Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to Junius Hall, 3 September 18481
Washington, Sep^t 3_ 1848 Dear Hall:
Your letter of the 31^st ul^t was received yesterday; and you may be sure I am a good deal flattered by it–2 I expect to leave here on tuesday morning, and to leave New York for Boston on Saturday morning– If any thing happens to break in upon this, I will write you again–3 As to speech-making, I have the elements of one speech in my mind, which I should like to deliver to a community politically affected as I understand yours to be; provided always a tolerable proportion of that community should intimate a willingness to hear me–4 About going to Worcester I can not say;5 I am somewhat impatient to go home now, although it is not very probable Illinois will go for Taylor–6 Please accept my thanks for your kindness, and believe
Ever Your friendA. Lincoln

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Free A. Lincoln, M.C[Member Congress]
FREE
WASHINGTON D.C.[District of Columbia]
SEP[September] [4?]Junius Hall, Esq[Esquire]BostonMass–

[ docketing ]
09/03/1848
A Lincoln
Washington Sept.[September] 3^d/48[1848]

1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed the letter. He also authored the address on the back page, which was folded to create an envelope.

2Hall’s letter has not been located.

3Lincoln references his upcoming tour of Massachusetts, where he spent eleven days stumping for Zachary Taylor to win the presidential election of 1848. Lincoln actually left Washington on Saturday, September 9 and arrived in Boston on September 15.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:280-84; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 9 September 1848, http://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1848-09-09; 15 September 1848, http://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1848-09-15.

4Lincoln delivered a speech in Boston on September 15.
Summary of Speech at Boston, Massachusetts; Summary of Speech at Boston, Massachusetts.

5Lincoln did travel to Worcester, delivering a speech at City Hall on September 12.

6Lincoln predicated correctly; Illinois went for Lewis Cass with 44.9 percent of the vote. Taylor received 42.4 percent and Martin Van Buren 12.6 percent.
John L. Moore, Jon P. Preimesberger, and David R. Tarr, eds., Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to U.S. Elections, 4th ed. (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2001), 1:650.