Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) National politics: Speech of Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, delivered at the Cooper Institute, Monday, Feb 27, 1860.
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04471.01 Author/Creator: Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Pamphlet Date: 1860 Pagination: 15 p. ; 22.5 x 14.5 cm Order a Copy
Published by the New York Tribune as Tribune Tracts No. 4. Lincoln addresses the most pressing issue of the day, slavery, and attacks the view put forth by Stephen Douglas and others that slavery was founded by the forefathers of the country. He examines the views of the 39 signers of the Constitution and notes that at least 21of them believed that Congress should control slavery in the U. S. territories, not allow it to expand. Lincoln proposes that the Republican stance of the time was not revolutionary, but similar to the views of the country's forefathers, and therefore should not alarm Southerners, who were opposed to the Republican agenda. The U. S. Senate speech of Democratic Senator Doolittle of Wisconsin, given on 24 February 1860, is printed beginning on p. 11. Also published is an account of "Medary's Veto," beginning on p. 15. Samuel Medary, as governor of the Kansas Territory, vetoed a bill abolishing and prohibiting slavery in the territory on 20 February 1860.
Before giving this speech, Lincoln was virtually unknown in New York, though he had held debates against Douglas in 1858. This speech, sponsored by the Young Men's Republican Union in New York, is widely credited as the speech that got Lincoln the presidential nomination. Samuel Medary was appointed governor of the Kansas Territory on 19 November 1858. He resigned in December 1860 due to poor relations with the state department.
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