Josiah M. Lucas to Abraham Lincoln, 5 June 18581
Washington DC. June 5. 1858.Friend Lincoln
your Kind letter came duly to hand and be assured it gratified me much to find that
you still retained a lively recollection of one who is proud to be numbered ^as^ one of your old and undeviating friends,—2 and allow me to add, will never feel satisfied until the state of Illinois, or the head of the nation calls upon you to fill some one of her most honored positions.
This is now, and has been for many years, my most ardent desire— and I firmly believe
that the fulfillment of my hopes is rapidly approaching its consummation3
I suppose, that you are fully aware that your name is frequently spoken of in this
city, during the last few months— if you are not I can tell you such is the fact, and
strange to say, little is said but either comes to my ear, or I am a party to the
conversation.
Within the past few days I have been called aside, first by Dick Thompson, and secondly by N. K. Sargeant (who appears to be figuering largely, tho'[though] privately & who is the ^recognised^ feeler of certain interests and partisans, who meet in conclave in his rooms rooms, prepared for that business.)
(over
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There objects seemed to be the same. Thompson was eloquent, and said he “spoke from the
book.” Now for their purpose.– It is this, to get Lincoln to hold off and let Douglas be re-elected, as by that means it would the more effectually secure the grand triumph
over Buchananism in '60.4 He told me how it would be done, ^&^ after he had got through, I shook my head. “Why”, said T. “I think as much of Lincoln as you do. I would trust my honor with him &c[etc.], “besides he must be Secretary of the Interior.” I told him that his friends would
not consent to any such thing, in my opinion. He said that he and Douglas had talked
freely and that he D. was not going to give in to the behests of the Administration, and that he had so
pledged himself to him to that effect. Thompson said he intended to see you on the
subject. His idea was ^is^ that if Mr. D. is re-elected that he will openly oppose the Administration and be
the means of splitting it into fragments! and thus make victory beyond a peradventure.5 I think I know, and understand this the objects of parties as well as or better than these men. They cant win.
Mr. Sargeant used pretty much the same arguments which satisfied me that they both
drew their patriotism from the same well. They both believed that you would be elected
to the Senate unless induced to back-out and let Mr D. walk in.
There is nothing special– the city elections are at fever heat–6 I should be glad to hear from occasionally7
Yours trulyJ M. Lucas<Page 3>
NB[Nota Bene]. I shall be home in October, if not before and will be in Illinois at the election– I cannot stay in office– I am making nothing they keep me down in the lowest salary and take every occasion to oppress me. I
will try to do something outside.8 J M L.Hon A. LincolnSpringfieldIllinois<Page 4>
[Envelope]
1Josiah M. Lucas wrote and signed this letter. He also wrote Abraham Lincoln’s name
and address on the envelope shown in the fourth image.
3Lucas is referring to the 1858 Federal Election. For several months, many in the Republican Party had been discussing the prospect
of Lincoln becoming the party’s candidate to supplant Democratic incumbent Stephen A. Douglas in the U.S. Senate.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:451-58.
4Douglas’ criticism of President James Buchanan’s support for the Lecompton Constitution created rifts in the Democratic Party. By “Buchananism,” Lucas is referring to the
wing of the Democratic Party that supported the Lecompton Constitution and the expansion
of slavery westward. See Bleeding Kansas.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:445-46.
5“Peradventure” means doubt or uncertainty about something. “Beyond a peradventure”
therefore means something beyond doubt or uncertainty.
Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (New York: Portland House, 1989), 1068.
6Washington, DC’s 1858 municipal elections took place on Monday, June 7. In the days
leading up to the elections, local newspapers reported various acts of lawlessness
and widespread concerns about both violence and illegal voting on election day. Violence
and rioting occurred in some of the city’s wards on election day, but was eventually
contained by special police officers posted by DC Mayor William B. Magruder. In the
end, anti-Know Nothing candidate James G. Berrett beat Republican Richard Wallach in a close race for mayor, with 3,688 votes to Wallach’s 3,117.
Evening Star (Washington, DC), 3 June 1858, 3:1; 4 June 1858, 3:1-2; 5 June 1858, 3:1; 7 June
1858, 3:1; Weekly American (Washington, DC), 5 June 1858, 2:7, 3:1-2; Centennial History of the City of Washington, D.C. (Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1892), 154.
7If Lincoln replied to this letter, his response has not been located. Lincoln and
Lucas corresponded at least four other times during the campaign of 1858.
Josiah M. Lucas to Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln to Josiah M. Lucas; Josiah M. Lucas to Abraham Lincoln; Josiah M. Lucas to Abraham Lincoln.
8Although it is unclear what federal position Lucas held in Washington, DC, at the
time of this letter, he worked as a clerk in the U.S. General Land Office during the reign of Democratic administrations. Since federal jobs were controlled
by the political party in power and awarded on a patronage basis, as a Whig Lucas was constantly in danger of losing his appointment to someone loyal to the
Democratic Party.
Delegates to the 1858 Illinois Republican Convention unanimously nominated Lincoln to run against Douglas for the U.S. Senate. Ultimately,
in Illinois’ local elections of 1858, Republicans won a majority of all votes cast
in the state, but pro-Douglas Democrats retained control of the Illinois General Assembly and Douglas won reelection to the U.S. Senate. Although Lincoln’s attempt to unseat
Douglas was unsuccessful, his involvement in the campaign—particularly the Lincoln-Douglas Debates—lifted him to national prominence.
Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the
United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1853 (Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong, 1853), 134; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the
United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1855 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1855), 78; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the
United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1857 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1857), 79; Michael F. Holt, The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of
the Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 416-18; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:458, 556-57.
Autograph Letter Signed, 4 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC). .