Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to Henry C. Whitney, 30 November 18581
Springfield, Nov. 30. 1858H. C. Whitney, Esq[Esquire]My dear Sir:
Being desirous of preserving, in some permanent form, the late joint discussions between Douglas and myself,2 ten days ago I wrote to D^r Ray, requesting him to forward to me, by express, two sets of the N^os of the Tribune, which contain the reports of those discussions–3 Up to date I have no word from him on the subject– Will you, if in your power, procure them and forward them to me by Express? If you will, I will pay all charges, and be greatly obliged to boot–

Hoping to meet you before long I remain
As ever your friendA. Lincoln

1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed this letter.

2Abraham Lincoln had been the Republican candidate from Illinois for U.S. Senate in 1858. In the summer and fall of that year, Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, his Democratic opponent and the incumbent , canvassed the state delivering speeches in support of candidates for the Illinois General Assembly in their respective parties. Members of the General Assembly voted for and elected the state’s representatives in the U.S. Senate at this time , so the races for the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Senate held on November 2, 1858 were highly relevant to the outcome of the U.S. Senate race. Lincoln and Douglas also debated one another in seven locations throughout the state.
Republicans won a majority of all votes cast in the state elections, but pro-Douglas Democrats retained control of the Illinois General Assembly and Douglas ultimately won reelection to the U.S. Senate. Douglas's victory was confirmed in the election held on January 5, 1859. Through the campaign, however, and in particular through his participation in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Lincoln gained recognition as well as standing within the national Republican Party. See 1858 Federal Election; 1858 Illinois Republican Convention.

Following the campaign, Lincoln wrote Whitney, Charles H. Ray, William H. Carlin, and Sidney Breese asking for copies of the debates and other political speeches to put into a scrapbook of the campaign. The scrapbook Lincoln compiled of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates later served as the source for the first publication of the debates in 1860.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 3 November 1858, 2:1; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:458-60, 492-540, 556-57; Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of 1858,” The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 392-94, 414-16; George Fort Milton, "Lincoln-Douglas Debates," Dictionary of American History, rev. ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976), 4:155-56; Illinois Senate Journal. 1859. 21st G. A., 30; Illinois House Journal. 1859. 21st G. A., 32; Lincoln-Douglas Debates Scrapbook; Abraham Lincoln to Charles H. Ray; William H. Carlin to Abraham Lincoln; Sidney Breese to Abraham Lincoln; Political Debates Between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas (Columbus: Follett, Foster, 1860), iii-iv.

3In his response to Lincoln on December 8, Whitney wrote that Dr. Ray has not received Lincoln’s letter, “so he says.”
The Chicago Tribune published reports of the seven Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Reports of the debates appeared on August 23, 1858 (Ottawa), August 30, 1858 (Freeport), September 17 (Jonesboro), September 21 (Charleston), October 9 (Galesburg), October 15 (Quincy), and October 18 (Alton).
Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (Chicago, IL), 23 August 1858, 1:4-9, 4:1 ; 30 August 1858 1:4-6, 2:2-7 ; 17 September 1858 1:1-9, 4:1 ; 21 September 1858 1:1-9, 4:1-2 ; 9 October 1858 2:2-9, 3:1 ; 15 October 1858 1:2-9, 4:1 ; 18 October 1858 1:2-9, 4:1-2