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Show A resolution in Lincoln's handwriting which he introduced in the Illinois house of representatives December 2, 1840. From a photostat of the original in the Illinois archives and never before published. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON A BE LINCOLN, the "Kail Split- ter"; "Honest Abe" Lin-f Lin-f coin, the New Salem store Vry keeper; A. Lincoln, t.tie .J ci rcu i t-ri d i ng lawyer and I I orator of Lincoln-Douglas I I I debate fame; and mosl vL J of all Abraham Lincoln, 7 the President of the United States all are familiar figures in American history and well known to most Americans. But there is another an-other Lincoln which is comparatively unknown and that is Lincoln, the legislator. That little known period in Lincoln's Lin-coln's life has been recalled recently in the discovery by Miss Margaret C. Norton, superintendent of the archives department of the Illinois state library li-brary at Springfield, of the original manuscript of a piece of legislation sponsored by Lincoln, a resolution (reproduced above) which he introduced intro-duced into the lower house of the Illinois Illi-nois rtute assembly on December 2, lS-10. It reads as follows: Resolved, That the Committee on fiducution be Instructed to Inquire into the expediency of providing by law for the examination ns to their qualifications qualifica-tions of persons offeriiiEr themselves as school-teachers and that no teacher rhall receive any part of the Public School Funds who shall not have successfully suc-cessfully passed such examination: and that they report by bill or otherwise In view of the astounding rise of Lincoln from the obscurity of the Illinois Illi-nois backwoods to the Presidency of the United States and his subsequent deathless fame, it is interesting to note that his first attempt to win an elective oflice met with failure. On March SI, So2, there bad appeared on the streets of the little town of New Salem, 111., a crudely-printed handbill circular announcing the candidacy of A. Lincoln, the clerk In Offutt's store, for the legislature from Sangamon county. Although he was running as a Whig at a time when Andrew Jackson was President and the Democrats were the "furiously intolerant majority" in Illinois, as in other parts of the nation, na-tion, Lincoln made no reference to national politics in bis announcement. Most of his statement was confined to a discussion of plans for improving the navigability of the Sangamon river, then a pet topic in his district. As Nicolay and Hay, his biographers have pointed out, however. Lincoln's announcement was a "well-written circular, cir-cular, remai liable for its soberness and reserve when we consider the age and limited advantages of the writer." Its conclusion is especially interesting. interest-ing. It reads as follows: L'pon the subjects of which I have treated, I have spoken as I have thought. I may be wrong in regard to any or all of them; but holding it a sound maxim that It is better only sometimes to be right than at all times wrong, so soon as I discover my opinions opin-ions to be erroneous, I shall be ready to renounce them. . . . Every man is said to have his peculiar ambitions. Whether it is true or not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed by my fellow-men, by rendering myself worthy wor-thy of their esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition is yet to be developed. I am young and unknown, to many of you. I was born and have ever remained in the most humble walks of life. I have no wealthy or powerful relations or friends to recommend rec-ommend me. My case is thrown exclusively ex-clusively upon the independent voters of the county: and. if elected, they will have conferred a favor upon me, for which I shall be unremitting in my labors la-bors to compensate. But if the good people in their wisdom shall see fit to keep me in the background, I shall be to familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined. Before the prospective legislator could begin campaigning, however. Governor Reynolds of Illinois called for volunteers to drive Chief Black Hawk's Sac and Fox warriors back across the Mississippi and one of the first to respond to the call was Lincoln. Lin-coln. He was chosen captain of one of the volunteer companies but his military career was a short one and comparatively compara-tively uneventful. Upon his discharge from the army and his return to New Salem he found that he had only about ten days before the August elections elec-tions in which to carry on his campaign. cam-paign. His first speech in the campaign, made at Pappsville, 11 miles west of Springfield, was a very brief one, consisting con-sisting of exactly G5 words.- He said : "Gentlemen and fellow-citizens: I presume you all know who I am. I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many friends to become be-come a candidate for the legislature. My politics are short and sweet ; I am in favor of the internal improvement system and a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected I shall be thank ful; if not. it will be all the same." Evidently, at that time the good peo l!e did see fit to "keep him in the background" as his announcement had phrased it for he was defeated for the only time in his life when it lay with the people to decide. He received only G5T votes (the highest among the four winning candidates recr'ved 1,127), but what must have been adequate ade-quate compensation for his defeat was the fact that among his friends and neighbors of the New Salem precinct pre-cinct be received 277 votes out of the 2S0 cast. Cndiscouraged by this reverse, Lincoln Lin-coln was again a candidate in August, 1S34, and this time he won, receiving the highest number of votes (1,370) of any of the four successful candidates'. "During his first session Lincoln occupied occu-pied no particularly conspicuous position," posi-tion," write Nicolay and Hay. "He held his own respectably among the best. One of his colleagues tells us he was not distinguished by any external ex-ternal eccentricity; that he wore, according ac-cording to the custom of the time, a decent suit of blue jeans; that he was known simply as a rather quiet young man, good natured and sensible. Before Be-fore the session ended he had made the acquaintance of most of the members, mem-bers, and had evidently come to be looked upon as possessing more than ordinary capacity. He introduced a resolution in favor of securing to the state a part of the proceeds of the sales qf public lands within its limits; be took part in the organization organiza-tion of the ephemeral 'White' party which was designed to unite all the anti-.Iackson elements under the leadership lead-ership of Hugh. L. White of Tennessee; Tennes-see; he voted with the majority in favor of Young against Robinson for senator, and with the majority flint passed the bank and canal bills, which were received with such enthusiasm throughout Illinois and which were only the precursors of those gigantic and ill-advised schemes that came to maturity two years later, and inflicted in-flicted such incalculable injury upon the state." Lincoln was re-elected in 1S3G and during this session of the legislature was one of the "Long Nine," the nine legislators from Sangamon county, noted in the history of Illinois partly for their stature and partly for their influence in legislative matters. Their average height was over six feet and their total "altitude" was said to have beeen ;",") feet. Their most noted piece of legislation was that of getting the stale capital removed from Vandalia to Springfield and it is said that this was accomplished by the "adroit management man-agement of Lincoln." In ISMS Lincoln was again elected to the legislature by a greater majority ma-jority than ever before. By this time he was such a prominent figure that he was the candidate for speaker, but the Democrats having a majority of votes elected their man. . Again in 1S40 he was elected to the state assembly for the fourth and last time. By now lie had proved his ability in state affairs and the stage was being set for his entrance into a greater arena, that of national and international fame. |