Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to Alexander Campbell, 25 June 18581
Springfield, June 25. 1858A. Campbell, Esq[Esquire]My dear Sir
In 1856 you gave me authority to draw on you for any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars– I see clearly that such a privilege would be more available ^now^ than it was that ^then^–2 I am aware that times are tighter now than they were then–3 Please write me at all events;4 and whether you can now do anything or not, I shall continue grateful for the past–
Yours very trulyA Lincoln

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A. Campbell, EsqLa SalleIllinois

1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed this letter, including the address on page two.

2Alexander Campbell had offered Lincoln $500 to defray the expenses he incurred in campaigning for the Republican Party during the election of 1856. During that election campaign Lincoln accepted between $200 and $300 from Campbell. Lincoln had recently been named the Republican Party’s candidate for U.S. Senate at the 1858 Illinois Republican Convention on June 16, 1858, and was anticipating the need for funds to campaign against Stephen A. Douglas. See the 1858 Federal Election.
Harry E. Pratt, The Personal Finances of Abraham Lincoln (Springfield, IL: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1943), 103-4; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 17 June 1858, 2:5-6.

3Lincoln is apparently referencing the lingering financial repercussions of the Panic of 1857.

4Campbell responded to Lincoln in a letter of August 2, 1858.