Emanuel Stover to Abraham Lincoln, 5 October 18581
Cherry Grove Ill,Oct 5th 1858Abraham Lincoln–Dear Sir–
I had stated in my letter to you that I had sent the same interogatories to S. A. Douglass that I sent to you–2 He never answered them at all. I am much obliged to you, for your plain answer.3 I will say that they were satisfactory. I have been using them, and at the same
time stating that Douglass was afraid to commit himself to me–
I will inform you just how things stand in Carroll Co—4 and you can rely on my statements for I can go pretty near it, in the first place
the vote will not be so heavy as in (56) all that were Republicans then, will vote for our candidate for Legislature this fall except two that I know of
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The American Vote in (56[1856]) was about 90, we will get four fifths of them, take it alltogether our majority will be about the same as in (56) about 850–5 You are aware that we are connected with Jo Daviess Co– I am informed that they will at least tie our opponants there, so there is no question about our Representatives– In regard to the State senator we are all right, we have a good man,
We will try and get as heavy a vote for the State ticket as we can– You will hear
from us in November, and you will find that it will be as well as I have stated–
Yours TrulyE. Stover–<Page 3>
[Envelope]
CHERRY GR[OV]E Ill[Illinois]
OCT[OCTOBER] 6Mr Abraham LincolnSpringfieldIll–
OCT[OCTOBER] 6Mr Abraham LincolnSpringfieldIll–
2Stover penned a list of questions for Abraham Lincoln, dated September 1, 1858 and possibly enclosed
in his September 2 letter, regarding the latter’s positions on slavery. Lincoln was at this time running against
incumbent Democrat Stephen A. Douglas to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate. The morality and status of slavery and its expansion to federal territories became
a leading issue in the campaign. See 1858 Illinois Republican Convention; 1858 Federal Election.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:457-85.
4At this time the Illinois General Assembly elected the state’s representatives in the U.S. Senate, thus the outcome of races
for the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Senate would be of importance to Lincoln’s proposed challenge of Douglas for the position
of U.S. senator for Illinois in the election of 1858. Carroll County, a Republican-leaning
northern county, belonged to the Third Illinois Senate District, which also included
Ogle, Winnebago, and Boone counties, and the Fifty-First Illinois House District with Jo Daviess County. In
elections for the Illinois General Assembly in 1858, Republican Zenos Applington
of Ogle won the seat in the Third Illinois Senate District. In the Illinois House,
Republicans James DeWolf from Carroll and Halstead S. Townsend from Jo Daviess captured the open seats.
Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of
1858,” The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 392-93; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 219-20, 222; Alton Daily Courier (IL), 18 November 1858, 2:3.
5 Lincoln and Douglas both focused their campaign efforts on the former Whig stronghold of central Illinois, where the state legislative races were the closest.
Among the former Whigs whose votes were courted were those who had moved into the
American Party following the dissolution of the Whig Party. Former members of the
American Party, often referred to colloquially as "Fillmore Men" because the national
party backed Millard Fillmore in the presidential election of 1856, were an important source of votes for both Democrats and Republicans in the state
and federal elections of 1858, and both Lincoln and Douglas worked hard to garner
their support.
In the presidential election of 1856 , Carroll County split 1,551 total votes—1,161 (74.9 percent) Republican, 237 (15.3
percent) Democrat and 153 (9.9 percent) American Party. The Republican majority was
771. In the congressional election, the county split 1,546 total votes—1,182 (76.5
percent) Republican, 237 (15.3 percent) Democrat, and 127 (8.2 percent) other, which
mainly consisted of American votes. Republicans’ majority stood at 818 votes. In 1858 congressional election, Carroll County split 1,446 votes; similar to 1856, Republicans captured 1,137 (78.6
percent), Democrats captured 256 (17.7 percent), and Americans captured 53 (3.7 percent)
votes. The Republicans’ majority in 1858 stood at 828 votes.
In the local elections of 1858, Republicans won a majority of all votes cast in Illinois,
but pro-Douglas Democrats retained control of the General Assembly, and Douglas won
reelection.
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), 123-29; Tyler Anbinder, Nativism & Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings & the Politics of the 1850s (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), 246-78; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:476-77; Howard W. Allen and Vincent A. Lacey, eds., Illinois Elections, 1818-1990 (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992), 135, 139,
141; Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape
of 1858,” 414-16; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:546-47.
Autograph Letter Signed, 3 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).