Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln, 12 December 18541
Private
House of Reps. Dec. 12. 1854.Dear Sir:
An influential friend of mine in Winnebago county writes me taking ground against you for Senator.2 I regret that, as it may be important for you to have Dr. Lyman and Senator Talcott ^from that county.^ The objection to you is that it is alledged that the Springfield influence has always been against us in the north, and that if you should be elected
the north would be overlooked for the center and south part of the State.3 I want to be able to write my friend that the north shall have a fair shake in the event of your election. It may do great good. I learn that the friends
of Shields are not without hope of his success.4 Our friends should bring the election on at the earliest possible moment. All delay
will operate to our injury.
Yours, &c.[etc.]E B WashburneHon. A. Lincoln.<Page 2>
[Envelope]
WASHINGTON D.C.
DEC[December] 12
FREE.
DEC[December] 12
FREE.
E B Washburne
M. C.[Member of Congress]
Hon. A. Lincoln,Springfield,Illinois.M. C.[Member of Congress]
2Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and its effective repeal of the Missouri Compromise reawakened Abraham Lincoln’s passion for politics, and he threw himself into the
congressional election campaign in the fall of 1854, crisscrossing Illinois to deliver speeches against the Kansas-Nebraska Act and in support of anti-Nebraska candidates. He even allowed himself to become a candidate for the Illinois General Assembly (albeit unwillingly at first). As the election campaign reached its climax, Lincoln’s
name began to circulate as a possible nominee for one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats. In November and December 1854, Lincoln wrote confidential letters to his political
allies seeking support for his candidacy and information about his prospects.
David Herbert Donald, Lincoln (New York: Touchstone, 1995), 167-73; William H. Randolph to Abraham Lincoln; Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln Written for John L. Scripps; Abraham Lincoln to Hugh Lamaster; Abraham Lincoln to Joseph Gillespie; Abraham Lincoln to Horace W. Fay.
3Residents of northern Illinois distrusted career politicians and any man closely
identify with either the old Democratic Party or the old Whig Party, Lincoln falling into the latter category. Charles H. Ray, chief editor of the Chicago Tribune in 1854, explained his concerns in a letter to Washburne: “I must confess I am afraid
of ‘Abe.’ He is Southern by birth, Southern in his associations and Southern, if I
mistake not, in his sympathies. . . His wife, you know, is a Todd, of a pro-slavery
family, and so are all his kin. My candidate must be like Caesor’s wife—not only not suspected, but above suspicion.” Despite his reservations, Ray
soon decided that Lincoln was in fact the best choice for the anti-slavery Republicans
and advised his friends to support Lincoln for the Senate.
David Herbert Donald, Lincoln, 181; Charles H. Ray to Elihu B. Washburne, 24 December 1854, E. B. Washburne Papers: Bound Volumes, Letters Received; 1852, Aug. 18-1857, Aug 5., Manuscript/Mixed Material, https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss44651.002/?sp=108&st=image, accessed 9 June 2022; Emmet F. Pearson, Charles Henry Ray: Illinois Medical Truant, Journalist, and Lincoln King-Maker (Springfield, IL: Dept. of Medical Humanities, Southern Illinois University, School
of Medicine, 1983), 9-10.
4Abraham Lincoln, James Shields, Lyman Trumbull, and Joel A. Matteson were the main contenders when the General Assembly met in joint session on February
8, 1855 to elect Illinois’ next U.S. Senator. Trumbull, an anti-Nebraska Democrat,
won the seat. See the 1854 Federal Election. William Lyman cast his vote for Lincoln until the fourth ballot, when he switched
to Trumbull. Wait Talcott voted for Lincoln for the first six ballots, then shifted
to William B. Ogden, before moving to Trumbull in the ninth ballot.
Lincoln and Washburne carried on an extensive correspondence during the senatorial
campaign and exchanged numerous letters related to Lincoln’s candidacy for the U.S.
Senate.
Illinois Senate Journal. 1855. 19th G. A., 242-55; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln to Elihu B. Washburne; Abraham Lincoln to Elihu B. Washburne; Abraham Lincoln to Elihu B. Washburne; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln to Elihu B. Washburne; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln to Elihu B. Washburne.
Autograph Letter Signed,
2 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).