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Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Lincoln After Losing 1858 Senate Race

November 19, 1858: Letter to Henry Asbury

The fight must go on. The cause of civil liberty must not be surrendered at the end of one or even, one hundred defeats. Douglas had the ingenuity to be supported in the late contest both as the best means to break down, and to uphold the Slave interest. No ingenuity can keep those antagonistic elements in harmony long. Another explosion will soon come.

I am glad I made the late race. It gave me a hearing on the great and durable questions of the age, which I could have had in no other way; and though I now sink out of view, and shall be forgotten, I believe I have made some marks which will tell for the cause of civil liberty long after I am gone.

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Photo of Robert Lincoln

Did You Know?
Robert Lincoln was the only son of Abraham and Mary Lincoln to have children and grandchildren. He had two daughters and one son. The son died as a teenager. The great-grandchildren of Abraham Lincoln lived full lives, but had no descendants. Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Illinois
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Last Updated: September 18, 2007 at 17:19 MST