Preparing for War

I. Question of Secession

A. History of Secession


1. Hartford Convention--opposition to the War of 1812 in New England reached such a stage that representatives of the New England states met in Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss seceding from the Union. The opposition this meeting provoked in the rest of the country, and the vilification that rained down upon the participants helped to bury the rotting corpse of the Federalist Party.

2. Nullification Crisis--secession next moved south, where the leading politicians of the state--including the sitting vice-president, John C. Calhoun, argued that states held the right to ignore, or "nullify," those federal laws the found reprehensible--in this case, a "Tariff of Abominations" on imported goods, as well as upon exported raw cotton, which the South Carolinians blamed for falling cotton prices. The crisis passed after President Andrew Jackson threatened to send federal troops to quell the crisis, round up the leaders of the movement, and hang the leaders from "the tallest tree in South Carolina."

3. 1850 Crisis--South Carolina again threatened secession over the question of admitting California to the union as a free state.

B. "We, the People ..."--the Constitution changed the relationship of the states to the Federal government in fundamental ways.


1. Articles of Confederation--This document had ensured the supremacy of the states over the central government.

a. Preamble--"To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting.

Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia."

b. Article II--"Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled."

c. Article III--"The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever."


2. United States Constitution--The constitution was intended to give more power to this new federal government, which would have supremacy over the various states in the areas enumerated within the document.

a. Preamble--"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

b. This emphasis upon the powers of the government being derived from the consent of the people that it represented, rather than the states, was the most fundamental difference between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution--a difference that was recognized and fiercely debated among the founders. It has been largely recognized that the Constitution granted far more power to the federal government, and made the federal government supreme over the state governments. But this document also took away the right any single state might have to leave the union, because the states did not grant the power to the federal government--the people of the United States did.

C. The Right of Revolution--whether one agrees with Thomas Jefferson's statement that "every generation needs its own revolution" or not, Americans in the past have recognized that one is permitted to attempt a revolution. Lincoln argued, however, that the right of revolution was not a political right, but a moral right; that is, one needed a moral justification to engage in revolution, not just a political justification for it.

II. Preparation for War

A. War? or Rebellion?--Lincoln and other prominent Republicans insisted that this dispute was not a war, but a rebellion of individuals that ordinary judicial proceedings were unable to control.


1. Acts of War--despite this legal hair-splitting, many of those engaged in this early skirmishing recognized that they were engaged in a war, even if they chose not to call the conflict by that name--including Lincoln. This is why early on Lincoln ordered the Union navy to blockade southern ports, which is only legal as an act of war

2. Call for 90-Day Volunteers--although Lincoln expected a long, drawn-out conflict, he was legally prohibited from asking the states for the use of their militias for longer than 30 days from the beginning of a session of Congress. On the advice of Gen. Winfield Scott, Lincoln only asked the states for 75,000 volunteers. This was not because Lincoln believed Union forces were superior to their southern counterparts, but because he felt, upon the advice of Gen. Scott again, that this was the maximum number of troops that could effectively be used at this early stage. The manpower of the US Army at the beginning of the conflict was just over 16,000 men--with about 1500 of them being officers. Fully 25 percent of the officer corps resigned their commands to volunteer with the state militias in the South.


B. Washington, D.C. Under Siege--when Virginia seceded in the aftermath of Fort Sumter, the capitol was threatened with an active enemy on one side, and the potential enemy Maryland on the other (one of the reasons it was so important to keep Maryland within the Union.



1.Secessionist Sentiment in Maryland--was fairly widespread. Secessionist irregulars (or "guerrilla" fighters) blew up bridges and rail lines, and there were regular secessionist riots in Baltimore. Both the mayor of Baltimore and the governor of Maryland prevailed upon Lincoln to stop moving troops through Baltimore to defend Washington, DC because rioters considered such an act a provocation.

C. Gearing up for battle

1. Rallying 'round the Flag--at the beginning of most wars, getting the general population to support the war is not difficult--witness our own recent experiences in these matters attest to that fact.

2. Filling the officer void--to replenish the officer corps, and to shore up support for the war effort, Lincoln rewarded those men who were politically connected, or who could curry favor with a variety of ethnic groups. Some of the officers proved to be disasters militarily, but they were need to ensure continued support for the war effort in the North.

3. Calling Congress into Special Session--in order to procure funds to pay for putting down this "rebellion," and to get authorization for the actions already taken, Lincoln called Congress into special session beginning July 4, 1861.


D. First Manassas/Bull Run--35,000 Union troops, under the command of Gen. Irvin McDowell, marched out of Washington on July 16, 1861, to attack Confederate forces under the command of Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard at the rail crossroad of Manassas. Both armies were filled with "green" inexperienced troops, sure of victory because they had no idea of what really lay in store. The Union troops, in fact, were accompanied by picnickers and other civilian observers. When the battle became fully engaged, both sides acquitted themselves bravely, in not always gracefully; the tide of the battle turned when Beauregard was reinforced with 20,000 troops under the command of Gen. Thomas Jackson, forcing the Union troops to retreat toward Washington. This retreat created a great deal of panic among the civilian spectators, who turned and fled--and were joined in this panic by some Union soldiers. Most made an orderly retreat, and moved into the fortifications that surrounded and defended the capitol--except for the thousands, Union and Confederate, who died on the battlefield.

Inauguration and the Secession Crisis

I. Presidential authority

President-elect Lincoln--until Lincoln was sworn into office, he had no legal authority to take any action to prevent or react against what was then occurring in the country.

1. Power vacuum--the five months between the time of the election and the time that Lincoln took office

2. Sidestepping responsibility--by avoiding making any statements with reference to policies of the lame duck Buchanan administration carried out (or not), Lincoln was also sidestepping any responsibilities for these policies

B.President Buchanan

1. Has gone down in history as one of the most spectacularly inept Presidents in history.

2. Blamed Republican Party--and their "extremism" for the predicament the country was in, and was unlikely to consult with Lincoln over the course of action to take, even if Lincoln had expressed the willingness to do so.

3. Legality of secession--while Buchanan insisted--as did Lincoln--that states did not have the right to leave the Union without the consent of all of the other states, he also held that the President lacked the authority to prevent their leaving and their seizure of federal property--like military forts and customs houses.

C. Coercion of the States--Southern secessionists insisted that any move on the part of the federal government to take back--or even to resist the attempt to seize--federal government property would indict the government on a charge of coercion.

1. "States rights"--secessionists insisted--as their apologists do to this day--that the war was fought not over whether slavery would continue to expand or not, but over whether a state's right to set its own laws or the federal government's right to decide the issue would be supreme.

2. Secessionist pre-condition--to remain in the Union, however, secessionists insisted that the Federal government coerce the northern states to rescind the personal freedom laws they had passed to contravene the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.

II. The Inauguration Trip

Farewell to Springfield

1. Seeing office seekers--besides attempting to fill his cabinet positions,Lincoln spent much of his time in Springfield after the election seeing hundreds of people who descended upon the town seeking government jobs--something he could not escape even in Washington, D.C.


2. Farewell address--Lincoln initially wanted to avoid giving a farewell address, but the crush of people in the town who came to the railroad station to see him off compelled him to speak. He gave one of his few effective extemporaneous speeches (most were long thought out, and extensively reivised), which he then extensively revised for publication.

B. Journey to D.C.--the trip to Washington, D.C. took several weeks to complete as it meandered across the midwest and into the east. In part this was because there was no direct link from points west to the east; railroads instead moved from city to city, and passengers had to change trains at frequent intervals. But the purpose of the trip was also to foster an allegiance to both Lincolnc and the Union cause

C. Death threats--were made against Lincoln, and taken seriously enough thatguards were posted at half-mile intervals along the entire 1,000+ miles of the trip--although Lincoln himself had to rely upon a recruited body of friends to ensure his personal safety.

1. Philadelphia to D.C.--the final leg of the journey required the Lincoln party to pass through and change trains in Baltimore, a hotbed of secessionist sentiment in Maryland. Allan Pinkerton had gathered intelligence that an assassination attempt would be made against Lincoln there. Lincoln was disguised, and then secreted away on a separate train--for which he was belittled, and came quickly to regret agreeing to.

III. And Finally the War Came

A. First Inaugural Address--Lincoln's own inclination was to be much more blunt in regard to his intention to defend the union over secession, but he was prevailed upon by others to scale back his rhetoric--particularly his Secretary of State designate, William Seward

1. Seward's First Threat to Resign--after finding out that Lincoln planned to nominate Chase, Seward submitted his resignation in the expectation that Lincoln would rescind that nomination; instead, Lincoln demonstrated that he was willing to get along without Seward, and Seward was forced to instead rescind his resignation.

2. The Address--while maintaining his determination to uphold the Constitution, as his duties and oath of office, and placing the onus for starting the hostilities on the secessionists--Lincoln appealed to "the better angels of our nature" to work to prevent war from breaking out.

B. Fort Sumter--when Lincoln went to the White House after his inauguration, the first thing on his desk was a report from Maj. Robert Anderson stating that his garrison could only hold out another 6 weeks without being resupplied and/or reinforced.

1. New from Sumter--arrived before the Cabinet was in place--even before Lincoln's personal secretary was approved by the Senate.

2. Lincoln saw withdrawing troops from Sumter as politically ruinous, but at the same time was loath to precipitate war over the issue.

3. Gustavas Vasa Fox plan--to resupply Sumter was undermined (and ultimately sabotaged) by Seward, who promoted a rival plan to resupply Fort Pickens, which he though would be less provoking toward the secessionists. Seward's plan failed, but he still prevailed upon Lincoln to warn the governor of South Carolina that an attempt was being made to resupply Fort Sumter. To prevent the fort from being resupplied, that bombardment of Fort Sumter was begun at 2:00am on April 12, 1861. And so the war began.

Writing Assignments 3 and 4

Paper Assignment #3

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates are today considered a seminal political event in American History. For this assignment, please chose one of the seven debates, and read the transcript. After completing that task, answer the following questions in a 4-5 page paper: What is the major point or points of contention between the two men at this particular debate? Which man had the more effective argument at this debate—and why is his argument more persuasive. Lastly, who “won” the debate that you chose? How can you tell?


Paper Assignment #4

Lincoln’s speech at the Cooper Union in New York City helped make him a viable presidential candidate in the eyes of many easterners. It is another instance of Lincoln using history to justify his core moral and political beliefs, as well. Using the transcript of the speech, and/or listening to a dramatic reading, answer the following questions: How does Lincoln use history in the instance to bolster his argument? Is this use similar to his use of history in his Peoria speech, or different. Explain those similarities and differences. Is his Cooper Union speech more or less persuasive than his Peoria speech? Why?

These assignment may be handed in together, or at two week intervals. You may choose to complete only one of the assignments, since there will be two more such assignments handed out before the end of the semester. The due dates are November 4 and November 18

Team of Rivals

The most prominent members of Lincoln's cabinet thought themselves better suited to the job than the man who was elected. Lincoln brought them into his cabinet largely based on the old saying that it was better to have enemies inside one's tent pissing out, than outside pissing in. The Republican Party, because it was so new in 1860 (it had, afterall, only been formed in 1854, and this was the very first national election that the party had ever won), that Lincoln felt that he had to bring his erstwhile rivals into the fold, rather than undermining his administration from the outside.

I. The 1860 Presidential Election

A. The 1860 Democratic Conventions


1. Democratic National Convention (Charleston, South Carolina)--convened on April 23, 1860. Stephen A. Douglas was the leading candidate, but the so-called "fire-eaters" were vehement in their opposition, insisting that the Democratic Party platform include various pro-slavery elements including the expansion of slavery into the territories and statement pledging support for the Dred Scott decision. Douglas, knowing these elements would kill his chances of victory by killing his vote-getting ability in the North, manuevered the platform committee to adopt those planks that aligned more closely with his own position. In response to this rebuff, the southern delegates walked out of the convention. The Democrats that remained went ahead with the nomination process, but Douglas could never get the two-thirds majority of all delegate votes (including in that number those who had walked out of the convention), and was denied the nomination at this convention. The convention then voted to reconvene in Baltimore in June.


2. Democratic National Convention (Baltimore, Maryland)--convened June 18 to attempt the nomination process once again. A vote was taken on whether to seat the original delegates who had walked out in Charleston, or to seat new appointees, more sympathetic to Douglas. Although the Douglas forces largely prevailed (although a few of the delegates who had walked out in Charleston were seated), most delegates from the South again walked out in an attempt to deny Douglas the nomination. The delegates vote to override the previous rules, however, and declare Douglas the nominee. In the hope of retaining some hold in the South, Benjamin Fitzgerald of Alabama was nominated as vice-president; after he turned down the nomination, Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia was nominate in his stead.

3. The Breckinridge Democratic Convention (Baltimore, Maryland)--met immediately afterward, and nominated John Breckinridge of Kentucky and to run for president, and Joseph Lane of Oregon as vice president. There is much speculation that the southern "fire-eaters" planned to throw the election to the Republican Party, and therefore precipitate the secession crisis; there is no "smoking gun" to prove this, but talk around the convention hinted at such a plot.

B. The Constitutional Union Party--ran former Whig John Bell for president; he won his home state of Tennessee and the border states of Kentucky and Maryland.

II. Assembling the Team of Rivals--the newness of the Republican Party, having to bring together disparate members with a variety of viewpoints on issues, and having to placate Republican Party members throughout the North with these appointments, Lincoln largely rewarded his enemies and cheated his friends.


A. William Henry Seward--the most prominent Republican nationally; his long political career and his association with the premier political operator, Thurlow Weed, damaged his reputation somewhat in the eyes of many party members. Like many politicians, Seward was a man of tremendous ambition and ego, and Lincoln's offer of the top post in his cabinet--Secretary of State--was just the thing to soothe that ego. Seward saw that position as offering him something of a co-presidency, because (he thought) he would have sole charge over foreign affairs, he had many contacts with leading politicians in the South--and he believed Lincoln was not intelligent enough to run the country by himself, and needed Seward to lean on in the troubled times ahead.


B. Salmon P. Chase--like Seward, Chase believed himself immensely more qualified to be President than was Lincoln, and was prevailed upon to take the second most powerful cabinet job--Secretary of the Treasury. Chase helped finance the early years of the war, but his rivalry with Seward, and the strain of finding ways to finance the war, led him to continually submit his resignation from his office--a resignation that Lincoln finally accepted, after he had secured his second nomination--only to nominate Chase as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.


C. Simon Cameron--nominated as the Secretary of War. Cameron's checkered past engendered a great deal of opposition (rivals called him "Chief of the Winnegabos" because he supposedly defrauded the tribe of upwards of $60,000). Cameron proved an inept and corrupt administrator, and a scandal in the War Department forced his resignation in late 1862; afterwards, he was reprimanded by House of Representatives.


D. Edward Bates--nominated as Attorney General. Bates was the eldest on this team of rivals, and became the most disillusioned by the political machinations of his rivals in the Lincoln cabinet--including the president himself. Bates was something of an outsider in the cabinet because of this attitude, and was the earliest member of the cabinet to leave of his own accord.


E. Montgomery Blair--from a powerful and prominent family of former Democrats, Blair was appointed Postmaster General, which was probably the most patronage-rich position in the cabinet, so it makes up for its lack of glamor in other ways. When Lincoln finally accepted Chase's resignation, to quiet Radical Republicans Lincoln also asked for the resignation of Blair, who was the most conservative member of the cabinet.


F. Edwin Stanton--replaced Cameron as Secretary of War, and proved brilliant in the post. Stanton was another Ohioan, first met Lincoln was the latter was pulled into the McCormick Reaper case that eventually was tried in Cincinnati. Stanton thought Lincoln an uneducated rube, and ignored him during the case; Lincoln chose to remain in Cincinnati for the trial, and was impressed with Stanton's performance during the trial. When Lincoln was elected, Stanton was a lawyer in Washington, and had plenty of disparaging things to say about Lincoln. Despite this, Lincoln turned to Stanton to replace Cameron with the War Department in disarray; Stanton proved an outstanding administrator, and eventually became a close friend of Lincoln.

Laying the Groundwork and the 1860 Campaign

Lincoln often seemed ambivalent about running for president, and even told friends he thought he was more suited to be a US Senator. While he voiced his concerns over his qualifications to be president--concerns that many others shared, no doubt--at the same time he took resolute steps to keep his name in contention for the Republican Party nomination.

I. 1859-1860

A. The Debate Aftermath--the Lincoln-Douglas debates were closely followed in Illinois, of course, but the debates were news across the country, as well, because this unknown prairie politician ran such a competitive race against the leading Democratic Party contender for the presidency in 1860.

1. Publishing the Debates--Lincoln collected the transcripts of the debates--as reported in the Chicago Press and Tribune for himself, and in the Chicago Times for Douglas--in order to publish them in a book. The book was published just before the start of the Republican National Convention in May 1860.

2. Lincoln the Speech Maker--despite protests to friends that he was going to take some time off politics "to fill the coffers," as one of Lincoln's more recent successors put it, by devoting more time to his law practice, Lincoln spent much of his time in 1859 giving political speeches around the country. During this time, Lincoln was able to refine his attack on Douglas' idea of popular sovereignty.


B. The Cooper Union Address--given in New York City in February 1860.

1. Invitation to speak--Lincoln was invited initially to speak at the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, home to one of the most famous religious ministers in the country at the time, Henry Ward Beecher. Sponsorship of the event quickly shifted to the Young Men's Central Republican Union, led by youngsters like 65 year old William Cullen Bryant and 49 year old Horace Greeley.

2. Lincoln the Rube--Despite spending about $100 (about $2300 in today's money) on a new suit, his clothing still appeared ill-fitting, and he moved awkwardly on the stage; in the eyes of his sophisticated audience, he had every appearance of a western rube.

3. The Speech--despite his appearance, and Lincoln's high-pitched, nasally voice, when the words started tumbling out of this mouth, it became apparent that Lincoln was sophisticated thinker.

a. Lincoln was not informed of the change in venue until his arrival in New York, and had to spend some of his time revising his speech for a more general audience, rather than the religious one he initially expected to address.

b. Lincoln unleashed his most devastating critique of Douglas'"popular sovereignty" proposal, demonstrating that, in fact, a majority of the Founding Fathers had agreed on limiting the growth of slavery--and that the anti-slavery Republican Party was therefore more closely aligned with the conservative spirit of the Constitution than was the pro-slavery Democratic Party.

c. John Brown--While Lincoln condemned the actions of Brown and his cohorts at Harper's Ferry, he empathized with Brown's hatred of slavery. Lincoln also pointed out that a Congressional investigation, led by southern Congressmen, failed to turn up any evidence linking Brown with northern Republicans.

d. Southern secession threats--Lincoln compared Southern threats to secede to a highwayman holding a gun to one's head, threatening to shoot, and then claiming you wold be the murderer.

e. Lincoln charted a middle ground for the Republican party, tacking neither to the pro-slavery side nor to the abolitionist side.

4. The Aftermath of the Cooper Union Address--catapulted Lincoln into contention for the Republican Party nomination.

II. The 1860 Election

A. The Republican Candidates


1. William Henry Seward--member of the US Senate, former governor of New York. Reliably anti-slavery, and a former Whig. Seen at the time as farther left of Lincoln on the slavery question, largely as a result of his statement that slavery was subject to a "higher law" then the US judiciary, and the slavery would be the cause of an "irrepressible conflict"between the North and South. Seward was believed to be the candidate most likely to benefit from a split in the Democratic Party. Seward's greatest liability was his hostility to nativism, which alienated the sizable Know-Nothing wing of the party, and his belief in free trade, which made him unpopular in Pennsylvania, with its developing steel industry.

2. Salmon P. Chase--member of the US House of Representatives, and former governor of the state of Ohio. Chase was the most stridently anti-slavery of the leading candidates, but lacked the political adroitness and personal magnetism of either Seward or Lincoln.

3. Simon Cameron--favorite son candidate of Pennsylvania, because of this stand on the tariff issue. Largely unknown outside of Pennsylvania, and those who did know him suspected him of malfeasance, and therefore did not trust him.

4. Edward Bates--conservative, free-soil Whig backed by Horace Greeley and his New York Tribune; Bates alienated the foreign (German) element within the party, who threatened to bolt if he was nominated.


5. Benjamin Wade--more of a minor candidate, but important because he prevented Chase from being a favorite son candidate in Ohio; Lincoln's status as a favorite son candidate helped him secure the nomination.

6. John C. Fremont, William L. Dayton, and Cassius M. Clay

7. Abraham Lincoln--less well-known than the other candidates, Lincoln spent much of the early part of 1860 maneuvering behind the scenes, making broader connections around the country, working his way into becoming the first second choice among the candidates.

B. Gaining the Republican Nomination

1. The Illinois Republican State Convention--met in Decatur. Lincoln's friends--whose sole bond was their devotion to Lincoln, because they often despised each other, were able to pass a resolution declaring Lincoln their candidate of choice, and pledging all delegates to vote for him


2. Norman B. Judd--had helped to defeat Lincoln's bid for the US Senate in 1854, but remained on good terms with Lincoln. Judd was a member of the Republican National Committee, and nominated the city of Chicago as the site for the 1860 Republican Convention--and cast the deciding vote on that nomination, as well.


3. Thurlow Weed--the pioneering political operative, who the Lincoln team had to overcome--and were successful in doing so.


4. The Chicago Convention--held in The Wigwam, and enormous temporary structure, Lincoln's team was able to use this site to combat the political skills of Seward/Weed--from special trains to transport large enthusiastic pro-Lincoln supporters into town, to printing duplicate tickets for locals to gain access of the interior of the Wigwam at the expense of the Seward crowd.

5. The First Second Choice--the Lincoln Team proved adept at proving their man as the best second choice among all of the candidates; when it became apparent that many of the minor candidates were not going to win the election, they were willing to throw support to Lincoln's candidacy.


a. As part of the strategy, David Davis decided to withhold some of Lincoln's support, so that during the second balloting, it would look like Lincoln was gaining support. This strategy made Lincoln the winner on the third ballot.

C. Lincoln the Nominee--after the nominating committee traveled to Springfield from Chicago to give Lincoln the new. From that point forward, it was Lincoln's job to utter as little as possible until after the elections was over.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Part 2

I. Publishing History

A. Newspaper Accounts

1. Reporters/stenographers--both the Chicago Press and Tribune (the Republican newspaper) and the Chicago Times (the Democratic newspaper) hired reporters with stenography experience to provide their readers (including other newspapers)to provide readers with a verbatim transcript.

2. Editors--took the reports provided to the newspapers by the reporters, and edited it with an eye toward who the audience of the paper was, and to make the story interesting and readable. This editing was done without consulting with either candidate. The result was an inconsistent distortion of both the speeches by their favored candidate, as well as that of the opponent.

B. Lincoln's Scrapbook--Lincoln quickly grasped the importance of these debates to his political career, and collected newspaper reports and transcripts of the debate in a scrapbook. When a Columbus, Ohio publisher approached him about publishing an account of the debate, Lincoln turned over this scrapbook, along with other material.

1. Lincoln included material from sources that were "friends of the candidates." Lincoln also edited his responses, particularly in regards to material that was excluded from the contemporary newspaper reports, like the recitation of several of his speeches that he read to the crowd.

2. Douglas complained to the publishers that Lincoln relied upon slanted testimony that made Lincoln look good, while portraying Douglas in a less favorable light; historians have largely dismissed this complaint, since Lincoln clipped those articles from stories favorable to each candidate.


C. The Historian's Dilemna--the reports of this seminal event are deeply flawed, how does the historian decide which sources to favor, and which to disregard?

II. The Final Four Debates.

A. Charleston Debate--September 18, 1858

1. Charleston

2. Lincoln's opening remarks

3. Douglas' rejoinder

4. Lincoln's rebuttal

B. Galesburg Debate--October 7, 1858

1. Galesburg

2. Douglas' opening remarks

3. Lincoln's rejoinder

4. Douglas' rebuttal

C. Quincy debate--October 13, 1858

1. Quincy

2. Lincoln's opening remarks

3. Douglas' rejoinder

4. Lincoln's rebuttal

D. Alton debate--October 15, 1858

1. Alton

2. Douglas' opening remarks

3. Lincoln's rejoinder

4. Douglas' rebuttal

E. The Election Results

III. The Importance of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Part 1

I. The U.S. Senate Nomination

A. Electoral process for the Senate before the 17th Amendment

1. Growing disenchantment with Douglas

2. Illinois Republican Convention (1858)

B. The "House Divided" Speech

C. Stalking Douglas



II. The Debates

A. The Format

1. Locations--Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy, and Alton. All locations except Freeport and Jonesboro were located in the central portion of the state.

2. Debate format--alternated opening at each location. Opening statement lasting one half hour, a rejoinder by the opponent lasting 1 1/2 hours, and a rebuttal lasting 1 hour.

B. Ottawa Debate--August 21, 1858

1. Ottawa

2. Douglas opening

3. Lincoln rejoinder

4. Douglas rebuttal

C. Freeport Debate--August 27, 1858

1. Freeport

2. Lincoln opening

3. Douglas rejoinder

4. Lincoln rebuttal

D. Jonesboro Debate--September 15, 1858

1. Jonesboro

2. Douglas opening

3. Lincoln rejoinder

4. Douglas rebuttal

Lincoln's Peoria Speech Assignment

On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech at Peoria, Illinois that has since been recognized by historians and other scholars as signaling his comeback in politics. After reading the speech, answer the following questions in a narrative format in a 3-4 page (1000+ words) page paper:

Why is Lincoln’s speech in Peoria considered important? What is his main argument? What evidence does Lincoln call upon to bolster this argument? Did Lincoln’s audience find this evidence persuasive? Why, or why not? Do you find this argument persuasive? Why, or why not. In answering this final part, carefully consider Lincoln’s use of history, especially in regard to the intentions of the founders; how does Lincoln’s view on the history of slavery in the United States coincide with your own knowledge?

This paper will be due two weeks from today, October 21, 2009, at the beginning of class.

Lincoln Re-enters Politics

I. Growing Sectional Divisions

A. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

1. Popular Sovereignty—Douglas, in order to gain sufficient southern support to build a transcontinental railroad (among other reasons), proposed to leave the determination of slavery to a popular vote in each territory.
2. Ends Compromise of 1850—Douglas fashioned this compromise only 4 years before, and then blew it up with the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
3. Ends Missouri Compromise (1820)—restricted slavery above the line of latitude above 36-30—the southern border of Missouri. Considered “settled law” by many northerners, this raised an alarm that increased sectional tensions once again.
4. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)—this Supreme Decision, handed down just weeks after the inauguration of James Buchanan, called into question whether the federal government had any authority to check the growth of slavery. Although Chief Justice Roger Taney famously famously declared that no black man had any rights that any white man was bound to respect, it was the undermining of the authority of the federal government to restrict slavery that was upsetting to many white northerners.

B. Growing Sectional Animosity—although to this point much of our attention has been focused upon the growing power of a handful of abolitionists to set the terms of the debate, the bellicose determination to retain and expand slavery on the part of southern slaveholders was just as important to fuel the conflict.

1. Slavery and morality—the success of abolitionists in framing this debate in moral terms put slavery apologists on the defensive


2. Defenders of slavery—also attempted to use morality arguments in defending slavery—arguing that slaves were “part of the family” (and some of the literally were, fathered by the white patriarch). Some slavery defenders argued that the system of slave labor compared favorably with the still-emerging labor system in the north known as waged labor—because slave owners were “obligated” to care for young, sick, and elderly slaves, while the northern capitalist felt no such obligations to their workers.


3. Every Means Necessary—Southern slavery apologists—with their northern associates—utilized all means, legal and illegal, to suppress anti-slavery advocacy, from the “gag rule” in Congress in the 1820s and 1830s, to interfering with the US Mail to stop the distribution of abolitionist literature and newspapers—even to the severe caning of Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate by South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks.

II. Anti-Kansas-Nebraska Act Agitation

A. Sundering the Second Party System

1. Wilmot Proviso—division over this piece of legislation was by section (North and South) rather than by Party (Whig and Democratic)

2. Compromise of 1850—impossible to pass as an omnibus bill; Douglas was able to cobble together enough votes to pass the five different parts

3. Kansas-Nebraska Act—after its passage, northern opponents, angered at the underhanded dealing they felt Douglas had engaged in, worked to defeat him. At first, this anger was unfocused, and relatively ineffective


4. Demise of the Whigs—with the Whig Party quickly destroyed by the rising sectional conflict, other parties quickly emerged to take its place—namely, the Free Soil Party and the American Party, better known to us today as the Know-Nothing Party. The Know-Nothings were animated by their hostility to unregulated immigration—a position Lincoln abhorred, while at the same time fearing to anger this faction


B. Lincoln’s Peoria Speech—in Peoria he most famously lays out his argument for extending the rights claimed in the Declaration of Independence to all—black and white. In doing so, Lincoln ventured into relatively unknown territory, because this was an extreme position held be only a few abolitionist—and no politicians of any importance.

1. “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”—Lincoln called for the extension of these rights to all, and that this should provide the basis for ending slavery.

2. Colonization of former slaves—this, in Lincoln’s view in 1954—and for years afterward—was how the objective above would be achieved. Lincoln did not believe that most whites would ever accept blacks as their equals—not politically, and certainly not socially or culturally


C. The Dred Scott Case—Taney, writing the majority decision, undercut nearly 40 years of established law be declaring that the federal government had no authority to limit slavery. It was expected by anti-slavery forces that the Court, in sessions in the near future, would rule that states had no right to limit slavery either—and evidence suggests that that was Taney’s plan, particularly since he became incensed over the reaction to this decision