John Trible to Abraham Lincoln, 19 August 18581
Alton, Aug. 19th, 1858.Hon. Abm LincolnSpringfield, IllinoisDear SirIn the announcement of places for you to speak it is arranged for you to speak at
Edwardsville on Monday the 13th prox[proximo]. and at Greenville on Saturday the 11th.2 At Greenville the full term of the Circuit Court commences on Monday the 13th3 and there would probably then be three persons present for one on Saturday, while
at Edwardsville many more would be present on Saturday than on Monday. The friends
in this county and in Bond are very anxious that the days should be changed to suit the circumstances and that
the same should be published in the Springfield and other papers so that due & timely
notice thereof may be given to the people, that they may govern themselves accordingly.4 Judge Trumbull & myself have been to Edwardsville today– All with whom we conversed concur, that
Douglas' speech there failed to meet the expectations of the people. He compared the Americans to army worms but instead of looking at the force of the comparison, in sweeping
all before them, a great many were sorely offended that he should compare them to
such insignificant loathsome objects.5 On every hand it ^is^ agreed that Douglas stock is rapidly depreciating in this County. We are all pleased
to learn the increased success that ^attends^ your efforts. Old Joe & all the friends are in excellent spirits. Trumbull is in
Yrs[Yours] RespectfullyJohn Trible <Page 2>
excellent health and has his armor fully girded on He will speak here next Wednesday. His great speech at Chicago meets with equal applause both at home and abroad among all sympathisers in the cause of freedom, while it strikes terror into the ranks of the enemy.6 According to accounts their leaders went roaring mad at Beardstown.7<Page 3>
[Envelope]
ALT[ON] Ill[Illinois].
AUG[AUGUST] 21Hon Abm Lincoln,Springfield,Illinois.
AUG[AUGUST] 21Hon Abm Lincoln,Springfield,Illinois.
1John Trible wrote and signed this letter. He also wrote Abraham Lincoln’s name and
address on the envelope shown in the third image.
2Lincoln was running against Democratic incumbent Stephen A. Douglas as the Illinois Republican Party’s candidate for the U.S. Senate in the 1858 Federal Election. He and Douglas canvassed the state throughout the summer and fall of 1858, delivering speeches in support of candidates
for the Illinois General Assembly in their respective parties. At the time, members of the 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 the outcome of the U.S. Senate race. See the 1858 Illinois Republican Convention.
Lincoln’s public speaking appointments were published in local newspapers throughout
Illinois. At the time of this letter, he was scheduled to speak in Greenville, Illinois,
on September 11 and in Edwardsville, Illinois, on September 13 (although the Alton Daily Courier usually misprinted his speech in Edwardsville as scheduled for September 12).
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:458; Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses
Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of 1858,” The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 392, 394; Alton Daily Courier (IL), 9 August 1858, 2:1; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 6 August 1858, 2:1; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 9 August 1858, 1:1.
3In 1858, the Bond County Circuit Court met on the second Monday in both April and
September. September 13 was the second Monday in September of that year.
“An Act Defining the Second Judicial Circuit, Fixing the Time of Holding Courts Therein,
and Establishing an Additional Circuit, and For Other Purposes,” 12 February 1857,
Laws of Illinois (1857), 20.
4On August 14, Andrew W. Metcalf also wrote Lincoln requesting that he change the dates he was scheduled to speak in Greenville
and Edwardsville, noting that the citizens of Edwardsville preferred that Lincoln
speak there on September 11. Conversely, in early August, Jediah F. Alexander had advised Lincoln to schedule his speech at Greenville for September 13, asserting that the
opening of the Bond County Circuit Court’s fall session would “bring out a great many
persons who would not otherwise come.”
5Douglas delivered a speech in Edwardsville on August 6 to an audience which The Weekly Chicago Times estimated at 7,000 people. The Daily Illinois State Register reported that there was “immense attendance” of Douglas’s speech and that it was
“rapturously received” by the audience. Neither paper, however, printed a copy of
Douglas’s speech or discussed his references to the American Party. A local Madison
County, Illinois paper, The Madison Weekly Press, covered Douglas’s speech, but did not allude to his worms reference or print the
text of the speech.
Former members of the American Party were an important source of votes for both Democrats
and Republicans in the state and federal elections of 1858, and both parties worked
throughout the campaign season to garner their support.
Alton Daily Courier (IL), 7 August 1858, 2:1; Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield), 10 August 1858, 2:3; The Weekly Chicago Times (IL), 19 August 1858, 4:1; The Weekly Madison Press (Edwardsville, IL), 11 August 1858, 2:2; Stephen Hansen and Paul Nygard, “Stephen
A. Douglas, the Know-Nothings, and the Democratic Party in Illinois, 1854-1858,” Illinois Historical Journal 87 (Summer 1994), 121-23.
6Lyman Trumbull delivered an address in Chicago, Illinois, on August 7. The editors
of the Chicago Daily Press and Tribune praised the address as “a masterly exposition of the leading political issues of
the day.” Both the Tribune and the Alton Daily Courier printed copies of the speech.
Trumbull also addressed the public in Alton, Illinois, on August 25.
Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 9 August 1858, 1:1, 2-8; Alton Daily Courier (IL), 11 August 1858, 2:1, 3-5; 12 August 1858, 2:2-4; 13 August 1858, 2:2-4; 14
August 1858, 2:2-4; 27 August 1858, 2:2.
7Douglas spoke in Beardstown, Illinois, on August 11. The Tribune reported that Douglas received and read a copy of Trumbull’s August 7 speech in Chicago
while in Beardstown and “almost bursted with rage” during his efforts to refute Trumbull’s
charges that he was complicit in the attempt to pass the Lecompton Constitution.
There is no indication that Lincoln replied to this letter. In fact, the docketing
he wrote on the envelope shown in the third image suggests that he decided not to
reply to Trible.
In its September 3 issue, the Alton Daily Courier updated Lincoln’s scheduled speaking appointments, reporting that he would speak
in Edwardsville on September 11 and in Greenville on September 13. The Daily Illinois State Journal reported the same dates as of September 4. Lincoln indeed delivered public addresses
in Edwardsville on Saturday, September 11 and in Greenville on Monday, September 13.
An estimated 400 people attended his address in Edwardsville.
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.
Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 16 August 1858, 2:2; 18 August 1858, 2:2; Alton Daily Courier (IL), 3 September 1858, 2:1; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 4 September 1858, 2:1; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 11 September 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-09-11; 13 September 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-09-13; Report of Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois; Summary of Speech at Greenville, Illinois; The Weekly Madison Press (IL), 15 August 1858, 2:1; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:556-57; Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political
Landscape of 1858,” 414.
Autograph Letter Signed, 3 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC). .