The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-09
LINCOLN AS POLITICIAN
QUEER LETTERS AND CURIOUS STO-
RIES OF OUR WAR PRESIDENT,
Covering His V~ariegated Career from
1854 Up to and Including the Clos
ing Years of the War.
copyrighted, 1897. by Frank G.. carpenter)

ing ears Oh the ar.
copyrighted. 1897. by Frank G.. Carpenter.)
WASHINGTON, May ii have before ne
two autograph letters of Abraham Lincoln
which have never been published. They
were written six years before he was elect
ed President of the United States, just after
his first great campaign with Stephen A.
Douglas, during which he made a ma
tional reputation as an anti-slavery leader.
At this time Lincoln's great ambition was
to be the next United States senator from
Illinois. He had the right to think that he
would be chosen, for it was through his
speeches that an anti-slavery Legislature
had been elected. The campaign had been
made up of debates between Lincoln and
Douglas, and Lincoln had routed Douglas
at every point. In his joint debate at Chi
cagO Lincoln made one of his great speech
es. Douglas replied and said he would con-
clude his address in the evening. When
evening came he failed to appear. The next
debate was at Peoria, where Lincoln made
the speech which he refers to in one of
the letters which I quote below. This speech
showed Douglas that he could not compete
with Lincoln. After the meeting was over
he came to him and asked him to give up
the joint debates and proposed that neither
he nor Lincoln should speak more during
the campaign. This Lincoln agreed to,
and both retired from the stump. The result
of Lincoln's speeches, however, was such,
and the feeling against the Nebraska bill
for the admitting Of slavery into the Ter
ritOries was such, that an anti-slavery
Legislature was elected. OF the majority,
however, five were Democrats and the re-
mainder Wings. The pro-slavery Democrats
were scheming to see if they could not tie
the vote or in some way complicate mat
tiers so as to re-elect General Shields, the
Democratic senator, whose term had just
ended and who was a candidate to succeed
himself. 1t was in regard to this election
that the following letters were written.
They were addressed to General Henderson.
who has for years been one of the leading
members of Congress from Illinois and who
forty years ago was a member OF the ILL
nois Legislature. The first letter reads:
Springfield, Nov. 81, 1854.
ST. J. Henderson,, Esq:
My Dear Sir-It has come round that
a Whig may, by possibility, be elected
want the chance of being the man
You are a member of the Legislature.
and have a vote to give-Think it over, and
sec WHSth0l SOu Gan w DClCcI Ina " ~
Write me, at all event; end let this be
confidential
Yours truly,
"A LINCOLN"
TO this letter Mr.. Henderson replied thai
he would like to vote for Lincoln, but that
he was in doubt whether he ought to throw
his strength to him or to another candi-
date, named Williams, both Lincoln and
Williams being friends of his father and
himself.
In reply Mr.. Lincoln wrote the letter
which here give. The ink with which it
was penned is almost as black to-day as
when Lincoln wrote it:
springfield. Dec. 10, 1854.
Hon. T. j. Henderson:
Dear Sir Yours of the 18th was re-
ceived last night and for which l thank
you-Of cours / prefer myself to all others;
yet it is neither in my heart nor my con-
Mr.. Williams-We shall have a terrible
struggle with our adversartes-They are
desperate and bent on desperate deeds-I
accidentally learned of one of the leaders
here writing to a member south of here in
about the following language:
I'VE are beaten-They have a clear ma
jority of at least nine on joint ballot-they
outnumber us-but we must outmanage
them-Douglas must be sustained-We must
elect the speaker; and we must elecL a
Similar letters no doubt are written to
every Nebraska member-Be considering
how we can best meet and fool and beat
them-1 send you by this man d copy OF
my Peoria s~peech-You may nave seen II
before; or you may not think it worth see
i DC not speak of the Nebraska letter
mentioned above. / do not wish it to be-
come public that 1 have received such IN
"A. LINCOLN"
It was nearly three months after the last
letter that the election occurred. Hender-
son gave his vote for Lincoln, and on the
first ballot Lincoln had a plurality, haV-
ing forty-fve votes. General Shields the
Democratic candidate, had forty-one votes,
and the five anti-slavery Democrats voted
for Lyman TrumbulI. These five stuck to
Trumbull for seven ballots, and then LIN
coin. seeing that there was danger mat
they might go to Shields, advised his TRENDS
to vote for Trumbull, and so Lyman Trum-
bull was elected. Upon going to the Senate
Trumbul opposed Douglas and the DEM
ocrats on the slavery question, and IN
1861 was reelected to the Senate as a.
Republican. He was one of the first mem
bers of the Senate to propose the amend
ment to the Constitution for the abolition
of slavery, and he aided Lincoln materially
during his administration as President.
Lincoln, | am tOld, was mucl disappointed
in not getting to the Senate. His fight,
however, brought him to the front as an
anti-sIavery leader, and it may be called
the beginning of the wave which rolled him
into the presidential chair.
LINCOLN'S LETTERS.
If all of Lincoln's letters could be got
together they would make a most interest
ing collection. He was an excellent writer,
ard the late w. d. Kelley, of Pennsylvania,
who was known as "Pig-iron Kelley used
to tell me that Lincoln compared with
Shakespeare in genius and that he was
great as a writer, a statesman and a SOL
der. Lincoln never wasted words in his
writings. Here is a copy of a series of in
dorsements of his of a man who wanted to
be chaplain in the army. Lincoln was Pres
ident at the time and Stanton secretary of
war. The Endorsements cover the back of
the application and run down below on a
slip of paper which had been pasted there
to receive them. They read as follows:
Dear Stanton-Appoint this man chaplain
liz the army.
(Signcd) a. LINCOLN.
Dear Mr.. Lincoln-He is not a preacher.
(Signed) E. NJ. STANTON.
The following Endorsements are dated a
few months later, but come just below:
Dear Stanton-He is now.
1signed) A. LINCOLN.