Beschreibung:

LINCOLN, Abraham (1809-1865). President . Autograph letter signed ("A.Lincoln") to William Hanna, Springfield, 15 July 1858. 1 page, 8vo, integral blank, browning, professionally repaired at folds, small portrait of Lincoln attached to blank corner of first page . LINCOLN STRATEGICALLY ATTENDS A SPEECH OF STEPHEN DOUGLAS: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES A highly significant letter in which Lincoln announces to Bloomington lawyer William Hanna that he will attend a speech to be given there by Stephen Douglas on July 16. By the winter of 1857-1858, Lincoln was considering the possibility of challenging prominent Illinois Democrat Douglas for his seat in the United States Senate. His privately expressed interest, having found its way to the ears of prominent Republicans, bore fruit on June 16 when the party's state convention officially endorsed Lincoln as their "first, last, and only choice" to challenge Douglas. The Senator expressed respect for his opponent: "I shall have my hands full. He is...the best stump speaker" (Oates, With Malice Toward None , pp. 153, 158). Douglas began what he knew would be a grueling campaign in Chicago on July 8, where he gave a speech from the balcony of the Tremont House criticizing Lincoln's position on Congressional authority over slavery and the rights of blacks. Lincoln responded in a speech of his own, given from the same balcony on the following day, in which he criticized Douglas and asserted that Americans must "once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal" (Oates, p. 162). The indirect Chicago confrontation paved the way for the historic series of public debates. In the following weeks, at the suggestion of the state Republican Party, Lincoln followed Douglas across Illinois, appearing in the crowd and, at times, speaking. On July 16, Douglas was scheduled to give a speech in Bloomington, Illinois. Here Lincoln replies to Hanna about the occasion: "Reaching home yesterday evening I found your letter of the 13th. No accident preventing, I will be with you Friday afternoon and evening. I do not know that there will be any opening for me, but I shall try to be on the ground to take the chances." Lincoln, as promised, was prominent in the crowd at Douglas's Bloomington speech. After the Senator was finished, the crowd called out for Lincoln. Initially, Lincoln refused, but eventually made his way to the stand and was greeted by three loud cheers that exceeded those given for Douglas. Lincoln told the crowd that he was eager to express his views but would wait for a proper moment as this meeting "was called by the friends of Judge Douglas" (Basler, Collected Works , vol. II, p. 504). Just over a week later, on July 24, Lincoln sent a letter to Douglas requesting occasions where they might address the same crowd. Douglas agreed and the two men arranged specific dates and places for their speeches. The resulting oratorical clashes, known historically as the Lincoln-Douglas debates, provided classic moments in American political history. Lincoln's vigorous presentation of the campaign's issues and his own moral stand on slavery and its expansion earned the Illinois lawyer the political fame that propelled him into the presidency two years later.