William D. Henderson to Abraham Lincoln, 19 June 18581
Oquawka Illinois June 19th ^58^Friend LincolnWe have Just Received the news of the Doings of the Republican convention at Springfield on the 16th inst[instant] and we Rejoiced at the enthusiasm & Harmony that Prevailed there and at one thing
especially I rejoiced, that was the unanimous expression in favour of yourself as the successor of Douglass2 it will be a proud day to me and I think to every Genuine Republican when you Shall take your seat as one of the Senators from Illinois3 for myself I Shall feel that I have "a friend at the court;" It is due to you for
to you more than any other man will the Republican party be Indebted for its success
But I my object in writing to you at this time was to say to you that if Posible you should visit this Region some time
over
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during this Campain you are only known here to the masses, by Reputation & I presume it is the only part
of the State that you have never visited4 & besides there is a complete fusion of the Old Knownothings & the Loco focos, and this district (Warren & Henderson unless the two wings of the Democracy quarrel by the way, will be among the Doubtful districts. S S Phelps a man of wealth & Influence among the Rowdies & Dogeys & Dough faces5 has gone over to the Locos, Really but still claims to be a republican and is more
Injury to the republican party than any ten Democrats in the County in fact unless the republicans kick him out of there ranks he has the means of defeating the ticket in this Co[County] as he has done on one or two ocasions, before now if you could visit this Region and Address the people of Warren & Henderson Some
time during this fall it might be the means of
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Securing this District a Republican Representative.6I am Going to leave this County about the first of August I go to Aledo in Mercer Co they are all Right there. If you Should wish to correspond with any one here at
any time you can Adress Dr A P Nelson or Wm C. Rice Esq[Esquire] both Reliable Republicans. let me hear from you if convenient.
yours TrulyW D Henderson<Page 5>
[Envelope]
Hon Abraham LincolnSpringfieldIllinoisOQ[UAWKA] Ill.[Illinois]
JUN[JUNE] 21
JUN[JUNE] 21
2The 1858 Republican State Convention unanimously adopted a resolution that Abraham
Lincoln become the successor of incumbent Senator Stephen A. Douglas. One newspaper
reported in regard to Lincoln, "We scarcely ever knew or heard of such universality
of sentiment in regard to a candidate for U.S. Senator, and what is more, there is
genuine feeling in this sentiment, pervading all classes; the leaders of the party and the masses
alike."
Daily Illinois State Journal(Springfield), 17 June 1858, 2:5; Waukegan Weekly Gazette (IL), 26 June 1858, 2:1.
3Despite the positive reception of Lincoln's candidacy at the Republican State Convention,
Douglas won the Senate seat in 1858. However, Lincoln achieved a national prominence that was essential
for his campaign for the presidency in 1860. See the 1858 Federal Election.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:545-57.
5“Doughface” was a pejorative term for northern politicians who voted with the South.
In the immediate context of this letter, it refers to Democrats who supported President James Buchanan . "Rowdies” likely refers to troublesome men, or perhaps young Democrats, and "Dogeys"
are likely supporters of Stephen A. Douglas. The Democratic Party had split into
pro-Buchanan and pro-Douglas factions. The split occurred after Douglas, in December
1857, spoke out against the Lecompton Constitution and criticized President Buchanan for supporting it. See Bleeding Kansas.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life , 1:44; John Russell Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms: A Glossary of Words and Phrases Usually Regarded as Peculiar
to the United States (Boston: Little, Brown, 1860), 128; Olney Times (IL), 25 June 1858, 1:6; Chicago Daily Tribune (IL), 8 March 1858, 1:4.
6Henderson and Warren counties comprised the Fortieth Illinois House of Representative
District. The district leaned Republican.
At the time, members of the Illinois General Assembly voted for and elected the state’s representatives in the U.S. Senate; therefore, the races for the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Senate were highly relevant to Lincoln's campaign and the outcome of the state’s U.S. Senate
race. In the state elections of 1858, voters in Henderson and Warren counties elected
William C. Rice, a Republican, to the Illinois House. Rice voted for Lincoln in the election for
U.S. Senate
On October 9, 1858, Lincoln visited the home of Stephen S. Phelps in Oquawka and
then spoke for several hours.
Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of
1858,” The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 393, 394; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970) , 220, 222; Daily Illinois State Journal (IL), 13 November 1858, 2:3; Oquawka Spectator (IL), 11 November 1858, 2:2; Illinois House Journal. 1859. 21st G. A., 32; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 9 October 1858, https://thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-10-09.
Autograph Letter Signed, 5 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).