The Taste is in my mouth a little…
- Abraham Lincoln when asked about running for the Presidency in April 1860
Lincoln was elected to a several terms as a state legislator and served one term in Congress. He argued cases for and against slave holders, and worked as a lawyer for the Illinois Central Railroad. Lincoln supported the Whig party and later the Republican Party, politicking for presidential candidates, senators, and other office seekers before running for the Senate himself in 1854 and 1858. In 1858, he ran against Stephen Douglas, his old friend and a rival for Mary Todd’s affections.
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The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Before the Nomination
The 1860 Campaign
The Election
Although Lincoln lost the campaign, the seven debates they held around the state brought him national attention. In May 1860, at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, he was nominated for President over better known candidates. Lincoln was elected on November 6, 1860. For four long years, Lincoln led the nation through the Civil War, and won a second term. Tragically, he was assassinated on April 14, 1865; six days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered, effectively ending the Civil War.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
In 1858, Abraham Lincoln was nominated by the newly formed Illinois Republican Party to run for the U.S. Senate against Stephen A. Douglas. Douglas was a well-known national politician who attracted attention everywhere. Lincoln hoped to use some of that fame for himself so he challenged Douglas to a series of debates around the state. Douglas agreed to seven debates starting in Ottawa in August. Throughout September and October, they met in Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy and Alton. Huge crowds attended the debates, standing for up to three hours to listen attentively and cheer on their favorite. The race captured the country’s attention and catapulted Lincoln to national prominence. However, he did not win the Senate seat.
Before the Nomination
In February 1860, Abraham Lincoln traveled to the Northeastern United States, giving lectures supporting the Republican Party platform. The 1858 debates had given him recognition and some fame. Lincoln’s public speaking skills were well known. However, his plans for running for the Presidency were not. He was not as well known as the front runners, including William H. Seward, Edward Bates, and Salmon P. Chase. Lincoln had not decided to run yet, but he hinted at his interest in a letter to U.S. Senator Lyman Trumball in April 1860 when he said, “The taste is in my mouth a little; and this, no doubt, disqualifies me, to some extent, to form correct opinions….Now, as to my opinions about the chances of others in Illinois. I think neither Seward nor Bates can carry Illinois if Douglas shall be on the track.”
When the Republicans held their convention in Chicago in May 1860, Lincoln did not attend, nor did the other frontrunners. Lincoln asked his supporters to try to make him everyone’s second choice. When the ballots were cast without a majority, he hoped people would switch to their second choice to ensure a candidate most of the party supported. His gamble worked and he received the nomination.
The 1860 Campaign
After the Convention, a group of Republican Party delegates visited Springfield on the afternoon of May 19, 1860. Lincoln met them at his home and invited them into the formal parlors. When offered the nomination, he asked to have a few days to think about it, and formally accepted four days later. By then, Springfield was in a frenzy of campaigning. Artists, photographers, and reporters visited by the score to try to get to know more about him and provide readers with images of Lincoln’s world. Their images and reports were distributed around the country. Biographies and short autobiographies were published. By this time, 3 other candidates were also running for office. The Democratic Party was split with along geographic lines with a northern nominee—Stephen Douglas—and southern nominee—John Breckinridge. A fourth candidate, John Bell, ran on the Constitutional Union ticket. With this split, Lincoln’s victory was virtually assured.
All through that long hot summer, Lincoln remained mostly in Springfield, developing his plans should he win. Rallies were held, campaign medals and banners were created and distributed, and Lincoln posed for artists. The casting made of his face and hands for a bust by Leonard Volk (the hands were probably cast in the dining room of the Lincoln Home) are some of the most reproduced items of his campaign. Lincoln corresponded with some of his associates from his one term in the House of Representatives in 1847-49, including Alexander Stephens, who later became Vice President of the Confederate States. He hired two secretaries, John G. Nicolay and John Hay, to help answer the letters and telegrams that covered his small desk, finally conceding that he needed a larger, more public space to meet with the public. He then moved into the Governor’s Reception Room at the State Capitol building.
The Election
On Election Day, November 6, 1860, Lincoln cast his vote at the Court House; worked in his office at the State House; dined at home; waited for results at the telegraph office; and heard of the election results that declared him the winner at Watson’s Confectionery Store downtown. He ran home saying, “Mary, Mary, We’re elected!!!” Shortly thereafter, preparations began to move the Lincoln family to Washington. But in the South, the states began to talk of secession. Before Lincoln was even inaugurated on March 4, 1861, seven states had seceded. Civil war began and lasted for four years, ending only days before an assassin’s bullet tragically ended Lincoln’s life. Lincoln served just over a month of his second term.