Abraham Lincoln to Henry C. Whitney, 9 July 18561
Springfield, July 9. 1856Dear Whitney:I now expect to go to Chicago on the 15th; and I probably shall remain there, and thereabouts, for about two weeks–2
It turned me blind when I first heard Swett was beaten, and Lovejoy nominated; but after much anxious
reflection, I really believe it is best to let it stand–3 This, of course, I wish to be confidential–
Lamon did get your Deeds– I went with him to the office, got them, and put them in his
hand myself–4
Yours very trulyA. Lincoln–<Page 2>
2Lincoln left for Chicago on July 15, “to attend to a little business in court.” He did not stay long, however, traveling elsewhere to make speeches. By July 17,
he was in Dixon, Illinois, speaking to Republicans. He returned home on July 26.
Abraham Lincoln to James W. Grimes; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 15 July 1856, http://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1856-07-15; 17 July 1856, http://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1856-07-17; 26 July 1856, http://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1856-07-26.
3Owen Lovejoy defeated Leonard Swett for the Republican nomination for U.S. representative
in Illinois’ Third Congressional District. In November 1856, Lovejoy won the general election, defeating Uri Osgood, the Democratic Party candidate, by over 6,000 votes to become a part of the Thirty-Fifth Congress.
Lincoln wrote a similar letter on July 7, 1856 to David Davis.
Mitchell Snay, “Abraham Lincoln, Owen Lovejoy, and the Emergence of the Republican
Party in Illinois,” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association 22 (Winter 2001), 82-99; Howard W. Allen and Vincent A. Lacey, eds., Illinois Elections, 1818-1990 (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992), 10.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Lincoln Manuscripts, Indiana University (Bloomington, IN).