Abraham Lincoln to Joseph Gillespie, 2 August 18581
Springfield, Aug. 2. 1858Hon. J. GillespieMy dear SirI should be with Judge Douglas at your town on the 6th had he not strongly intimated in his published letter that my presence would be considered
an intrusion–2 I shall soon publish a string of appointments following on his present track, which
will bring me to Edwardsville about the 13th of Sept[September]–3
On Saturday I accidentally heard old A. G. Herndon remark that they had got to their new Buchanan paper here forty subscribers from Montgomery county–4 This last for yourself only–
Yours as everA. Lincoln.2Lincoln and Joseph Gillespie corresponded about the upcoming state elections in Illinois. Lincoln was the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Steven A. Douglas. At this time the Illinois General Assembly elected the state’s representatives in the U.S. Senate, thus the outcome of races
for the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Senate were of importance to Lincoln’s campaign. See 1858 Illinois Republican Convention; 1858 Federal Election.
Early in the campaign, Lincoln followed Douglas on the stump, delivering speeches
either later in the evening after Douglas finished, or the next day. Both Republicans
and Democrats criticized this strategy, and it was of particular irritation to Douglas.
Lincoln had invited Douglas to a series of debates on July 24. Douglas’s response, published in The Illinois State Journal on July 29, offered several excuses to avoid the request, including his already scheduled
speeches. Douglas wrote, “These appointments have all been made for Democratic meetings
and arrangements have been made by which the Democratic Candidates for Congress, for the Legislature and other offices will be present and address the people. It is evident, therefore,
that these various candidates, in connection with myself, will occupy the whole time
of the day and evening and leave no opportunity for other speeches.” In his response accepting Douglas's terms for the debates, Lincoln promised to no longer be at any
more of Douglas's "exclusive meetings." In addition to Alexander, Lincoln wrote Republicans
in other localities announcing that he would not present at the times of Douglas's
visits. Douglas’s published schedule included a visit to Edwardsville, Illinois on
Friday, August 6.
Abraham Lincoln to Stephan A. Douglas; Abraham Lincoln to Stephan A. Douglas ; Stephan A. Douglas to Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln to Stephan A. Douglas ; Abraham Lincoln to Stephan A. Douglas ; Abraham Lincoln to Joseph T. Eccles; Abraham Lincoln to Jediah F. Alexander; Abraham Lincoln to Charles W. Michael and William Proctor; Allen C. Guelzo, "Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape
of 1858," The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 392; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:457-58; Robert W. Johannsen,
Stephen A. Douglas (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), 662; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 29 July 1858, 2:2; Daily Islander and Argus (Rock Island, IL), 2:1.
3Prior to August 20, 1858, Lincoln’s list of appointments advertised his visit to Edwardsville
on September 12. On August 20, the dates shifted to Lincoln visiting Edwardsville
on September 13. Finally, as requested, on September 3 Lincoln’s visits were advertised for a speech in Edwardsville on September 11, the actual date.
Alton Daily Courier (IL), 7 August 1858, 2:1; 17 August 1858, 2:1; 20 August 1858, 2:1; 3 September 1858,
2:1, 3; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 11 September 1858, https://thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-09-11.
4In 1858, the Buchanan administration was desperately seeking support from Democratic
newspapers in Illinois; however, most editors leaned toward Douglas. Buchanan thus
employed federal patronage to threaten newspaper editors who were postmasters and
to bribe editors who were not. Postmasters had considerable political power, controlling
the disbursement of official and political documents, intercepting personal and political
correspondence, and ensuring—or forbidding—newspaper circulation.
Don E. Fehrenbacher, “The Post Office in Illinois Politics of the 1850's,” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 46 (Spring 1953): 63-64, 68.
Copy of Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Association Files, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).