Martin S. Morris to Abraham Lincoln, 18 May 18581
Petersburg May 18th 1858Friend Lincolnenclosed I send you a notice of our meting. Pehaps[Perhaps] it would be as well to hand it to the journal and have them publish it.2 It will at at least show to our Republican friends abroad that we are up and doing–
I think our prospects for uniting the the opposition here against the coman[common] enemy the Democracy is as good as could be disired, and thought we are in a minority we nevertheless intend to give them the best fight we can the fight will be on the Legislature we care little for any thing else3
It is said here by some of Harris’ friends that he will ceaset to run for congress, but I still think it doubtful. our Republican friends here will all suport Jim! Matheny proved he is the nominee, they say4
<Page 2>
Dont forget those resolutions5
Truly yoursMartin S. Morris<Page 3>
[Envelope]
[PE]TERSBURGH Ill.[Illinois]
18 MAYHon. A. LincolnSpringfieldIlls,
18 MAYHon. A. LincolnSpringfieldIlls,
2Shortly after the date of this letter, the Illinois State Journal published notice that on Saturday, May 22, 1858, “The Republicans of Menard and all others opposed to the principles and policy of the Democratic party, in that county, are to hold their County Convention, for the appointment of delegates
to the Republican State Convention”.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 21 May 1858, 3:1.
3Menard County was at this time in the Seventeenth District of the Illinois Senate, and was represented in that body by Samuel W. Fuller, a Democrat, who held over in the election of 1858.
The county was in the Thirty-fourth District of the Illinois House of Representatives, where in the 1858 election independent candidate James W. Judy ran with the support of Whigs and Republicans but was defeated by Democrat William Engle.
John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968
(Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 219-20, 222; The Biographical Encyclopedia of Illinois of the Nineteenth Century (Philadelphia: Galaxy, 1875), 481-82; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 7 October 1858, 2:3; 5 November 1858, 1:3; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 9 September 1858, 2:3; The Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 22 September 1858, 1:4.
4Incumbent Douglas Democrat Thomas L. Harris did run for reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives in the Sixth Illinois Congressional District in 1858. James H. Matheny ran in opposition
to Harris, reportedly still calling himself a Whig but running as an independent candidate
supported by the Republican Party. John L. McConnell also entered the race as a Buchanan Democrat. Harris won reelection, garnering 57.6 percent of the vote compared to 41.4
percent earned by Matheny, and less than 1 percent received by McConnell. Harris,
however, died soon after the election and never took office.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 7 September 1858, 2:1; Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield), 10 September 1858, 2:3; 29 September 1858, 2:4; The Daily Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), 9 October 1858, 2:2; The Weekly Chicago Times (IL), 9 December 1858, 1:4; Howard W. Allen and Vincent A. Lacey, eds., Illinois Elections, 1818-1990 (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992), 11, 142;
Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996
(Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 155.
5At the May 22, 1858, Menard County Republican Convention, Morris was named to a five
person committee “to report resolutions expressive of the sense of this meeting.”
The committee reported seven resolutions, all of which were adopted by the convention.
These resolutions included reaffirmation of the platforms of the 1856 Republican National Convention and the 1856 Illinois Anti-Nebraska Convention, denunciation of the territorial policies of the Democratic Party and of the Lecompton Constitution, a commitment to opposing the expansion of slavery into the territories, an expression
of approval of Lyman Trumbull’s role as a U.S. Senator for Illinois, criticism of the administration of James Buchanan, and an invitation to join the Republican Party in rescuing the nation from the Democratic
Party. It is unknown what, if any, role Abraham Lincoln had in the drafting of these
resolutions. Following adoption of the resolutions, Morris was appointed a Menard
County delegate to the 1858 Illinois State Republican Convention.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 28 May 1858, 2:2.
Autograph Letter Signed, 3 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).