Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

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Resolved, That the Committee on Finance be requested to inquire whether the present system of internal improvement is too large; and, if so2 to inquire in[to] the propriety of classifying3 or curtailing the present system of intern[al] improvement, so as to suit the present age and resources of our Sta[te] and report by bill or otherwise; also, that they inquire into the expediency of reducing the number of officers to carry on said system.4

1John Henry introduced the resolution in the House of Representatives on January 15, 1839. Representatives proposed amending the resolution by striking out the word “finance” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “internal improvements,” and on January 16 the House tabled the resolution and proposed amendment. On January 24, the House rejected the proposed amendment. The House amended the resolution by inserting, after the words “to be requested to,” the words: “inquire whether the present system of internal improvement is too large; and, if so, to.” The House adopted the resolution as amended. On February 14, the Committee on Finance, on which sat Abraham Lincoln, reported back the resolution, requesting to be discharged from further consideration, which the House granted.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 214, 220, 274-75, 399.

2On January 24, 1839, the House of Representatives amended the resolution by adding the words “to inquire whether the system of internal improvement is too large; and, if so.”
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 275.

3Classification in this context might have meant differentiating between important and lesser projects and concentrating first on the former instead of pursuing all of the provisions of the internal improvement act at the same time.
Sangamo Journal 5 January 1839, 2:2.

4By the winter of 1838-39, concern was growing over the size, scope, and cost of the internal improvement system. In his inaugural address, Governor Thomas Carlin voiced his support for the system, though he would have recommended its adoption on a lesser scale, with emphasis on constructing the most important works. Carlin suggested the General Assembly consider “modification” that would render the system “more useful and better suited to the conditions” of the state, leading the Sangamo Journal to wonder if by “modification” the governor meant “curtailment or classification.” Whatever course the General Assembly pursued, Carlin recommended “a rigid economy” in spending state funds. The General Assembly ignored his advice, increasing the size and expense of the system.
John H. Krenkel, Illinois Internal Improvements 1818-1848 (Cedar Rapids, IA: Torch, 1958), 153-54; Sangamo Journal 5 January 1839, 2:2.