
in. writin' and crpheria'," as the yernacular
phrase run, az fur as the rule Of three. If q
strag.1er surpassed to understand Latin hap
nened to sejou.n in the neighbo1h,cd, he Was
Looked upon u d wizard, aud regarded with an
awe suited to 81 mF sterious character.
Hard work and plenty Of it was the order Of
the day, varied, indeed, hy an occasional bear
hunt, not unfrcquent deer chase, Or other
wild sport. Of course when young Lincoln
eame Of uee he was not q scholar He could
read and write, and had some knowled. Z Of
arithmetic. hut that was about all and ns yet,
he had but little ambition 10 know mere Of what
wss to he found III books. His att~i mants
otherwise were not to be despised. lie had
grown tn he six feet four inches iu stature. was
active and athletic, could WELD The axe, direct
the p1ow. or use the rife. as well the best Of
ntt rompeeFs, auu WHY tui'I up ~ III tae nts
terics Of prairie fa1 ming, aud fully Injured 10
hardship and toll. Since lie arrived at aee lie
has not been to school. Whatever his acquire
ments are, they hare been picked up frDul lime
to time as opportunity occurred, or Us the pres
sure Of SONS e1igency demanded.
At twentv-one be removed to Illinois md
passed tue first yeag in Macon county, in active
labor on farm. Then be rot 10 New sa'em,
at that time in Sangamou, now in 3lenard
county, where be remained about 8 year Is a
sort Of clerk in store. Then came the Black
Hawk war. Accompany Of volunteers WAS raised
in New Ss'em and the surrounding country,
and young Lincoln was elected capt.in-a sue
pleasure than my he has since <njoyed. lie
served with credit during the campaign, and
hecame popular. On his return III the tall Of
1852, BE- wits candidate 1nr the Legislature,
aud ran, but was beaten. This is the only time
tAst be has ever failed Of an election bJ the
people when he has sough: = cir suffragea. The
ntxt and three succeeding benEial elections he
xas elected TO the legi: lature, md strsed with
distinguished reputation in that body. While =
member of the Legislature he first garc iudica
| tions OF bis superior powers US debaier, and
he increased, By frequent practice. bis natural
faculty for public speaking His latent ambi
tion was excited by success, heimpsored indus.
t-ious!y tue opportunities that offered Of self
cultivation. From the position of subaltern
in the ranks of tue Wing party, position
which was appropriately ass'gaed him By bis
unaffected nsodesty mud humble prctensions, he
soon became recognized and nckno ow'edged as a
| champcn ind leader, aud his unvarying
united with certain lofty disinterestedness,
| and general ahnegation Of self, made Him
! universal favoritc.
During his legislative period he studied law,
| and removing to Springfield, he opened IN
office and engaged actively in practice. Busi-
ness aowed in upon him, and he rose rapidly
| to distinction in his profession. lie displayed
remark able ability advocate in jury trials,
and many Of his law arguments werc master
pieces Of logical reasoning. There was no re-
fined artitic'aliiy in hts forensic etfurta. They
all bore the stamp Of masculine cnmmon seusc ;
| and he had natural, easy mode Of Illustration,
| ti,at mndc tie most abstruss subjects appear
| plain. His SUCCESS at the bar, however, did not
| withdraw his attention from politics. For
| ri1auy years be was the" wheel horse" of the
Wing party in Illinois, md was on the electoral
| ticket III sev1rai Presidential campaigns. At
s.lch times b" caovas<ed the State wi:h Eis usu1l
I vi:or and ability lie was an ardent friend Of
Henry Cay. and exersed b.nself powerfully in
Ills behalf in 1874, travcrsing the entre Stale of
Illinois, and addressing public meetings daily
| until near the close Of the campaign, when
becoming convinced Thai Ills :Abors III that .ieid
would be unaraillng. lie crossed over into In
diam, and ceuti1usd his etlnrts up to the day
OF election. The contest Of that year in Illinois
was mainly on the tariff question. Mr. Lin
coin, on the Wing side. and Jol.u Calhoun, on
the Democratic SIDE. were the heads of the np-
| posing electoral tickets. Calhoun. late of NJ
/ bra>ka, now dead, was then ia the full vixor OF
| his really great powers, and was accounted tie
| ab!est slsba'er O! his party. They s1umped the
! State together, or nearly SO, making speeches
usually tn alternate days at each placc, and
cac!, addressing large audiences At great length,
sometimes four hours together. alE. Lincoln.
in these elaborate speeches, evinced thorough
! mastery Of the principles df political economy
Which underl,e the tariff question. and preseut'
ed arguments in fAvor Of tt1e protective policy
with c power aud dconclusivcncss rarely ctl1aled,
nnd ut tile same lisne III u manner SO lucid and
familiar and so well iMterspcrsed with happy
illustrations aud opposite onecti7tes, US to Sc
cure the delighted attention Of his auditory.
Mr. Lincoln has been a consistent and earnest
tariff man frnm the first hour Of his entering
public llfe lie Is such from principle, aud from
u deeply rooted conviction OF the wisdom Of q
protective policy; a:d whatever influence lie
may hereafter exert upon tue government will
be in favor OF that pol ".
In 1ssG he WIS elected TO Congress, md served
out Lis term, and would hare been reelected
ilad he not declined to be candidate As to
the character Of his services in that body, my
Information does not enable mic to speak rar.ic
ular1y. In the National Convention Of 1s4S, Of
which he WAS i member he advocated the
nomination ct General Taylor, and sustained
the nomination By an Gctve canvass Of his own
Stale. In 1859 he was equally efficient in his
efforts fer General Scott, aud was considered BY
thr Wings Of Illinois and Of the Northwest Us
one of their ablest aud wstst lenders.
From 1919 % 1854, Mr.. Lincoln was engaged
assi9uously in the practice Of hi4 profession,
aud being deeply immersed in bu.iness, was be
ginning ~ loose his interest in politics When
! the schen'ng ambition and Sroye;in5 stlCh NJ IS
Of an unScrurulous aspraut to the Presidency
brought about the repeal Of the Missouri Com-
prnInise. That act Of baseness and perfidy
arous the sleepia. lion, and he prepared for new
ei]orts He threw iimsrf IT once into the con.
test that followed, and fought the bsttIe Of free
dom On the ground Of his 10. lncr conflicts i'll H.
liunis with more ihnn his accustomed energy
and zca1. He fully appreciated the importance
Of t1s slavery issue. Anl felt the fore. of the
In: al causes that must iaauencc the question.
anu he never failed to appeal to the mural sen.
t''ucnr Of the people III MD Of the argument
drawn from political tsou' ces, and 10 illuminate
9ueoce, pt.aaing for the rights Of humanity, 4
rev. luton swept the State. For the Grst time
mi nifty OF the Lesislaturc of l}ltncis a. on
puse. tn the Democratic administration Of the
Federal Government. A United States Senator
was 10 be elected iu place Of General Shields,
who hatl yielded to tic neu, nee Of his less
scEnpulous colleague, and, against his own bet.
ter Judgment. lad vocd for the Kansas Ne.
bra$ka act The election came On, and num-
her Of ballots were taken, the almost united on
position yosiug steadily for Lincoln, but the
anti Nebraska democrats for Truu,bul. Mr,
Lincoln became apprehensive that those men
would vote tar and elect Mat.esnu; 10 p.event
such consumnataou, he wcnt personally to bis