Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to Richard S. Thomas, 2 March 18431
Springfield, March 2: 1843–Friend Richard:
I received yours of the 27^th ult– in due course, for which I thank you–2 The fact mentioned by you, that ^an^ impression was being made that I did not wish to be a candidate, was precisely the reason of my writing you before–

The Bill forming the Districts is now a law; and our District is composed of Putnam, Marshall, Woodford, Tazewell, Logan, Mason, Menard, Cass, Scott, Morgan & Sangamon–3

Last night the Whigs of the State, now here, held a meeting and recommended that a convention be held in each District on or before the first Monday of May to nominate candidates for Congress– By this recommendation your county will have two delegates in our convention– Why might you not be one of those Delegates?

You will see the full length proceedings of the meeting in the Journal–4 The meeting was large, and every resolution passed unanamously; and I do hope the principles & recommendations put forth by them may be responded to, with the same unanimity by our friends every where– If they shall be so responded to, we shall yet, and at no very distant day, be masters of the majority in the State–

Write me again, if it is not too troublesome–
Yours as everA. LincolnR. S. Thomas Esq[Esquire]

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SPRINGFIELD Il.[Illinois]
MAR[March] 3R. S. Thomas Esq^r[Esquire]VirginiaCass co.Illinois

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PAID5

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10

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Letter from Lincoln

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March 2, 1843–

1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed the letter. He also authored the address on the back page, which was folded to create an envelope for mailing. A handwritten transcription of the document also exists in the Herndon-Weik Collection at the Library of Congress.

2Richard S. Thomas’s February 27 letter to Lincoln has not been located.

3Following the 1830 census, the Illinois General Assembly established three congressional districts. Sangamon County was in the third district, which was composed roughly of the counties in the northern third of the state. Following the 1840 census, Congress increased Illinois’ number of congressional districts to seven. On March 1, 1843, the General Assembly passed a law creating new districts. The seventh district was composed of Sangamon and ten other west-central Illinois counties.
“An Act to Lay out the State into Districts, for the Purpose of Electing Representatives to the Congress of the United States,” 15 February 1831, Laws of Illinois (1831), 70-71; “An Act for the Apportionment of Representatives among the Several States according to the Sixth Census,” 25 June 1842, Statutes at Large of the United States 5 (1856):491; “An Act to Establish Seven Congressional Districts,” 1 March 1843, Laws of Illinois (1843), 71-72.

4There is only one extant issue of the Sangamo Journal from March 1843, and it (March 30) does not include these proceedings.
Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 30 March 1843.

5This text was stamped by a Post Office employee.