Abraham Lincoln to Thomas J. Henderson, 18 October 18581
Springfield, Oct 18. 1858Hon: T. J. Henderson:My dear SirI have concluded to speak at the place you named (I forget the name of the place) on the 27th and you may give notice accordingly–2
Yours as ever,A. Lincoln.P. S. Write me to Macomb the name of the place & other particulars–.3A. L .2Lincoln moved his planned meeting in Vermont, Illinois, from Wednesday, October 27 to Tuesday, October 26 in order to address an audience
in Toulon on October 27. Thomas J. Henderson met Lincoln in Kewanee, Illinois, on October 27 and escorted him to the Virginia Hotel in Toulon. Lincoln spoke in the town square that afternoon. Douglas spoke in Toulon the previous
day.
Lincoln was the Republican candidate from Illinois for the U.S. Senate. 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. Lincoln campaigned extensively in Illinois
in the summer and fall of 1858, delivering speeches and campaigning on behalf of Republican
candidates for the General Assembly. He and his opponent, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, the incumbent, both focused their campaign efforts on the former Whig stronghold of central Illinois, where the state legislative races were the closest.
In local elections, Republicans gained a majority of the votes, but Pro-Douglas Democrats
retained control of the General Assembly, and Douglas won re-election. See 1858 Illinois Republican Convention; 1858 Federal Election.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 18 October 1858, 3:1; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune, 19 October 1858, 1:1; 22 October 1858, 1:1; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 27 October 1858, https://thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-10-27; The Weekly Chicago Times (IL), 21 October 1858, 1:1; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:457-61, 476-77, 513-14,
546-47; Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape
of 1858,” The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 392-99, 400-401, 414-16.
Copy of Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Association Files, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).