Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Robert Moseley to Abraham Lincoln, 29 June 18581
Kansas Edgar C^o Ill^s
June 29^th 1858Friend Lincoln
Inclosed I send you a dn[damn] pretty thing, a far specimen of an Egyptian liar2 A lie Set on [fire?], and harped upon by one J C Robinson, the would be Locofoco candidate for for Congress, & his, truthless Supporters.3 We are destined to have a hard fight this fall. We will nearly move heaven & earth to carry this County for the republicans— or rather for Lincoln–4 Such as the slip inclosed is some of the weapons we have fight against. I send this, that you may be satisfied of the truth of my remarks to you, when in Springfield 5

Upon that subject, I have put some of them fairly to their stumps by denying it— and asking for the proof & will so continue to do–6
Yours Truly R MoseleyLets hear from you occasionally7

<Page 2>

[ enclosure ]
THE ILLINOISAN.
S. S. WHITEHEAD, Editor.
MARSHALL:
SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 1858.

DEMOCRATIC STATE TICKET.
for state treasurer,
W. B. FONDEY,
of Sangamon County.
for state superintendent of public instruction,
A. C. FRENCH,
of St. Clair County.

Weekly Circulation 1,400.
and
KEEP IT BEFORE THE PEOPLE!

That, at the late black republican convention of the Illinois nigger-stealers, the following resolution was "greeted with applause and unanimously adopted:"

Resolved, That Abraham Lincoln is the first and only choice of the Republicans of Illinois for the United States Senate, as the successor of Stephen a Douglas.8

<Page 3>

[Envelope]

HANKS, ZINCK & O'HAIR,
dealers in
STAPLE AND FANCY DRY GOODS,
boots, shoes & books.
Also, all kinds of Grain.
Kansas, Illinois.
KANSAS ILL[ILLINOIS].
JUN[JUNE] 30M^r A. LincolnSpringfieldIll^s

[ docketing ]
Lincoln, Abraham (President)

R Moseley9

1Robert Moseley wrote and signed this letter. He also wrote Abraham Lincoln's name and address on the envelope shown in the third image.

2The enclosure Moseley references is shown in the second image.
By "an Egyptian liar," Moseley is most likely alluding to the biblical story of the Egyptian midwives Shiphrah and Puah, who, fearful of God, disobeyed the Egyptian pharaoh's command to kill male infants born to Israelites. When the pharaoh asked Shiphrah and Puah why they disobeyed him, Shiphrah and Puah lied and claimed that the Israelite mothers gave birth before the midwives arrived. God rewarded Shiphrah and Puah, despite the fact that they lied. Many adherents of the Christian faith have interpreted this story as evidence that it is sometimes possible for lies to serve God's ends. By calling the lies in the enclosed document "a far specimen of an Egyptian liar," Moseley likely interprets them as far from God's ends.
Exodus, 1:15-21; George Hay, The Devout Christian Instructed in the Law and Faith of Christ, ed. John Murdoch (Glasgow: Denis Kennedy, 1831), 2:217.

3In May 1858, James C. Robinson entered the race to become the Democratic Party's candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives representing the Seventh Congressional District.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 15 May 1858, 2:2.

4Moseley references the electoral campaign for the U.S. Senate, in which Lincoln was running against incumbent Stephen A. Douglas. At the time, the members of the Illinois General Assembly voted for and elected the state’s representatives in the U.S. Senate; therefore, the local races for the General Assembly were highly relevant to the outcome of the state’s U.S. Senate race. See the 1858 Federal Election.
Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of 1858,” The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 394.

5Moseley may be referring to a discussion he had with Lincoln in person at the 1858 Illinois Republican Convention. Moseley attended the convention as one of the delegates for Edgar County, while Lincoln represented Sangamon County.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 17 June 1858, 2:3, 4.

6Moseley most likely objected to the accusation that the Republican Party was composed of radical abolitionists bent on emancipation by "stealing" and subsequently freeing enslaved persons. Editors of Democratic newspapers in Illinois often accused the Republican Party of being an abolitionist, antislavery, and/or pro-emancipation party. Douglas made similar declarations and insinuations during the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.
Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield), 9 July 1858, 2:2; 15 July 1858, 2:1-2; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:488-90.

7Moseley wrote this text vertically along the left side of the sheet shown in the first image.
Lincoln replied to this letter on July 2.

8In the election for the Illinois Seventh Congressional District, Robinson defeated Republican Richard J. Oglesby with 53.5 percent of the vote to Oglesby's 46.3 percent. In the race for Illinois treasurer, Democrat William B. Fondey lost to Republican James Miller. Democrat Augustus C. French lost to Newton Bateman in the race for state superintendent of public instruction. Edgar County voters sent Moseley to the Illinois House of Representatives and Thomas A. Marshall, another Republican, to the Illinois Senate, but Democrats retained a majority in both chambers, allowing Douglas to win reelection to the U.S. Senate. Through the campaign, however, and in particular through his participation in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Lincoln gained national recognition as well as standing within the Republican Party.
Howard W. Allen and Vincent A. Lacey, eds., Illinois Elections, 1818-1990 (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992), 11; Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield), 27 November 1858, 2:3; The Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 17 November 1858, 2:4; Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of 1858,” 416-17; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:556-57.

9Lincoln wrote this docketing in pencil vertically along the left side of the envelope. See the third image.