I/I E> RAR.Y
OF THE
UNIVLR.SITY
OF ILLINOIS
329.6
C47h
cop. 3
THE FIRST AMERICAN
HISTORY
OF THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY
IN ILLINOIS
1854-1912
WITH A
REVIEW OF THE AGGRESSIONS OF
THE SLAVE-POWER
BY
CHARLES A. CHURCH
MEMBER OP STAFF OF
REGISTER-GAZETTE AND AUTHOR OF
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD
PRESS OF
WILSON BROTHERS COMPANY
PRINTERS AND BINDERS
ROCKFORD, ILL.
Copyright 1912
Bf C. A. CHURCH
Rockford, 111.
C
3
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED
TO THE PROPOSITION THAT EVERY
CITIZEN OF ILLINOIS SHOULD
BE FAMILIAR WITH
HER HISTORY
Oi
Foreword
THE continuous ascendancy of the Republican party
in Illinois has few parallels in the histories of the
several states. In 1856 William H. Bissell was
elected governor of the commonwealth as a Republican. In
the fifty-six years that have elapsed, with the exception of
two years, from 1893 to 1895, the party has been in control
of the legislature or executive department of the state gov-
ernment; and during nearly all of that period the party has
had the governor and both branches of the general assembly.
The story of the Republican party in Illinois is therefore the
political history of the state from the days of Fremont and
Dayton.
In 1854 Senator Douglas, of Illinois, led the movement
for the repeal of the Missouri compromise, one of the land-
marks of freedom which had been held sacred and inviolate.
The Republican party was the organized protest of the nation-
al conscience against this act of sacrilege. In 1858 Illinois
was the battle-ground of giants, and the gaze of the nation
was intently fixed upon Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham
Lincoln. The contest was primarily for a seat in the United
States senate, but it was essentially a struggle between two
civilizations ; between the old order of things that was about
to pass away, and a new dispensation of liberty. These facts
give special interest and value to the history of the great
awakening in Illinois.
Many interesting details are necessarily omitted from a
volume of this kind; and in his treatment of the subject the
author does not claim absolute accuracy of statement nor
vi Foreword
infallibility of judgment. He is confident, however, that he
has produced not only a reliable manual of information, but
a rational interpretation of the causes underlying the historic
movement. No attempt has been made in this history to
include the election of justices of the appellate and supreme
courts. There has been a tendency to separate the judiciary
from partisan politics, and this policy has received popular
approval.
The author is confident that no other work covering
this particular field has ever been published. There have
been many general histories of Illinois, to which the author
acknowledges his obligations. Several of these works are
voluminous and expensive, none of them are brought down to
date, and several are out of print.
These facts justify the belief that the "History of the
Republican Party in Illinois" will be welcomed as a worthy
accession to the history of this imperial commonwealth.
CHARLES A. CHURCH.
Rockford, Illinois, September 9, 1912.
Contents
CHAPTER I
BEGINNINGS OF SLAVERY ENGLAND FORCES EVIL UPON THE
COLONIES SLAVERY EXCLUDED FROM NEW TERRITORY
COMPROMISES OF THE CONSTITUTION THE MISSOURI
COMPROMISE. .... Page 1
CHAPTER II
RISE OF THE ABOLITIONISTS ANNEXATION OF TEXAS
WAR WITH MEXICO PARITY OF SLAVE AND FREE STATES
WILMOT PROVISO GENERAL TAYLOR ELECTED PRES-
IDENT HENRY CLAY'S COMPROMISE MEASURES. 7
CHAPTER III
THE INAUGURATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE FIRST NEBRASKA
BILL REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE SENA-
TOR DOUGLAS' MOTIVE OREAT MORAL AWAKENING
ORIGIN OF NAME REPUBLICAN THE ROCKFORD CON-
VENTION POLITICS AT THE STATE FAIR NO CONTEM-
PORARY REPORT LINCOLN'S AMBITION THE NOVEM-
BER ELECTIONS LYMAN TRUMBULL ELECTED UNITED
STATES SENATOR. 15
CHAPTER IV
EDITORIAL CONFERENCE AT DECATUR STATE REPUBLICAN
CONVENTION AT BLOOMINGTON THE PLATFORM LIN-
COLN'S LOST SPEECH REPUBLICANS ELECT STATE
TICKET. ...... 29
vii
viii Contents
CHAPTER V
THE DRED SCOTT DECISION THE STRUGGLE FOR KANSAS
SUMNER'S SPEECH ON THE CRIME AGAINST KANSAS
SUMNER ASSAULTED BY BROOKS DOUGLAS BREAKS
WITH BUCHANAN THE ENGLISH BILL ILLINOIS RE-
PUBLICANS IN DILEMMA LINCOLN'S "HOUSE DIVIDED"
SPEECH. ...... 38
CHAPTER VI
LINCOLN CHALLENGES DOUGLAS TO DISCUSS THE SLAVERY
ISSUE DISPUTANTS COMPARED FIRST JOINT DEBATE
AT OTTAWA. . . . . . 46
CHAPTER VII
SECOND DEBATE AT FREEPORT LINCOLN SHOWS CONSERV-
ATISM, BURNS HIS BRIDGES BEHIND HIM, AND ASKS
DOUGLAS FOUR QUESTIONS "LITTLE GIANT" ANSWERS
THEM AND IS SWEPT FROM HIS MOORING. . 53
CHAPTER VIII
LAST DEBATE AT ALTON DOUGLAS ASSAILS "HOUSE DIVIDED"
DOCTRINE AND DEFIES BUCHANAN LINCOLN PUTS
QUESTION ON MORAL BASIS THE ELECTIONS DOUGLAS
WINS A FINAL COMPARISON. . . .63
CHAPTER IX
ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION OF 1860 RICHARD
YATES NOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR NATIONAL REPUB-
LICAN CONVENTION LINCOLN NOMINATED INCI-
DENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN LINCOLN ELECTED AND IN-
AUGURATED EARLY EVENTS OF 1861. . . 73
CHAPTER X
OUTBREAK OF CIVIL WAR DOUGLAS' SPEECH AT SPRINGFIELD
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION CONSTITUTION RE-
Contents ix
PUDIATED REVERSES OF 1862 LEGISLATURE PRO-
ROGUED BY GOVERNOR YATES OGLESBY NOMINATED
FOR GOVERNOR LINCOLN RENOMINATED COLONEL
INGERSOLL'S PRAYER THE ELECTIONS. . . 85
CHAPTER XI
ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR OGLESBY THIRTEENTH
AMENDMENT REPEAL OF BLACK LAWS ELECTIONS OF
1866 TRUMBULL RE-ELECTED SENATOR GENERAL
GRANT ELECTED PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION OF GOV-
ERNOR PALMER CONSTITUTION OF 1870 GENERAL
LOGAN ELECTED UNITED STATES SENATOR. . 96
CHAPTER XII
RECONSTRUCTION COMPLETED THE CAMPAIGN OF 1872
RISE AND FALL OF LIBERAL REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT
NAST'S CARTOONS RE-ELECTION OF GENERAL GRANT.
110
CHAPTER XIII
INAUGURATION OF GENERAL OGLESBY AND HIS ELECTION TO
THE UNITED STATES SENATE GOVERNOR JOHN L.
BEVERIDGE REVERSES OF 1874 HAYES-TILDEN CON-
TEST OF 1876 GENERAL HURLBUT GETS COLONEL
INGERSOLL TO NOMINATE ELAINE FOR PRESIDENT
HURLBUT WARNS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS THE ELEC-
TIONS DAVID DAVIS ELECTED SENATOR CAMPAIGN OF
1878 LOGAN RETURNS TO THE SENATE. . 119
CHAPTER XIV
FAMOUS GARFIELD CAMPAIGN OF 1880 FIGHT OVER THE
UNIT RULE IN STATE CONVENTION CONTESTING
x Contents
DELEGATES ADMITTED AT CHICAGO THE ELECTIONS-
ESTRANGEMENT BETWEEN GRANT AND WASHBURNE
CAMPAIGN OF 1882 CULLOM ELECTED SENATOR. 135
CHAPTER XV
ELAINE AND LOGAN CAMPAIGN OF 1884 GOVERNOR HAMIL-
TON SAVES UNITED STATES SENATE TO THE REPUBLICANS
GENERAL LOGAN RE-ELECTED SENATOR HIS DEATH
CHARLES B. FARWELL SUCCEEDS HIM. . 151
CHAPTER XVI
HARRISON CAMPAIGN OF 1888 CULLOM RETURNED TO THE
SENATE REVERSES OF 1890 AND 1892 ELECTION OF
CLEVELAND AND ALTGELD PALMER CHOSEN SENATOR.
163
CHAPTER XVII
REVOLUTION OF 1894 MCKINLEY CAMPAIGN OF 1896
ILLINOIS A PIVOTAL STATE TANNER ELECTED GOVERN-
OR CULLOM RETURNED TO THE SENATE WILLIAM E.
MASON ELECTED SENATOR LYMAN J. GAGE IN MCKIN-
LEY'S CABINET. . . . . .175
CHAPTER XVIII
REPEAL OF THE "ALLEN BILL" JOHN HAY SECRETARY OF
STATE RICHARD YATES ELECTED GOVERNOR RE-ELEC-
TION OF MCKINLEY CULLOM RETURNED TO SENATE
HOPKINS CHOSEN SENATOR CANNON SPEAKER OF THE
HOUSE. 187
Contents xi
CHAPTER XIX
PROLONGED GUBERNATORIAL DEADLOCK OF 1904 NOMINA-
TION OF DENEEN STRUGGLE TO SECURE DIRECT PRI-
MARY ELECTION LAW DEATH OF CONGRESSMAN HITT
CULLOM RE-ELECTED SENATOR. . . 199
CHAPTER XX
CAMPAIGN OF 1908 WILLIAM LORIMER ELECTED SENATOR
CORRUPTION SCANDAL MEMBERS OF LEGISLATURE
CONFESS ACCEPTING BRIBES LORIMER EXPELLED FROM
THE UNITED STATES SENATE. . . . 211
CHAPTER XXI
CAMPAIGN OF 1910 SPECIAL ELECTION SUBMITTING QUES-
TIONS OF REFERENDUM AND RECALL STATE-WIDE
CIVIL SERVICE LAW AND CORRUPT PRACTICE ACT. 219
CHAPTER XXII
CAMPAIGN OF 1912 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ROOSE-
VELT WINS DENEEN RENOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR
SHERMAN DEFEATS CULLOM FOR SENATOR DEATH OF
SECRETARY ROSE C. J. DOYLE APPOINTED. . 222
CHAPTER XXIII
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION AT CHICAGO RENOM-
INATION OF TAFT AND SHERMAN PROGRESSIVES BOLT
AND NOMINATE ROOSEVELT AND MARSHALL A FINAL
WORD. 23 1
Portraits
"The First American" . . . Frontispiece
Lyman Trumbull . . 28
Stephen A. Douglas .... 56
Richard Yates ... . . 76
Richard J. Oglesby . 96
Ulysses S. Grant . 143
John A. Logan ....
John M. Palmer . 170
Joseph G. Cannon . . . 197
Charles S. Deneen . . 207
Shelby M. Cullom 226
xiii
CHAPTER I
BEGINNINGS OF SLAVERY ENGLAND FORCES EVIL UPON THE
COLONIES SLAVERY EXCLUDED FROM NEW TERRITORY
COMPROMISES OF THE CONSTITUTION THE MISSOURI
COMPROMISE.
REPRESENTATIVE government is necessarily ad-
ministered through political organization. Parties,
like nations, may have their rise, decline and fall ; but
others will speedily emerge from their ruins. James A. Gar-
field did not state the case too strongly when he said : "Organ-
izations may change or dissolve, but when parties cease to exist,
liberty will perish." Parties are born, not made, and they have
their own organic life and individuality, which outlive the men
who make up their rank and file. Early in the administration
of President Washington two general principles of govern-
ment became incarnated in Hamilton and Jefferson. They
represented the two poles of political thought. The one be-
lieved in the centralization of power ; the other was the apostle
of individualism. Amid all the mutations of a century and a
quarter these conceptions of government have been in the fore-
front, and the lines were never more sharply drawn than they
are today. There may be so-called "eras of good feeling,"
times when the claims of party are disregarded ; but these are
transitional periods rather than a normal status. When any
established order is about to pass away, there will surely
follow a re-alignment upon new and living issues.
The history of the Republican party has for sixty years,
with two brief intervals, been the political history of the
2
2 Republican Party in Illinois
nation. Illinois has from the first been a stronghold of
Republicanism. Only once since 1856 has the enemy suc-
cessfully stormed the citadel. The beginnings of the Repub-
lican party in Illinois is a story of thrilling interest ; it is full
of the romance of history. The heroes were not Quixotic
adventurers waging fierce battles with imaginary foes. They
were men of heroic mold, whom the old Norsemen would
have enrolled among the heroes in the halls of Valhalla.
They were knights of true chivalry, who drew their swords
for freedom, liberty and law. The rise of this party to power
will make its appeal to the student of state history, irrespec-
tive of his personal opinion. A brief survey of earlier politi-
cal history will afford the necessary background.
African slavery existed in the United States nearly two
and a half centuries. In August, 1619, a Dutch vessel
entered James river with twenty slaves. They were pur-
chased by the colonists, and their offspring endured perpetual
servitude. One year later the pilgrims landed on Plymouth
rock. Thus there were transplanted to the virgin soil of the
new world, almost simultaneously, the civilizations of the
Puritan and the cavalier.
From 1619 until 1775, a period of one hundred and
fifty-six years, the colonial policy of England was under the
control of the friends of slavery and the slave trade. Her
merchants and manufacturers quickly caught the spirit
that emanated from parliament and the throne. Under
the fostering care of the mother country, slavery flourished in
the colonies. More than three hundred thousand bondsmen
were imported ; and colonial legislation designed to restrict
or prohibit the traffic was nullified by the home government.
Henry Wilson tells the story in a single sentence: "British
avarice planted slavery in America; British legislation sane-
Republican Party in Illinois 3
tioned and maintained it; British statesmen sustained and
guarded it."
When the declaration of independence was promulgated
by the continental congress in 1776 African slavery had been
established in every one of the thirteen colonies.
The treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, by which the
independence of the colonies was acknowledged. Between
the thirty-first and forty-seventh parallels of latitude was a
vast unorganized territory that was conceded to be embraced
within the limits of the new republic. This domain was
claimed by the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New
York, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia, by virtue of
their respective royal charters. These claims were resisted
by the other states, which contended that the territory which
had been acquired in a common struggle should inure to
the good of all. Virginia solved the problem by magnani-
mously surrendering the larger portion of her territory. Other
states relinquished their shadowy claims. By these means a
magnificent national domain was created beyond the Alle-
ghanies.
The slavery question quickly came to the front. In 1784
the continental congress accepted from the Old Dominion
a deed of cession of all the lands claimed by her northwest of
the Ohio river. A select committee prepared a plan of govern-
ment for this territory and for any other domain that might
be subsequently ceded. This plan provided that slavery
should not be permitted after the year 1800. This provision
failed to pass and thus Liberty suffered defeat in her very first
contest with the Slave-Power. This measure would have
secured to freedom not only the great Northwest territory,
but also Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
In 1787 a congressional committee, of which Nathan Dane
4 Republican Party in Illinois
was chairman, reported an ordinance for the government of
the territory northwest of the Ohio river. It provided that
slavery should be forever prohibited. This ordinance was
promptly passed by congress and the territory now comprised
within the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and
Wisconsin, was forever consecrated to freedom. In 1789 the
first congress under the constitution passed a bill, without
opposition in either house, which gave emphatic sanction to
the ordinance of 1787. Freedom had now won a victory in
the outposts of civilization, which proved an impregnable
Gibraltar. This was the first territory over which the general
government had exclusive control and the prompt prohibition
of slavery therein is a significant fact.
When the constitutional convention assembled in 1787,
slavery existed in twelve of the thirteen states. Massachu-
setts had become a free state through a decision of her supreme
court, based on a clause in her bill of rights in her new con-
stitution. The compromises on the slavery question made
possible the adoption of the constitution and the founding of
a federal government. Without these concessions it would
have then been impossible for the thirteen struggling states
to form "a more perfect union." There were three compro-
mises: The African slave trade was not to be prohibited
within twenty years; three-fifths of the slaves were to be
counted in the apportionment of representatives in congress;
and fugitives from service were to be returned to their owners.
In accordance with the last named condition congress enacted
in 1793 a fugitive slave law, which remained in force until
1850.
The fathers of the republic did not desire to perpetuate
slavery. On the contrary, they believed that by the provis-
ions of the constitution they had placed the evil where the
Republican Party in Illinois 5
public could rest in the belief that it was in the course of ul-
timate extinction. These hopes might have been realized
had it not been for the invention of the cotton gin by Eli
Whitney in 1792. This machine greatly facilitated the prep-
aration of cotton for market. The demand for slave labor
was greatly enhanced. Slavery, instead of being placed in
process of extinction, fastened its poisonous coils upon the
young republic.
Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia made cessions of
southern territory to the general government, but each exacted
the stipulation that slavery should not be prohibited. From
this domain were created the slave states of Kentucky, Tenn-
essee, Alabama and Mississippi. Thus the Ohio river became
the dividing line between slavery and freedom. "North of
it freedom was forever decreed. South of it slavery was firm-
ly established." The republic became half slave and half
free, but it could not in this way permanently endure.
The next struggle came without warning. The north and
the south suddenly found themselves arrayed against each
other with relentless energy. The fates seemed to conspire
against freedom. The purchase of Louisiana appeared to
offer a wide field for the expansion of southern principles.
This vast domain beyond the Father of Waters was like a
vision of Canaan to the slavery propagandists. Stimulated
by the use of the cotton gin, cotton planting had become
within thirty years the most remunerative industry in the
south. At this juncture the struggle over the admission of
Missouri appears on the horizon.
The "Missouri question" formally appeared in congress
in 1818. When the bill for the admission of Missouri
as a slave state came before the house, James Tallmadge, Jr.,
a member from New York, offered an amendment which
6 Republican Party in Illinois
would ultimately destroy slavery in the new state. The house
passed the bill with the amendment, but the senate refused to
concur. In the following year the house again passed the bill
in the same form. The senate voted to admit Maine provided
Missouri was admitted as a slave state. The house rejected
the proposal. At this point Jesse B. Thomas, a senator from
Illinois, offered what is known as the famous "Missouri com-
promise." This feature forever prohibited slavery north of
thirty-six degrees thirty minutes in all territory acquired from
France by the Louisiana purchase. The house agreed to the
compromise and Missouri was given permission to enter the
union as a slave state, subject to the compromise, which formed
a part of the enabling act.
The people of Missouri, however, were disconcerted at
the prospect of three adjoining free states. In a resentful
mood, and led by extremists, they inserted a provision in the
state constitution requiring the legislature to enact laws to
prevent free negroes or mulattoes from coming into the state.
A bitter parliamentary struggle ensued in congress and there
were frequent threats of dissolving the union. After a pro-
longed contest, and through the instrumentality of a joint
committee, a second compromise was effected. The admission
of Missouri was secured upon condition that her legislature
should never enact a law enforcing the odious provision in
her constitution. Missouri made a virtue of necessity and
promptly but not gracefully accepted the humiliating con-
dition. Thus was effected a prolonged truce in the "irrepres-
sible conflict."
CHAPTER II
RISE OF THE ABOLITIONISTS ANNEXATION OF TEXAS
WAR WITH MEXICO PARITY OF SLAVE AND FREE STATES
WILMOT PROVISO GENERAL TAYLOR ELECTED PRES-
IDENT HENRY CLAY'S COMPROMISE MEASURES.
MISSOURI came into the union as the twenty-fourth
state. With the settlement of this question the
anti-slavery agitation quickly subsided. The north
believed it had secured to freedom all the territory above the
compromise line. The south insisted upon the right to create
new slave states below that boundary. This implied under-
standing was accepted by the great political parties, and for
the next twenty years there was no discussion of the slavery
issue in their national conventions.
Meanwhile the leaven of abolitionism was at w r ork. A
radical group of reformers arose, pledged to the utter over-
throw of slavery by any lawful means. They recognized the
limitations imposed by the constitution, and urged only such
reforms as clearly came within the scope of congress. These
men demanded the abolition of slavery in the District of
Columbia, and in the forts, arsenals and dock yards; the
prohibition of the interstate slave trade ; that American ships
sailing on the high seas should not be allowed to carry slaves
as cargo. These Abolitionists would not assist in the return
of fugitive slaves because it did violence to their conscience.
Among the leaders of this movement were James G. Birney,
William Lloyd Garrison, Theodore Parker, Wendell
Phillips, John G. Whittier and Charles Sumner.
7
8 Republican Party in Illinois
The Abolitionists were a leavening rather than a directly
constructive force. They pledged their lives, their fortunes
and their sacred honor to the eternal law of justice and be-
lieved the universe was pledged to their cause. The reformer
and his reform rarely succeed in the same age; but time vin-
dicated the faith of these prophets. The method of deliver-
ance was yet to be revealed. The Arbiter of nations was so
to execute his sovereign will that the wrath of man should
praise him. This heroic band of idealists assailed wickedness
in high places. It was a time when Truth was on the scaffold,
and Wrong on the throne. But these men had a vision of
truth like unto the stone cut without hands from the moun-
tain, in the vision of Daniel's king, that broke in pieces the
great image, and filled the whole earth.
During the decade from 1840 to 1850 the Slave-Power
became aggressive. It dictated the policy of the nation.
Texas revolted from Mexico in 1835, declared itself inde-
pendent in 1836, and in the following year its independence
was recognized by the United States. Americans emigrated
to that province and became the dominant power in the young
republic. Thenceforward the annexation of Texas was re-
ceived with more or less favor in the United States; but it
was not until 1844 that it became a political issue. The
scheme had many supporters in the Democratic party in 1836,
but the leaders were afraid of it. In 1840 Mr. Van Buren,
who was again aspiring to the presidency, desired to avoid the
issue and it was omitted from the party's declaration of prin-
ciples. It was reserved for the administration of John Tyler
to accomplish the long-cherished plan of annexation.
After the retirement of Webster and the tragic death of
Upshur, John C. Calhoun became secretary of state in the
cabinet of President Tyler. The president wanted the an-
Republican Party in Illinois 9
nexation of Texas to be the distinctive feature of his admin-
istration. Mr. Calhoun loved the south, and he fully believed
that he now had the opportunity of his life to extend her
power. Southward and westward the star of empire should
take its way. A treaty of annexation was sent to the senate
in April, 1844. Mr. Clay and Mr. Van Buren, the respec-
tive leaders of the two parties, were anxious to eliminate the
Texas question from the ensuing presidential campaign; and
the treaty failed in the senate.
In May, 1844, the Whig party nominated Mr. Clay in
Baltimore on a platform that was silent on the Texas
question. The Democrats were more courageous. In the
convention which repudiated Van Buren and nominated
James K. Polk for president, they boldly declared for annexa-
tion. During the progress of the campaign, Mr. Clay real-
ized that his attitude against annexation, as declared in his
famous Raleigh letter published in the National Intelligencer,
was jeopardizing his prospects. He thereupon wrote to
Stephen Miller, of Tuscaloosa, what is known as his Alabama
letter, in which he said that, "far from having any personal
objection to the annexation of Texas," he "would be glad to
see it annexed, without dishonor, without war, with the com-
mon consent of the union, and upon just and fair terms."
This letter proved to be Mr. Clay's death warrant. He lost
prestige in the free states, where thousands of anti-slavery
Whigs cast their votes for James G. Birney, turned the bal-
ance of power against Clay, and elected Polk. The Democrats
had won the election on the square issue of annexation. Mr.
Clay and Mr. Van Buren had defeated the treaty negotiated
by Mr. Calhoun, and they in turn were overruled by the
popular vote.
The plan of annexation was quickly consummated. Mr.
10 Republican Party in Illinois
Calhoun sought quick revenge. He devised the short cut
scheme of annexation by joint resolution of congress, which
passed both houses in time to receive President Tyler's sig-
nature three days before he retired from office. Texas ac-
cepted the terms of the resolution and in December following
was admitted into the union as a slave state. The Slave-Power
had triumphed. The country was soon to pay the price of
blood, for grim-visaged war was already seen upon the horizon.
The United States had annexed a neighboring republic.
Mexico had never acknowledged the independence of her
rebellious territory, nor abandoned her purpose of subjugation.
The Mexican minister at Washington entered a formal pro-
test against the proceeding, demanded his passports and left
the country. In his message to congress President Polk an-
nounced that he had sent a squadron to the west Mexican
coast and troops to the western border of Texas. This act
was throwing down the gauntlet to the enemy. Mexico ac-
cepted the challenge. It was believed in the north the pres-
ident intended to grasp even more territory beyond the Rio
Grande. This suspicion produced an immediate revival of
the anti-slavery agitation. There was a revolt throughout
the country against the war-policy of the president. In the
south both parties, by the supposed necessity of the situation,
upheld slavery and the president's purpose to give it new
worlds to conquer. In the north each party had its pro-
slavery and anti-slavery wing. The union was a house
divided against itself.
From the foundation of the government to the inaugura-
tion of President Polk the balancing of forces between slave
and free states had been maintained with absolute precision.
Slave and free states had been admitted into the union in pairs.
Seven of the thirteen original states had become free. Fifteen
Republican Party in Illinois 11
states were admitted into the union prior to the annexation
of Texas. Eight were slave and seven free. Thus in March,
1845, there were twenty-eight states, fourteen slave and four-
teen free.
The occupation of the valley of the Rio Grande by Gen-
eral Taylor in the winter of 1845-46 precipitated hostilities.
May 13, 1846, the two republics were formally declared to be
at war. The United States used the giant's power against
a weaker neighbor, and the struggle lasted less than two years.
A treaty of peace was signed February 2, 1848, by which
Mexico relinquished her claim to Texas and ceded Upper
California and New Mexico. New territory was gained,
but the honor of the nation was compromised.
During the war, in August, 1846, David Wilmot, a mem-
ber of congress from Pennsylvania, submitted an amendment
to a bill appropriating two million dollars to be "applied
under the direction of the president to any extraordinary ex-
penses which may be incurred in our foreign intercourse."
Mr. Wilmot's proviso declared it to be "an express and fun-
damental condition to the acquisition of any territory from
Mexico, that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall
exist therein."
The proviso failed in both houses of congress, but it created
a more profound impression in the country than the Missouri
compromise. "The consecration of the territory of the United
States to freedom became from that day a rallying cry for
every shade of anti-slavery opinion."
A king of ancient Babylon decreed that those who would
not bow to his image of gold should be cast into a burning,
fiery furnace. So the Slave-Power demanded the allegiance
of all political parties. The Whigs became alarmed, aban-
doned the purpose of the Wilmot proviso, and in 1848 nomi-
12 Republican Party in Illinois
nated General Taylor, with no declaration of principles. The
leaders adopted a non-committal policy on slavery as the only
hope of the party. The Democrats reaffirmed the essential
features of its platform of 1844, and nominated General
Lewis Cass for president. General Taylor's military renown
gave him prestige and he was elected.
But there was an increasing number of those in both par-
ties who would not bow the knee to Baal. There were "con-
science" Whigs and "barn-burner" Democrats ; and these co-
operated with the old Abolitionists, and, under the name of
the "Free-Soil party," nominated Martin Van Buren and
Charles Francis Adams. This presidential ticket received
291,678 votes. In 1844 James G. Birney had received 58,879
votes as the abolition candidate for president, and in 1840
Mr. Birney had been able to command only 6,745 votes.
This rapid gain in eight years in the numerical strength of the
anti-slavery vote, and the moral earnestness and power it rep-
resented, portended a still greater conflict. It was not long
delayed.
With the election of Zachary Taylor, the slavery question
was still undecided. The country awaited with almost pain-
ful interest the announcement of his cabinet and his policy.
The weight of influence in the personnel of his cabinet was
with the north. The pro-slavery leaders were disconcerted
and feared "the south had sown and the north would reap."
They wanted positive legislation to establish their right to
carry their slaves into the territories, and to extend the Mis-
souri compromise line to the Pacific. But Fate or Providence
decreed otherwise. Gold was discovered in California in
1848, and the territory was quickly settled by a sturdy, liberty-
loving people. They promptly organized a state government,
Republican Party in Illinois 13
with a constitution forever excluding slavery, and in 1849
sought admission into the union.
President Taylor's message to congress in December,
1849, was a dividing sword. It inspired the friends of the
union and alarmed the slavery propagandists. The president
recommended the immediate admission of California as a free
state, and that New Mexico be continued under her existing
military organization until she was ready to adopt a state
constitution. In a subsequent special message the president
said the claim of Texas to a portion of New Mexico could
not be judicially determined while the latter remained a
territory. These recommendations intensified sectional feel-
ing, and the entire country felt its impulse.
At this crisis Henry Clay re-entered the senate in the role
of peacemaker. In January, 1850, he introduced a series of
resolutions to secure an "amicable arrangement of all questions
in controversy between the free and slave states growing out
of the subject of slavery." These resolutions were referred
to a special committee, of which Mr. Clay was chairman.
Mr. Clay reported a bill embodying the measures which were
considered necessary to pacify the country. It was in support
of these measures that Mr. Webster made his memorable "7th
of March speech." The administration opposed Mr. Clay's
"omnibus bill," as it was called, but in the heat of the debate
President Taylor suddenly died. Mr. Fillmore, who suc-
ceeded, supported the compromise measures. They were
finally defeated, however, in July, by striking out every
feature except the provision for the organization of the
territory of Utah.
After the Utah bill was passed, without prohibition or per-
mission of slavery, separate bills followed for the admission of
California; the organization of New Mexico, with the same
14 Republican Party in Illinois
condition respecting slavery which had applied to Utah ; for
the adjustment of the Texas boundary and payment of in-
demnity to that state ; for the abolition of slavery in the Dis-
trict of Columbia, and for a more drastic fugitive slave law.
Congress thus enacted the bills separately which it had refused
to pass together. Mr. Clay's policy had triumphed.
The fugitive slave law was especially repugnant to the
moral sense of the north. The protest made by Theodore
Parker in Boston against the return of the fugitive slave Sims
is perhaps the most powerful piece of invective in American
literature.
The Democratic and Whig parties in their conventions
of 1852 adopted resolutions declaring the compromise meas-
ures a finality on the slavery question. This policy prevailed
in Whig councils against a powerful minority, led by Seward,
Fessenden and Wade, who demanded that not a single foot
of the virgin soil of the territories should ever be under the
curse of slavery. The triumph of the Democratic party and
the dissolution of the Whigs appeared to settle the prolonged
struggle. But no question is ever permanently settled until
it is settled right; and unsettled questions have no mercy on
the peace of nations.
CHAPTER III
THE INAUGURATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE FIRST NEBRASKA
BILL REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE SENA-
TOR DOUGLAS' MOTIVE GREAT MORAL AWAKENING
ORIGIN OF NAME REPUBLICAN THE ROCKFORD CON-
VENTION POLITICS AT THE STATE FAIR NO CONTEM-
PORARY REPORT LINCOLN'S AMBITION THE NOVEM-
BER ELECTIONS LYMAN TRUMBULL ELECTED UNITED
STATES SENATOR.
FRANKLIN PIERCE was inaugurated president of
the United States March 4, 1853. In his inaugural
address he committed himself without reserve to the
support of Mr. Clay's compromise measures. In his message
to congress the following December the president congratu-
lated the country that the compromise legislation had "re-
stored a sense of repose and security to the public mind," and
assured his countrymen he would do nothing to enkindle again
the flame of party strife. A majority of the people, north and
south, were satisfied with the situation. It was another era
of good feeling, like that which prevailed during the pres-
idency of James Monroe ; but it was a calm before a storm.
The outlook, however, was discouraging to the little band
of Free-Soilers. Chase and Sumner stood alone in the senate.
The pro-slavery party controlled every branch of the govern-
ment. It could make, execute and interpret the laws. It was
Freedom's darkest hour. There was little resistance to the
existing order, and the conscience of the nation seemed dead.
But it was soon to be awakened.
15
16 Republican Party in Illinois
The results of the Mexican war had disappointed the
slavery propagandists. Their over-vaulting ambition had de-
feated itself. They had drawn the sword and now they
feared they were about to perish by it. The admission of
California created a vast empire devoted to freedom. The
south had been checkmated in the desperate game of national
politics. The soil and climate of Utah and New Mexico
were natural barriers to the extension of slavery, which was
surrounded by free territory, like a Chinese wall, on the north
and west. Slavery would ultimately become extinct if it
could not expand; and its supporters determined to remove
all restrictions, peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must.
The westward tide of emigration had prepared the way
for the organization of new territories. In December, 1852,
toward the close of President Fillmore's administration,
William Hall, of Missouri, introduced a bill in the house to
organize the territory of "the Platte." This region included
what is now known as Kansas and Nebraska. Mr. Hall's
bill passed the house, but failed in the senate. Every senator
from the slave-holdng states except those from Missouri voted
against it. The bill recognized the binding force of the
Missouri compromise, and this fact, it was subsequently
shown, caused its defeat.
The question was revived at the next session of congress.
January 4, 1854, Senator Douglas, from the committee on
territories, reported a bill introduced by Mr. Dodge of Iowa,
to organize the territory of Nebraska. In the report which
accompanied the bill Mr. Douglas declared it was based on
the principles of the compromise measures of 1850. January
16, Archibald Dixon, who had succeeded Henry Clay as a
senator from Kentucky, offered an amendment repealing the
Republican Party in Illinois 17
Missouri compromise, so that "the citizens of the several
states shall be at liberty to take and hold their slaves within
any of their territories." Mr. Douglas is said to have at first
remonstrated; but there is a tradition he was convinced by
Mr. Dixon that the Missouri compromise was unconstitu-
tional and unfair to the south. Douglas yielded. "This
proceeding," he said, "may end my political career, but, acting
under the sense of duty which animates me, I am prepared to
make the sacrifice. I will do it."
Mr. Douglas kept his word. January 23 he reported a
substitute for the Nebraska bill. Instead of a single territory,
it provided for two, Kansas and Nebraska. The Missouri
compromise was declared to be inoperative and void because
it was "inconsistent with the principle of non-intervention by
congress with slavery in the states and territories, as recog-
nized by the compromise measures of 1850." The bill also
declared "its true intent and meaning was not to legislate
slavery into any territory or state, and not to exclude it there-
from, but to leave the people perfectly free to regulate their
domestic institutions in their own way." The bill was before
the house four months. It was passed in the senate March
3 by a vote of twenty-seven to fourteen. The bill passed the
house May 24, and was signed by President Pierce six days
later.
Thus the ancient landmark which the fathers had set was
removed, through the utter destruction of good faith between
the sections. The north was stirred to a white heat of frenzy
by the astounding proposition made by Mr. Douglas, who
now turned to the difficult task of defending it before the
country. The Missouri compromise had come to be regarded
as sacred. It was the ark of the covenant. Stephen A.
Douglas had undertaken to throw open to slavery a vast
3
18 Republican Party in Illinois
domain that had been forever consecrated to freedom. He
drafted the bill of his own motion and in his own house.
While the initiative in this revolutionary proceeding is ac-
credited to Mr. Dixon, its consummation was due to Mr.
Douglas, and it stands out as the most notable achievement in
his remarkable parliamentary career.
Historians differ as to whether Mr. Douglas was true to
himself in this transaction. On the one hand, he is credited
with inventing the pretense that the compromise of 1 820 was
in conflict with the compromise of 1850 and that it was nec-
essary to repeal the former in order that the doctrine of non-
intervention with slavery in the territories should be recog-
nized as the settled policy of the nation. Mr. Douglas is
charged with resorting to this doctrine as a matter of self-
defense; for he himself confessed that he could travel from
Boston to Chicago by the light of his own effigies. But Time
softens asperities, and a late biographer of Mr. Douglas
throws the mantle of charity over his course in these words:
"It is enough to decide he took a wrong course, and to point
out how Ambition may very well have led him into it.
It is too much to say he knew it was wrong, and took it solely
because he was ambitious."
History moves like a pendulum. An extreme is always
followed by a reaction. The effect, if not the actual purpose,
of the Kansas-Nebraska bill was to give slavery an even chance
with freedom in the territories. The progress of righteous-
ness has ever been due as much to the errors of its enemies as
to the wisdom of its friends ; and thus it came to pass that the
achievement of Mr. Douglas stirred a tidal wave of resistance
that swept over his own state of Illinois.
The organized counter-movement in Illinois during its
formative period was known simply as the anti-Nebraska
Republican Party in Illinois 19
party. It was rapidly absorbing the more progressive elements
in the old organizations. Congressmen and members of the
legislature were being nominated on the new issue of no more
slave territory.
The selection of the name "Republican" for the new up-
rising was a matter of development rather than any definite
and formal christening. "Seven cities fought for Homer
dead." Many cities have likewise claimed the distinction of
giving the Republican party its "start in the world." Great
movements are in the air in any marked period of transition.
No man or city can exclusively claim them. They are rather
the result of the awakened conscience of a people. From this
fact arises the difficulty, if not impossibility, of determining the
birthplace of this great American party of freedom.
There are, however, certain facts that have been estab-
lished with reasonable certainty concerning the origin of
the name. Henry Wilson, former vice-president of the United
States, in his "Rise and Fall of the Slave-Power," is authority
for the statement that on the night following the final passage
of the Kansas-Nebraska act, a meeting of senators and repre-
sentatives in congress who had opposed that measure indorsed
the plan for such an organization. At an anti-Nebraska meet-
ing in Ripon, Wisconsin, March 29, 1854, Alvin E. Bovay
suggested the name Republican for the new party. It is now
generally conceded that Michigan took the lead in formally
adopting the name Republican at a state convention held at
Jackson July 6, 1854. In 1904, on the fiftieth anniversary
of that event, President Roosevelt declined the honor of an
invitation to be present on the ground that the birthplace of
the party was a matter of dispute, and that he did not wish to
give official recognition to any of the rival claimants.
Wisconsin followed Michigan July 13, and Vermont, at
20 Republican Party in Illinois
a state convention the same day, selected the name Republican.
It was adopted in Massachusetts at a mass meeting July 20.
In Illinois there was hesitancy among the anti-Nebraska
leaders, and it required some time to overcome this prejudice
and acquiesce in the action of neighboring states. The anti-
Nebraska convention, held at Springfield in October, 1854,
which will be subsequently considered, adopted a platform in
harmony with what afterward became the principles of the
Republican party. The name, however, was not adopted,
although Mr. Lincoln, in a letter to Ichabod Codding,
referred to "the Republican party." Even the convention
held in Bloomington in 1856, which has been designated as
the first Illinois state Republican convention, was not called
as such, and the name was nowhere used in the proceedings.
The claim made for Rockford, that it was the scene of
the first convention for the nomination of a member of con-
gress in Illinois under the name Republican, is well founded.
The citizens of Winnebago county, who were largely of New
England blood and traditions, were among the first in Illinois
to demand resistance to the encroachments of the Slave-Power.
With this end in view, a call was issued August 8, 1854, to
the voters of the First congressional district, consisting of
Lake, McHenry, Boone, Winnebago, Stephenson, Jo Daviess,
Carroll and Ogle counties. The call was signed by forty-six
citizens of Rockford and vicinity, as follows:
"To the Electors of the First Congressional District: In
view of the rapidly increasing influence of the Slave-Power,
as developed in the recent act of congress, and the treachery
of so large a number of representatives chosen to guard the
interests of freemen, the undersigned citizens of Winnebago
county most urgently request the electors of this congressional
district who have the interests of our common country at heart,
Republican Party in Illinois 21
irrespective of party, to meet at the court house in Rockford,
on Wednesday, the 30th of August, instant, either by delegates
or in mass, to consult upon the great question now at issue,
and to adopt such measures as shall be deemed most efficient
for combining our efforts and energies at the approaching
congressional and state elections, so as to prevent the still
further extension of slavery, and to protect the great interests
of free labor and free men from being sacrificed to the interest
or ambition of trading politicians."
C. W. Sheldon, of Rockford, is the only survivor of this
protesting group. John Travis, another signer, was the first
soldier from Winnebago county killed in the civil war. He
was shot through the heart at the battle of Shiloh. There
were thirteen Democrats in the convention and the others were
Whigs and Free-Soilers. It was understood that E. B. Wash-
burne would be nominated. This fact called forth a protest
from the anti-Nebraska Democrats, who were not favorable
to Mr. Washburne, who had already served one term in
congress as a Whig.
This historic mass meeting was first called to order in the
court house and from there adjourned to the grove west of
the First Baptist church, between Court and Winnebago
streets. Mr. Washburne was a candidate before the conven-
tion. There were other Richmonds in the field: Thomas
J. Turner and Martin P. Sweet, of Freeport; James L.
Loop, of Rockford, and Stephen A. Hurlbut, of Belvidere.
A committee on resolutions, consisting of one member
from each county, was nominated. There was ambition
mixed with patriotism. It was a time of the breaking up of
old parties, and the future was uncertain. How far would it
be safe to declare against the action of congress? This was
a serious question. The leaders were against Mr. Washburne,
22 Republican Party in Illinois
but the people were for him. There is a tradition that the
committee on resolutions was directed somewhat by the sug-
gestions of Mr. Hurlbut, in preparing anti-slavery resolutions
so radical that Mr. Washburne, it was thought, could not
accept a nomination upon them. But Mr. Washburne was
equal to the occasion, and he declared the resolutions met his
most hearty approval. Whereupon James Loop remarked,
in language more emphatic than pious, that Washburne would
swallow anything. Mr. Washburne was therefore nominated
by this mass convention.
The claim that this was a real Republican convention is
sustained by a paragraph from the official minutes, signed by
U. D. Meacham, of Freeport, one of the secretaries. This
paragraph says: "On motion Hon. E. B. Washburne was
nominated by acclamation as the candidate of the Republican
party of the First congressional district of Illinois, for con-
gress, to be supported at the coming election." A local news-
paper, in an editorial comment on the convention, said:
"After settling a few other matters, the convention adjourned
without day, and the Republican party was supposed to be
born." The Belvidere Standard, edited by Ralph Roberts, an
anti-Nebraska Democrat, did not recognize Mr. Washburne's
ability. A lengthy editorial on the convention contained this
paragraph : "The speeches were mainly short, but they were
pointed and practical, except Washburne's. He may be a
practical man, but he gets off more hifalutin, bombastic non-
sense, when he speaks on the slavery question, than any other
man we ever knew."
The regular Whig convention for the First district was
held at Rockford one week later, September 6. Mr. Wash-
burne was nominated, and, with the support of newly-made
"Republicans" and old Whigs, he was elected in November.
Republican Party in Illinois 23
The anti-Nebraska Democrats nominated E. P. Ferry, of
Lake county.
An anti-Nebraska convention was held for the Second
district at Aurora September 28, when James H. Woodworth
was nominated for congress. A convention held at Blooming-
ton for the Third district nominated Jesse O. Norton. In the
Alton and Belleville district Lyman Trumbull was nomi-
nated and elected as an avowed anti-Nebraska Democrat.
In the other five congressional districts of the state the nom-
inations were made on the old party lines.
These congressional conventions were preceded by local
conventions of a similar character in nearly all the northern
counties, as well as in some of the central and southern sections
of the state. In the absence of previous organization these
were generally mass meetings composed of self-appointed
delegates.
September 7, 1854, the Free West, a weekly newspaper
printed in Chicago and edited by Zebina Eastman, published
a call for a state mass convention to be held at Springfield
October 5, 1854, "for the organization of a party which shall
put the government upon a Republican tack and to secure to
non-slave-holders throughout the union their just and consti-
tutional weight and influence in the councils of the nation."
The date finally chosen, however, for the assembling of the
convention was October 4, the second day of the state fair,
although the principal business was transacted on the following
day. Thus the first state anti-Nebraska convention in Illinois
was held in the state house at Springfield, October 4, 1854.
This gathering was called as a "mass convention." The first
state convention to which regularly accredited delegates were
chosen was held at Bloomington two years later. This was
24 Republican Party in Illinois
really a mass meeting, as well as a representative body. The
convention of 1854 was its forerunner.
There is no contemporary report of this convention.
Neither of the two papers published in Springfield gave an
accurate account of the proceedings. The State Journal,
which still adhered to the Whig party, disposed of the subject
in two or three lines. The State Register, the Democratic
organ, eleven days later published a series of radical resolu-
tions, purporting to have been adopted at the Springfield con-
vention. As a matter of fact, these resolutions were adopted
at the convention of the Second congressional district held in
Aurora. Senator Douglas, in his second debate with Lincoln
at Freeport, was humiliated by the fact that he had been duped
by his own newspaper organ into charging these resolutions
against the "black Republicans" at Springfield.
History is indebted to the Chicago Daily Democrat of
November 2, 1860, for the best newspaper account of the
Springfield convention. It was evidently written by an eye-
witness of the proceedings. When the delegates arrived at
the capital they found the people bound hand and foot by a
timid conservatism. They had not obtained the use of the
state house for the convention, nor had any local notice been
given of the meeting. One of the outside delegates, after his
arrival, set up the type and printed handbills announcing the
convention.
There is a tradition that only twenty-six persons attended
the first day's session of this "mass convention." Historians
have widely differed concerning the political complexion of the
personnel. William Eleroy Curtis, in his book, "The True
Abraham Lincoln," calls it "a small group of Abolitionists."
William H. Herndon, another biographer of Lincoln, also
refers to them in similar manner. Mr. Herndon, writing
Republican Party in Illinois 25
upon the assumption that the convention was dominated by
Abolitionists, declares that they were determined to force Mr.
Lincoln to espouse their cause ; that Owen Lovejoy was about
to invite Mr. Lincoln to address their meeting when Herndon
advised him to leave the city as quickly as possible. Mr.
Herndon was a radical Abolitionist, but he knew his partner's
political ambition, and did not believe it would be wise for him
to become identified with the so-called extremists.
The fact that Owen Lovejoy, an Abolitionist firebrand,
was a member of the convention, gives color to the statement.
The conservative character of the platform, however, dis-
proves the statement that it was the work of a "groUp of
Abolitionists." The platform opposed the extension of slavery,
but did not urge the repeal of the fugitive slave law, nor pro-
pose to interfere with slavery where it already existed under
the constitution. There was a meeting of Abolitionists on the
evening of October 4, and it is probable that in the lapse of
time the proceedings of this gathering and those of the anti-
Nebraska convention became confused by the later historians.
The anti-Nebraska convention was called to order by
Tuthill King. A. C. Throop was elected chairman and
C. C. Flint secretary. John E. McClun, of McLean, was
nominated for state treasurer, the only state officer to be
elected in November. A state central committee was chosen,
of which Mr. Lincoln was made a member. Mr. Lincoln,
however, did not attend the convention, and declined to serve
as a member of the committee.
Such was the birth of the forerunner of the Republican
party in Illinois. Its origin was as obscure as that of the great
commoner who first led it to victory. The anti-Nebraska
convention adopted a platform in harmony with the principles
of later Republicanism. No organization was perfected, as
26 Republican Party in Illinois
the state central committee failed to serve, but the convention
had stood for a principle. Its leaders were like a voice crying
in the wilderness ; they were the forerunners of a new era.
All political parties took advantage of the state fair to hold
conventions and mass meetings and discuss the issues of the
day. Among the leaders present on this occasion were
Richard Yates, John M. Palmer, John A. Logan, Lyman
Trumbull, Elihu B. Washburne, Stephen T. Logan, Owen
Lovejoy, Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. The
disruption of the Whig party had left Mr. Lincoln a political
orphan. He was adrift for a time, and did not readily find new
affiliations. He had always despised slavery, but he did not
sympathize with the Abolitionists, one of whose leaders had
said the compact between the north and the south was "a
covenant with death and an agreement with hell." Mr.
Lincoln needed the stimulus of a crisis before he could find
anchor and show what manner of man he was. The repeal
of the Missouri compromise aroused the sleeping lion, and he
became in time the acknowledged leader of the new movement.
Abraham Lincoln was an ambitious man. Mr. Herndon,
his law partner and biographer, says his ambition was a little
engine that knew no rest. But his ambition was always sub-
ordinated to his passionate love of truth. In 1837 Rev. Peter
Akers preached a powerful discourse at Salem on the evils
of slavery, and the possibility of civil war. "Who knows,"
said the preacher, in a startling climax, "but the man who shall
lead the nation in that awful time may be in this audience
today?" Abraham Lincoln was there; and who shall say-
there may not have come to him some foregleam of his destiny,
like the dawning of the consciousness of power that came to
Joseph, the young Hebrew, when the sun, moon and eleven
stars did obeisance unto him in the wheat fields of Canaan !
Republican Party in Illinois 27
A notable feature of the state fair was the discussions of
Senator Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Tuesday evening,
October 3, Mr. Douglas expounded his doctrine of "popular
sovereignty" before an enthusiastic throng. Although he made
an able and audacious speech, he was embarassed throughout
by the fact that he was on the defensive. Mr. Lincoln replied
the following day in a masterly address. His audience felt
that a man of power had arisen, a Moses to lead the people.
Mr. Lincoln had foreseen and studied the inevitable issue,
and was prepared for it when it came. He could interpret it
beyond the power of any other American. He abhorred
slavery and believed that the declaration of independence
referred alike to black and white men. As a strict construc-
tionist of the constitution, he was committed against interfer-
ing with slavery where it already existed ; but he would utter
the voice of warning against its extension into new territory.
Mr. Lincoln's speech is a masterful exposition of the principles
upon which the Republican party was founded.
Senator Douglas made a rejoinder the following day.
During the campaign of this year Illinois was visited by
such distinguished anti-slavery orators as Cassius M. Clay,
Salmon P. Chase and Joshua R. Giddings. At the election in
November E. B. Washburne, Jesse O. Norton and James
Knox, Republicans, were elected members of congress from
the First, Third and Fourth districts, respectively. James
H. Woodvvorth, William A. Richardson, Thomas L. Harris,
James C. Allen, Lyman Trumbull and Samuel S. Marshall
were chosen from the Second, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth
and Ninth districts, respectively. Woodworth and Trumbull
were classified as anti-Nebraska Democrats.
The anti-Nebraska men had a majority in the legislature,
to which Mr. Lincoln had been elected a member. It was a
28 Republican Party in Illinois
difficult task to classify politically the members of the general
assembly when it convened January 1, 1855. There were
old line Whigs, straight Democrats, anti-Nebraska Democrats,
Know-Nothings, Free-Soilers and Abolitionists.
Mr. Lincoln was ambitious to succeed General Shields in
the United States senate. It required fifty-one votes to elect a
senator, and the forty-six anti-Nebraska Whigs were prac-
tically a unit for Mr. Lincoln. He resigned his seat in the
legislature and became a candidate. The few Abolitionists
distrusted him, and the five anti-Nebraska Democrats held the
balance of power. These were John M. Palmer, Norman B.
Judd, Burton C. Cook, G. T. Allen and Henry S. Baker.
After several votes, to prevent the election of Governor Mat-
teson, a Douglas Democrat, Mr. Lincoln with remarkable
magnanimity, withdrew, and Lyman Trumbull was elected on
the tenth ballot. Mr. Lincoln's time had not yet come.
Judge Trumbull's election was the first fruit of that
political revolution in Illinois out of which sprang the Repub-
lican party. He was descended from one of the most distin-
guished families in New England, and was born in Colchester,
Connecticut, October 12, 1813. He removed to Illinois in
early manhood, and in 1841 he became secretary of state. In
1848 he was elected one of the justices of the supreme court
of Illinois. Judge Trumbull was one of the five Republican
senators who voted for acquittal in the impeachment trial of
Andrew Johnson. He possessed a remarkably acute and an-
alytical mind; and a contemporary says he was regarded as
the most cold-blooded man who had ever appeared in public
life in Illinois. Judge Trumbull occupied a position of
influence as chairman of the judiciary committee of the senate.
LYMAN TRUMBULL
CHAPTER IV
EDITORIAL CONFERENCE AT DECATUR STATE REPUBLICAN
CONVENTION AT BLOOMINGTON THE PLATFORM LIN-
COLN'S LOST SPEECH REPUBLICANS ELECT STATE
TICKET.
THE failure of the Springfield convention to effect a
permanent organization made it necessary for such
initiative to be taken by others. This duty devolved
upon a group of anti-Nebraska editors. If there is any one
man in Illinois who can be especially designated as the father
of the Republican party as a state organization in Illinois, it
is Paul Selby, now living in Chicago. In 1856 Mr. Selby was
editor of the Morgan Journal at Jacksonville. Early in
January of that year there appeared in the editorial columns
of the Journal a suggestion that a conference of anti-Nebraska
editors be called. Its purpose was to outline political action
for the ensuing state and national campaigns. The first
endorsement came from the Winchester Chronicle, then under
the editorship of the late John Moses, who became the private
secretary of the first Governor Richard Yates, and still later
the author of Moses' History of Illinois. The Illinois State
Chronicle, published at Decatur, announced a similar approval,
and, upon the suggestion of the Chronicle, Decatur was chosen
as the place of meeting and February 22 as the date. Other
early endorsers were the Pike County Press and the Chicago
Tribune.
A formal call for an editorial conference was issued, which
was endorsed by twenty-five newspapers. Among these were
31
30 Republican Party in Illinois
the Tribune, Staats Zeitung and Journal, of Chicago, and the
Pike County Press, at Pittsfield, then edited by the late John
G. Nicolay, who became a private secretary and later a
biographer of Abraham Lincoln.
The conference was called to order at the appointed time.
The editors met in the Cassell house, later the Oglesby house,
and subsequently the St. Nicholas hotel. There were an even
dozen anti-Nebraska editors at the conference. A heavy snow
storm the night before blockaded railroads and prevented a
number from attending. Two or three, however, arrived in
the evening, but too late to take part in the proceedings.
Those present at the first session were : Dr. Charles H. Ray,
Chicago Tribune ; George Schneider, Chicago Staats Zeitung ;
V. Y. Ralston, Quincy Whig; O. P. Wharton, Rock Island
Advertiser; Thomas J. Pickett, Peoria Republican; E. C.
Daugherty, Rockford Register; E. W. Blaisdell, Jr., Rock-
ford Republican ; Charles Faxon, Princeton Post ; A. N. Ford,
Lacon Gazette ; B. F. Shaw, Dixon Telegraph ; W. J. Usrey,
Decatur Chronicle; Paul Selby, Morgan Journal. Mr.
Selby is the only survivor.
An organization was effected with Paul Selby as chair-
man and W. J. Usrey, secretary. Charles H. Ray, George
Schneider, V. Y. Ralston, O. P. Wharton, E. C. Daugherty
and Thomas J. Pickett were appointed a committee on
resolutions. A. N. Ford, Charles Faxon and B. F. Shaw
were the committee on credentials.
The most important work of the conference was trans-
acted through the committee on resolutions. Mr. Lincoln
came from Springfield and was in conference with the com-
mittee; and there is reason to believe that the platform,
reported through Dr. Ray as the chairman, and adopted by
the conference, bears the stamp of his peculiar intellect. Mr.
Republican Party in Illinois 31
Lincoln was the only outsider admitted to the deliberations
of the conference, and his relations were wholly with the
committee on resolutions.
The platform disavowed any intention of interfering with
slavery in the states; protested against the introduction of
slavery into territory already free; demanded the restoration
of the Missouri compromise; opposed "Know-nothingism,"
which had swept over the country, and concluded with a
demand for reform in the state government. It was a con-
servative platform, so far as slavery was concerned.
The conference adopted an independent resolution, which
recommended that a state convention be held at Bloomington
May 29. A state central committee was appointed, con-
sisting of one member from each congressional district, and
two for the state at large. The following citizens were the
members of the committee, chosen in the order of their dis-
tricts: Selden M. Church, Rockford; W. B. Ogden,
Chicago; G. D. A. Parks, Joliet; T. J. Pickett, Peoria;
Edward A. Dudley, Quincy ; W. H. Herndon, Springfield ;
R. J. Oglesby, Decatur; Joseph Gillespie, Edwardsville ;
D. L. Phillips, Jonesboro, with Gustavus Koerner, of Belle-
ville, and Ira O. Williams of Rock Island, for the state at
large.
The members of this committee, with three exceptions,
united in calling the convention at Bloomington. These
exceptions were W. B. Ogden, R. J. Oglesby and Gustavus
Koerner. Dr. John Evans and Colonel I. C. Pugh filled the
places of Ogden and Oglesby respectively.
In the evening a banquet was tendered the editors by the
citizens of Decatur at the Cassell house. R. J. Oglesby
presided and Abraham Lincoln made the principal address.
In replying to the suggestion of his name as a candidate for
32 Republican Party in Illinois
governor, Mr. Lincoln magnanimously urged the nomination
of an anti-Nebraska Democrat and finally named William
H. Bissell as the logical candidate.
The first Illinois state Republican convention was held
in Bloomington, May 29, 1856. As stated in a preceding
chapter, the name Republican was not mentioned in the call,
and it does not occur in the proceedings. By common consent,
however, it has become known in the history of the state as a
Republican convention. Thirty counties sent no delegates
and manj* of those who were present from the central and
southern sections were self-appointed and represented no con-
stituencies. Other counties were represented not only by
duly appointed delegates, but by prominent citizens who lent
the weight of their personal influence to the new movement.
The convention was a melting pot in which Democrats,
Whigs, Abolitionists and Know-nothings were to be fused
into a new party that was to win its first victory in the state
six months later. The convention was of such importance
that a certain distinction has always attached to the delegates.
The actual transactions are a matter of record, but there were
no reports of the speeches and the historian is obliged to
depend mainly upon tradition.
The old party leaders were there. Among them were
Trumbull, Palmer, Lincoln, Oglesby, Went/worth, Brown-
ing, Yates, Lovejoy and Koerner. There was also a younger
group of men who were in the line of apostolic succession for
leadership. This list included William Pitt Kellogg, who
became governor of Louisiana during the troublous days of
reconstruction; Thomas J. Henderson, Thomas J. Pickett,
Stephen A. Hurlbut, Joseph Medill and John F. Farnsworth.
Mr. Medill had come to Chicago from Ohio in 1855 and
with two partners purchased the Tribune. Mr. Medill was
Republican Party in Illinois 33
the Greeley of the west, and under his editorial management
the Tribune became a powerful exponent of Republican prin-
ciples.
John M. Palmer presided over the convention, and
Richard Yates, William Ross, John H. Bryant, David L.
Phillips, James M. Ruggles, G. D. A. Parks, John Clark,
Abner C. Harding and J. H. Marshall were vice-presidents.
The secretaries were Henry S. Baker, of Madison county;
Charles L. Wilson, of Cook; John Tillson, of Adams; Wash-
ington Bushnell, of La Salle and B. J. F. Hanna, of Ran-
dolph.
The platform embraced the following declaration of prin-
ciples: Opposition to the Democratic administration; that
congress possessed the power to abolish slavery in the terri-
tories and should exercise that power to prohibit the extension
of slavery into all territory heretofore free ; opposition to the
repeal of the Missouri compromise, and in favor of making
Kansas and Nebraska free states ; loyalty to the union and the
constitution ; a demand for the immediate admission of Kansas
under the free constitution adopted by her people ; liberty of
conscience as well as political freedom, proscribing no one on
account of religious opinions or place of birth.
William H. Bissell was nominated for governor. Colonel
Bissell had returned as a hero from the Mexican war. He
had commanded a regiment of the bravest of Illinois men, of
whom he was the idol. He fought in several battles and
distinguished himself at Buena Vista. After his return to
civil life he was elected to congress several terms without
opposition. While in congress he denounced Jefferson Davis,
who had cast reflections upon Illinois men who had fought
in the war with Mexico. Davis challenged his adversary to
fight a duel. Bissell accepted, and chose muskets to be used
34 Republican Party in Illinois
at such short range that it meant sure death to one or both.
Through the intercession of President Zachary Taylor, Davis'
father-in-law, the challenge was withdrawn.
Francis A. Hoffman was nominated for lieutenant-gov-
ernor; Ozias M. Hatch for secretary of state; Jesse K.
Dubois for auditor of public accounts; James Miller for
treasurer; William H. Powell for superintendent of public
instruction. It was found that Mr. Hoffman, who was a
native of Germany, had not been a resident of the state four-
teen years, and was therefore ineligible under the constitution.
John Wood, of Adams county, was subsequently nominated
for lieutenant-governor.
The nominations were not made in the usual manner.
Bissell and Hoffman were nominated by acclamation, and the
others upon the recommendation of a committee, of which
Abraham Lincoln was chairman. The old state central com-
mittee was continued. The ticket was a concession to the old
Whig and Democratic elements in the convention. No rad-
ical Republican received recognition.
Eloquent orators enkindled the fire of devotion on this
new altar of freedom. John M. Palmer spoke from the
standpoint of an old school Democrat ; Browning as a Whig ;
while Lovejoy, in the words of John Moses, spoke "from a
pinnacle of vision to which others had not been able hitherto
to climb."
The last speaker was Abraham Lincoln, who made what
some historians have called the greatest effort of his life.
Tradition says the large audience arose to its feet, stood upon
chairs and benches and was moved at will by this new prophet
of righteousness. Lincoln was newly baptised with the spirit
of freedom, and he spoke with a Pentecostal flame. Mr.
Herndon, in his Life of Lincoln, says of this speech: "He
Republican Party in Illinois 35
had the fervor of a new convert; the smothered flame broke
out; enthusiasm, unusual to him, blazed up; his eyes were
aglow with an inspiration ; he felt justice ; his heart was alive
to the right; his sympathies, remarkably deep for him, burst
forth and he stood before the throne of the eternal right, in
the presence of his God, and then and there unburdened his
penitential and fired soul."
That address has never been preserved to the world, and
it is known as the "lost speech." The reporters threw down
their pens and lived only in the inspiration of the hour.
The Democratic state convention met at Springfield May
1. William A. Richardson was nominated for governor on
the third ballot. Richard Jones Hamilton, of Chicago, was
nominated for lieutenant-governor; William H. Snyder, of
St. Clair, for secretary of state ; Samuel K. Casey, of Frank-
lin, for auditor; John Moore, the incumbent, for treasurer;
and J. H. St. Matthew, of Tazewell, for state superintend-
ent of public instruction.
The first national convention held in 1856 was that of
the American party, which assembled at Philadelphia February
19. Millard Fillmore was nominated for president, and
Andrew J. Donelson for vice-president.
The first national Republican convention opened in Phil-
adelphia June 17. John C. Fremont was nominated for pres-
ident, and William L. Dayton for vice-president. Abraham
Lincoln was the closest rival to Mr. Dayton for the vice-
presidency. The platform declared it to be "both the right
and the imperative duty of congress to prohibit in the terri-
tories those twin relics of barbarism polygamy and slavery."
The national Democratic convention was held at Cincin-
nati June 2. Senator Douglas was a candidate, but James
36 Republican Party in Illinois
Buchanan was nominated for president on the sixteenth ballot.
John C. Breckenridge was nominated for vice-president. The
platform flatly opposed the doctrine of the congressional pro-
hibition of slavery.
The issue was squarely joined. Of the popular vote,
1,838,169 were cast for Buchanan, and 1,341,264 for Fre-
mont. The Republican party had suffered nominal defeat,
but had gained a moral victory.
A notable event of these formative days was the utter
destruction of the Whig party. With the exception of one
senator and seven members of the house, the entire Whig
delegation in congress from the south had sustained that
measure. Thenceforward the northern and the southern
wings must part company. Like Lucifer, the Whig party
had fallen, "never to rise again."
The campaign of 1856 in Illinois abounded in exciting
incidents. The Democrats sought to identify the Abolition-
ists with the "Black Republicans," and the cudgel was not
without its effect. The result at the polls was a divided
victory. The entire Republican state ticket was elected by
a plurality of 4,732 votes. The party also elected four
congressmen and the Democrats five. The Democrats secured
both branches of the legislature. The senate stood thirteen
Democrats to twelve Republicans. In the house there were
thirty-eight Democrats, thirty-one Republicans and six Amer-
icans.
Millard Fillmore was able to hold a sufficient number of
Know-Nothing votes to give the electoral vote of the state to
James Buchanan by a plurality of 9,159.
In the brief space of two years a revolution had been
wrought in Illinois. The long continued ascendancy of the
Republican Party in Illinois 37
Democrat party had been arrested, and not even the genius
of Stephen A. Douglas could stem the tide. It was the dawn-
ing of a new day.
CHAPTER V
THE DRED SCOTT DECISION THE STRUGGLE FOR KANSAS
SUMNER'S SPEECH ON THE CRIME AGAINST KANSAS
SUMNER ..ASSAULTED ..BY ..BROOKS DOUGLAS ..BREAKS
WITH BUCHANAN THE ENGLISH BILL ILLINOIS RE-
PUBLICANS IN DILEMMA LINCOLN'S "HOUSE DIVIDED''
SPEECH.
THERE are two national events of such political sig-
nificance that the story of the Republican party in
Illinois cannot be continued without some reference
to them. The first is the Dred Scott decision, and the second
is the sanguinary struggle over the slavery question in Kansas.
March 7, 1857, three days after the inauguration of James
Buchanan, the supreme court of the United States rendered
the famous Dred Scott decision. Dred Scott, a negro slave,
was taken by his master, Dr. Emerson, a surgeon in the regular
army, into Illinois, a free state, and later into Minnesota.
This territory was a region from which slavery had been
excluded by the Missouri compromise. While in Minnesota,
Scott was married, with his master's consent. He was brought
back to Missouri and he and his family were sold to another
master, John F. A. Sanford, of New York. Scott brought
action for trespass before a St. Louis court, which declared he
was a free man. The supreme court of Missouri reversed
this decision, and the case was appealed in 1854 to the federal
circuit court, which decided Scott was still a slave.
The case came before the supreme court of the United
States in 1855. According to popular belief the case was
38
Republican Party in Illinois 39
argued in ample time for an earlier decision and was
held until after the presidential election in 1856 for a political
purpose. The decision of this court of last resort was radical
and far reaching. The court declared the Missouri com-
promise was unconstitutional. The repeal of that measure
was therefore approved and its re-enactment forbidden. Slav-
ery was held to be as much entitled to protection in the national
domain as any other institution, and it was not within the
power of congress or a territorial legislature to decree freedom
for a territory.
Benjamin R. Curtis, one of the two dissenting justices,
maintained the absolute right of congress to prohibit slavery
in the territories. It was generally believed the court had
gone beyond the question at issue. This decision gave the
Slave-Power a new weapon. The argument for slavery was
made by Chief Justice Taney, but it was received with indig-
nation in the north. The people, with Charles Sumner, knew
"the fallibility of judicial tribunals."
The somewhat extended reference to the struggle for the
possession of Kansas is not made in its strict chronological
order. The attitude of Senator Douglas in this crisis had such
a bearing upon his immediate political fortunes in Illinois that
it forms an almost necessary introduction to the campaign of
1858 and the Lincoln and Douglas debates.
When the Kansas-Nebraska bill was passed, Charles Sum-
ner exultantly exclaimed: "It sets Freedom and Slavery face
to face and bids them grapple." The struggle for the posses-
sion of Kansas is a dark chapter in American history. As
organized, Kansas included a large part of what is now
Colorado ; New Mexico also included Arizona ; Utah included
all of Nevada. The repeal of the Missouri compromise had
given the south new courage. It had apparently gained a
40 Republican Party in Illinois
great victory, but it was of little value unless it could regain
the equality it had lost in the senate by the admission of Cal-
ifornia. The status of Nebraska would also be settled as
free territory. If Kansas could be made a slave state there
was a chance for the south to retrieve its waning fortunes.
If it failed, all was lost. The dissolution of the union might
be the only alternative. This was not an idle threat. Kansas
occupied the precise territorial center of the vast North
American continent. Situated on the very highway between
two oceans, it became the scene of a seven years' war, from
1854 to 1861. It was a veritable reign of terror.
Under the terms of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, slavery
was not to be legislated into the territories, nor excluded there-
from. The struggle at once began. The proximity of slave
states gave the south an obvious advantage. Emigrants from
Arkansas and Missouri immediately began to pour into Kansas
to hold the territory in the interest of slavery. Colonists from
New England sought to preserve the state to freedom.
Andrew H. Reeder, a pro-slavery Democrat from Pennsyl-
vania, was made the first territorial governor and began his
duties in October, 1854. November 29, armed bodies of
Missourians invaded the territory and openly voted in such
numbers as to elect one of their own confederates, named
Whitfield, as territorial delegate to congress. March 30 fol-
lowing, a territorial legislature was elected by means of fraud-
ulent votes. This legislature met in July and promptly voted
Kansas a slave territory by enacting bodily the laws of
Missouri.
The free-state settlers organized a counter-movement. A
meeting was held at Lawrence, which issued a call for the
election of delegates to a convention to be held at Topeka.
This convention assembled October 23, and framed a con-
Republican Party in Illinois 41
stitution forbidding slavery, which was ratified by popular
vote December 15. A petition was presented to congress pray-
ing for the admission of Kansas as a free state. Thus, when
congress convened in December, 1855, it was confronted with
the question whether it would recognize the fraudulent legis-
lature or the Topeka convention as the representatives of the
people.
A popular election was held January 15, 1856. The
Free-Soilers elected a legislature and Charles Robinson their
first governor. The constitution under which this election
was held was repudiated by President Pierce, who had recog-
nized the fraudulent legislature. The Free-Soil legislature
ignored the action of the president, who placed the military
forces of the government at the disposal of Governor Shannon,
who had succeeded Governor Reeder. This legislature, sitting
at Topeka, was subsequently dispersed by federal troops. The
strife that ensued may be regarded as the opening battle of the
civil war, and the distracted country was given the name of
"bleeding Kansas."
In March, 1856, Senator Douglas, from the committee on
territories, presented a report on all that had occurred in
Kansas. He opposed the Topeka constitution, and then offered
a bill for the admission of Kansas as soon as her population
should reach ninety-three thousand, with such constitution as
her people might adopt. It was during the debate that fol-
lowed that Charles Sumner delivered his famous speech in the
senate on "The Crime Against Kansas." Mr. Sumner had
a sublime faith in the all-conquering power of a principle. In
the course of his speech he referred to Senator Douglas in
these prophetic words: "The senator dreams that he can
subdue the north. . . He is but a mortal man; against
him is an immortal principle. With finite power he wrestles
42 Republican Party in Illinois
with the infinite, and he must fail. Against him are stronger
batallions than any marshalled by mortal arm the inborn,
ineradicable, invincible sentiments of the human heart ; against
him is nature, in all her subtle forces; against him is God.
Let him try to subdue these."
This speech, in the words of the poet Whittier, was "a
grand and terrible philippic." On May 22, following, Mr.
Sumner was brutally assaulted in the senate chamber by Pres-
ton S. Brooks, a representative from South Carolina. These
circumstances combined to create an enormous demand for
Mr. Sumner's speech. Hon. E. B. Washburne, in a letter to
a constituent, now in possession of the writer, made this
prophecy: "If we make no mistake and act earnestly and
discreetly, the rule of the Slave-Power now ceases. Mr.
Sumner is getting along. He was terribly beaten, but his
blood will be avenged."
The famous "Lecompton constitution" was adopted by
the Pro-Slavery party of Kansas at a convention held Septem-
ber 5, 1857. It sanctioned slavery and prohibited the passage
of emancipation laws. The constitution was submitted to
popular vote, with or without slavery. The Anti-Slavery men
refused to vote and the constitution was adopted.
When congress met in December, 1857, President
Buchanan urged the admission of Kansas with the Lecompton
constitution. Two days later Senator Douglas made a remark-
able speech in which he repudiated as fraudulent the Lecomp-
ton constitution, and thus made a significant break with
President Buchanan. This speech meant freedom for Kansas.
The Lecompton fraud had divided the Pro-Slavery party.
Senator Douglas had come to the parting of the ways. He
had precipitated the Kansas conflict and he now retrieved
himself in part by lending his powerful influence to the cause
Republican Party in Illinois 43
of freedom. His later course may have been prompted by the
instinct of self-preservation, or high moral purpose. In either
case he wrought for freedom, and Stephen A. Douglas, with
all his faults, stands out as one of the most remarkable char-
acters who have appeared in American political history.
The Lecompton bill, however, despite Senator Douglas,
passed the senate. The house was unconquerable. At this
point Mr. English, of Indiana, introduced a bill which was
practically a bribe. If Kansas would ratify the Lecompton
fraud, she should receive a generous grant of land. Her
refusal would mean an indefinite delay of the question of
admission. But Kansas would not sell her birthright for a
mess of pottage. She spurned the bribe and in 1861 came into
the union as a free state.
The Kansas struggle had proved one of the critical periods
in American history. The state of Illinois now becomes the
great theater of political action, with Abraham Lincoln and
Stephen A. Douglas as the principal actors. The Republican
party in the state was confronted with a peculiar combination
of circumstances. This condition had been precipitated by
the break of Senator Douglas with President Buchanan. If
Douglas were successful in securing a re-election it would be
interpreted as a defeat for the administration. Thus the new
Republican party of Illinois had an opportunity of aiding a
Democratic president to defeat a Democratic senator for re-
election.
There was also a possibility that at the last moment it
might become necessary for the Republicans to nominate a
former Democrat for senator, as they had done in 1854.
Horace Greeley in the New York Tribune advised that the
Illinois senatorship should be allowed to go to Douglas by
default. By thus widening the breach between Douglas and
44 Republican Party in Illinois
Buchanan, the chance for Republican victory in 1860 would
be enhanced.
Mr. Lincoln was on the alert and checkmated the move.
He addressed letters to prominent Republicans throughout
the state, advising them against the danger of endorsing
Douglas merely because he had quarreled with Buchanan.
The Republican state convention of Illinois met at Spring-
field, July 16, 1858. James Miller, of McLean county, was
nominated for state treasurer, and Newton Bateman, of Mor-
gan county, for superintendent of public instruction.
After these nominations had been made, the convention
unanimously adopted the following resolution : "That Hon.
Abraham Lincoln is our first and only choice to fill the vacancy
about to be created by the expiration of Mr. Douglas' term of
office."
Mr. Lincoln expected the honor and had prepared a
speech with great care. The first paragraph contains this
famous passage : "A house divided against itself cannot stand.
I believe this government cannot permanently endure half
slave and half free. I do not expect the union to be dissolved
I do not expect the house to fall but I do expect it will
cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the
other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further
spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in
the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction ; or its
advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful
in all the states, old as well as new, north as well as south."
This was radical doctrine and alarmed Lincoln's friends.
It is not known whether Mr. Lincoln foresaw that Senator
Douglas would construe his statement into a desire to dissolve
the union ; or whether he appreciated the danger that his
criticism of the Dred Scott decision would be twisted by
Republican Party in Illinois 45
Douglas into a revolutionary attack on the supreme court.
But Abraham Lincoln believed the time had come to speak the
truth. It seemed like defying the prophets of Baal on Mt.
Carmel ; but it required less that five years to fulfill his
prophetic warning. Like Isaiah in Israel and Mazzini in Italy,
Abraham Lincoln was willing to become a sacrifice, if need be,
on the altar of his country, that he might be wholly consumed
in the holy flame. Mr. Lincoln must have believed in the
ultimate extinction of slavery. It could not permanently
endure hemmed in and restricted by free territory. Two
civilizations, one founded on freedom and the other on slavery,
could not indefinitely co-exist. This was the message of the
"house divided" speech.
Another notable feature of this speech was the veiled
accusation that Stephen A. Douglas, Franklin Pierce, James
Buchanan and Roger B. Taney had entered into a conspiracy
to perpetuate and nationalize slavery. Mr. Lincoln's speech
was a trumpet call to the conscience of the nation to defeat,
by an enlightened public sentiment, this unholy alliance.
CHAPTER VI
LINCOLN CHALLENGES DOUGLAS TO DISCUSS THE SLAVERY
ISSUE DISPUTANTS COMPARED FIRST JOINT DEBATE
AT OTTAWA.
IN 1858 Illinois was the battle ground of giants. The
prize was a seat in the United States senate. A more
tremendous issue, however, was involved. It was a con-
flict between two civilizations. The question of the hour was
whether the moral conscience of the nation could be awakened
and energized to resist the threatened nationalization of Amer-
ican slavery. From the view-point of far-reaching results,
only the debate between Webster and Hayne in the senate
of the United States, nearly thirty years earlier, can be com-
pared with the contest between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen
A. Douglas. The disputants were adopted sons of the Prairie
state. Douglas represented an established order that had
become entrenched in law and enthroned on the prejudice of
custom. Lincoln was a John the Baptist of a new dispensa-
tion. He had come to preach deliverance to the captives, and
to set at liberty those that were bruised. The history of these
debates is an old story, but it will never cease to fascinate the
student of history. The debates were confined exclusively
to the issue of slavery.
The three great political rivalries in American politics are
Hamilton and Jefferson, Clay and Jackson, and Lincoln and
Douglas. The outcome of the last named has most greatly
affected the life of the nation. July 24, 1858, Mr. Lincoln,
in a brief letter, invited Senator Douglas to participate in a
46
Republican Party in Illinois 47
series of joint debates. The invitation was accepted and it
was arranged to have a discussion in each congressional dis-
trict in the state, except the Second and Sixth, where they had
already made addresses. The cities designated were Ottawa,
Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy and
Alton.
The ambitions of Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lin-
coln ran in parallel lines. Each was the incarnation of the
principles he espoused. They were the two poles of the politi-
cal thought of their time, as Hamilton and Jefferson had been
in the days of the fathers. Douglas, as an audacious and ready
debater, has never been surpassed in either branch of congress.
He had a personal magnetism which made him a popular idol
and a born leader of men. He was self-confident and even
arrogant, and was withal a dangerous antagonist. "In that
peculiar style of debate," says Mr. Blaine, "which, in its
intensity resembles a physical combat, he had no equal."
Lincoln, like Jefferson, trembled for his country when he
remembered that God was just. Douglas was the consum-
mate master of the commonplace. Lincoln's vision laid hold
of the unseen and the eternal. Thus equipped, the gladiators
entered the arena.
The issue was the restriction of slavery to the states in
which it already existed. Lincoln advocated such restriction.
Douglas would allow each new state and territory to settle
the question for itself. The issue was clearly defined.
The first joint debate was held at Ottawa, August 21.
Mr. Douglas, in opening the discussion, alluded to the fact
that while Whigs and Democrats, prior to 1854, had differed
on other issues, they had accepted the compromise measures
of 1850 as a final settlement of the slavery question. Webster
and Cass had supported the principle laid down by Henry
48 Republican Party in Illinois
Clay, that it was the right of the people of each state and
territory to decide their domestic institutions for themselves.
Mr. Douglas contended that his Kansas and Nebraska bill
was based on these compromise measures, which had been
endorsed by the two parties in Illinois and in their national
conventions of 1852, and that he introduced it in congress for
the purpose of carrying out those principles.
Mr. Douglas reviewed the story of the alleged agreement
made by Mr. Lincoln and Lyman Trumbull to "abolitionize"
the two parties in Illinois, send Lincoln to the United States
senate to succeed Shields, and Trumbull to succeed Douglas.
He charged that Trumbull had dealt falsely with Lincoln and
captured the prize. Mr. Douglas also attempted to show that
Mr. Lincoln had given his sanction to the platform alleged
to have been adopted by the Springfield convention in 1854.
Mr. Lincoln's following was somewhat heterogeneous,
and Douglas knew it. "Their principles," he said on one
occasion, "in the north are jet black, in the center they are in
color a decent mulatto, and in lower Egypt they are almost
white."
Reference was made in Chapter III. to the fact that the
State Register, the Democratic organ published at Spring-
field, had published a series of radical resolutions, which were
purported to have been adopted at the Springfield convention
in 1854. At the time of the debate in Ottawa neither Lincoln
nor Douglas knew that these resolutions were really adopted
at a convention of the Second district held at Aurora. Thus
in this first encounter Mr. Douglas sought to create a prejudice
against his antagonist by attempting to identify the Abolition-
ists with the "Black Republicans." Abolitionism was not
popular in Illinois at this time, and Mr. Douglas made the
most of this fact. He therefore propounded seven questions
Republican Party in Illinois 49
to his opponent, predicated on the platform falsely alleged
to have been adopted at Springfield. His motive was to
entrap Lincoln into a compromising answer "when I trot him
down to Egypt." These questions were briefly as follows:
Whether Mr. Lincoln today stands, as he did in 1854, in
favor of the unconditional repeal of the fugitive slave law;
whether he still stands pledged against the admission of any
more slave states, even if the people want them; whether he
stands against the admission of a new state, with such a con-
stitution as the people of that state may see fit to make;
whether he stands pledged to the abolition of slavery in the
District of Columbia; whether he stands pledged to the
abolition of the slave trade between the states; whether he
stands pledged to prohibit slavery in all the territories of the
United States, north as well as south of the Missouri com-
promise line ; whether he is opposed to the acquisition of any
new territory unless slavery is first prohibited therein.
Mr. Douglas then proceeded to assail the cardinal prin-
ciple of Mr. Lincoln's Springfield speech, that a house divided
against itself cannot stand. He declared the doctrine threat-
ened the existence of the government; that the fathers had
divided the republic into free and slave states ; that it had so
existed for seventy years, and could thus indefinitely endure.
Mr. Douglas insisted that when the constitution was adopted
the doctrine of uniformity preached by Mr. Lincoln would
have meant the uniformity of slavery, as the slave states were
then in a majority, and would have made no concession.
At this point Mr. Douglas discussed Mr. Lincoln's oppo-
sition to the Dred Scott decision on the ground that it deprived
the negro of certain natural rights. The senator denied that
the declaration of independence contemplated negro equality
and boldly declared his belief that this government was made
5
50 Republican Party in Illinois
by white men for the benefit of white men and their posterity
forever; and that if the Almighty ever intended the negro to
be the equal of the white man "He has been a long time dem-
onstrating the fact." He recognized the obligation of giving
the negro every immunity consistent with the safety of society ;
but declared it was the right of each state to determine for
itself the measure of that immunity. Mr. Douglas elaborated
this principle during the remainder of this speech.
Mr. Lincoln's reply was a straightforward statement of
the question at issue, and a complete answer to the plausible
but fallacious argument of his adversary. He denied the charge
that he and Judge Trumbull had conspired to "abolitionize"
the old parties. He struck from the shoulder powerful
blows against slavery. He quoted from his speech in Peoria
in 1854, in which he said he hated slavery because of the mon-
strous injustice of the institution itself ; because it enabled
the enemies of free institutions to "taunt us as hypocrites" and
caused the "real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity."
Even in those days Mr. Lincoln's great heart had no
room for malice. He threw the mantle of charity over the
south, and said it was no more responsible than the north for
the origin of slavery. He recognized the constitutional rights
of the south, disavowed any right to interfere with slavery
where it already existed, and would even give it a humane
fugitive slave law.
The natural conservatism of Mr. Lincoln is shown in his
denial of the social and political equality of the negro. He did
believe, however, the black man was entitled to all the natural
rights included in the declaration of independence, the right
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Mr. Lincoln refused to recognize the binding moral force
of the Dred Scott decision, which had nationalized slavery so
Republican Party in Illinois 51
far as the territories were concerned, although he might obey
the mandate of the highest tribunal, in so far as it affected the
case at bar. He did not believe a ruling of the supreme court
could withstand the omnipotence of public opinion, because
the voice of the people might become the voice of God. He
makes his confession of faith in these words at Ottawa: "In
this and like communities public sentiment is everything. With
public sentiment nothing can fail; without it nothing can
succeed." Mr. Lincoln therefore makes his appeal to the
national conscience.
Mr. Lincoln reaffirmed the doctrine enunciated in his
speech at Springfield, "that a house divided against itself
cannot stand." The great variety in local institutions, arising
from differences in soil and climate, do not make a "house
divided." They are rather a bond of union ; they make a
house united. Slavery, on the other hand, has always been an
apple of discord, an element of division in the house. The
union had existed as a divided house to this day because the
fathers had excluded it from the territories, cut off its source
by the abrogation of the slave trade, and thus put the seal of
legislation against its extension. The fathers placed slavery
where the public rested in the belief it was in the course of
ultimate extinction.
Mr. Douglas was charged with placing slavery on the new
basis of perpetuity and nationalization. This new basis will
never bring peace. If slavery could again be placed on the
basis of Washington, Jefferson and Madison, it would be in
the course of ultimate extinction, and the crisis would be past.
Mr. Lincoln's analysis of his opponent's doctrine of
"squatter sovereignty" was keen and convincing. It proposed
to give each prospective state the right to settle the slavery
question for itself, but under the Dred Scott decision it simply
OF
52 Republican Party in Illinois
allowed "the people to have slavery if they want to, but does
not allow them not to have it if they do not want it."
Mr. Lincoln reaffirmed the charge made in his Springfield
speech, that there was a tendency, if not a conspiracy, to
nationalize slavery, and repeated his quaint allusion to
"Stephen, Franklin, Roger and James" as the parties to the
conspiracy. He viewed with suspicion the words of the
Nebraska bill, "It being the true intent and meaning of this
bill not to legislate slavery into any territory or state." Mr.
Lincoln suspected the word "state" was to prepare the way
for another Dred Scott decision, whereby the supreme court
could decide that no "state" under the constitution can exclude
slavery, just as it had already declared that neither congress
nor a territorial legislature can make such restriction. Mr.
Douglas was satisfied with this situation, not because it was
right in itself, but because it had been "decided by the court,"
and had the force of a "thus saith the Lord."
Mr. Douglas devoted a considerable portion of his brief
reply to a second attempt to prove that Lincoln was in sym-
pathy with the resolutions alleged to have been adopted by
the Springfield convention of 1854. This insistence was per-
sonal and political, for the purpose of discrediting his opponent
in conservative circles. Mr. Lincoln had not definitely
answered the questions propounded by Mr. Douglas, and the
latter repeated them in substance. Douglas explained the use
of the word "state" in the Nebraska bill. Missouri had asked
to come into the union as a slave state, but was kept out for
a time by anti-slavery sentiments in the north. Hence the first
slavery question arose upon a state, and not upon a territory ;
and for this reason the word "state" was placed in the Nebraska
bill. The reason was clever, and may have been true; but it
never convinced Mr. Lincoln.
CHAPTER VII
SECOND DEBATE AT FREEPORT LINCOLN SHOWS CONSERV-
ATISM, BURNS HIS BRIDGES BEHIND HIM, AND ASKS
DOUGLAS FOUR QUESTIONS "LITTLE GIANT" ANSWERS
THEM AND IS SWEPT FROM HIS MOORING.
THE second joint debate between Lincoln and Douglas
was held at Freeport, August 27. It has become the
most famous and historic of the series by reason of
the questions propounded by Lincoln to Douglas, and the
attempt of the latter to answer them. These debates were
not strictly a continuous discussion of the question at issue.
They were in large measure repetitions of the essential argu-
ments made to different audiences. There were digressions
and local allusions, but each debate was designed to be a
complete statement of the principles advocated by their respec-
tive champions. Thus a careful study of the discussions at
Ottawa, Freeport and the last at Alton will suffice for a
general understanding of the subject. On that bright summer
day the little unpretentious city of Freeport was the Mecca
toward which thousands of pilgrims, Republicans and Demo-
crats, went to hear words of wisdom. Their greatest oracles
were there.
Mr. Lincoln first proposed to answer the questions pro-
pounded to him at Ottawa by Senator Douglas, if the latter
would agree to answer an equal number of questions. The
senator made no sign; whereupon Lincoln said he would
"answer his interrogatories whether he answers mine or not."
These were the questions based on the "Republican platform"
53
54 Republican Party in Illinois
alleged to have been adopted at Springfield in 1854, to which
references were made in Chapters III. and VI. It was at
Freeport that Mr. Lincoln announced the discovery, to the
great embarrassment of Mr. Douglas, that the resolutions
were adopted at Aurora instead of Springfield. Mr. Lincoln
said, however, with dry humor, that the discovery did not
relieve him in any way, because he was as much responsible
for the resolutions adopted in Kane county as for those which
were passed at Springfield, "being exactly nothing in either
case." Mr. Douglas made a facetious retort, in which he
referred to the fact of the adoption of certain resolutions, but
which "were not adopted on the right spot."
By way of further introduction, Mr. Lincoln said that
since the organization of the Republican party at Bloomington
in 1856, he had considered himself bound as a party man by
the platform of the party then and since ; and if in the questions
he might answer, he went beyond the scope of these platforms,
no one but himself could be held responsible. Mr. Lincoln
then answered the seven questions. These replies constituted
his political "confession of faith." He first declared that he
did not now and never did stand in favor of the unconditional
repeal of the fugitive slave law. He was not now and never
had been pledged against the admission of any more slave states
into the union. He did not stand pledged against the admission
of a new state into the union, with such a constitution as the
people of that state may see fit to make. He was not pledged
to the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. He
was not pledged to the abolition of the slave trade between
the states. To the sixth question he replied that he was im-
plicitly, if not expressly, pledged to a belief in the right and
duty of congress to prohibit slavery in all the United States
territories. The last question was answered in these words:
Republican Party in Illinois 55
"I am not generally opposed to the honest acquisition of terri-
tory ; and in any given case I would or would not oppose such
acquisition, accordingly as I might think such acquisition
would or would not aggravate the slavery question among
ourselves."
Mr. Lincoln's reply to these vital questions revealed a
conservatism that completely disproved the taunt of his adver-
sary that in the north his "principles were jet black." Mr.
Lincoln despised slavery; yet he would not violate its sanct-
uary, recognized, as it was, by the federal constitution.
Lincoln, however, had thus far only negatively defined his
position. He had confined himself to the strict letter of the
questions propounded by Douglas and said he was not
"pledged" on any of the points he had answered. But he is
not disposed to hang upon the exact form of the questions, and
proceeds to answer them affirmatively and in detail.
On the first question Mr. Lincoln expressed the belief
that under the constitution of the United States the people of
the south were entitled to a congressional fugitive slave law,
and said the law then existing should have been framed so as
to be free from some of its objections, without impairing its
efficiency.
Mr. Lincoln's answer to the second question was framed
with consummate skill. He confessed that he would be
exceedingly sorry to be obliged to pass upon the question of
admitting more slave states into the union. He would be glad
to know there would never be another slave state; but if
slavery should be kept out of the territories during the
territorial existence of any given territory, and the people
should, having a fair chance and a clear field, do such an
extraordinary thing as to adopt a slave constitution, uninflu-
enced by the active presence of the institution among them,
56 Republican Party in Illinois
he saw no alternative but to admit them into the union. The
possibility of such a situation was so remote that Mr.
Lincoln's answer, when properly analyzed, could not fail to
satisfy the most ardent Abolitionist. There was refined sar-
casm in the suggestion that the people of a territory should
ever adopt a slave constitution, uninfluenced by the actual
presence of the institution among them. It punctured Mr.
Douglas' pet doctrine of "popular sovereignty."
The third question Mr. Lincoln regarded as answered in
his reply to the second, and made no further comment.
In discussing the fourth question, Mr. Lincoln said he
would rejoice in the abolition of slavery in the District of
Columbia, and believed that congress possessed the power to
abolish it. He declared, however, that such abolition should
be gradual ; that it should be on a vote of the majority of the
qualified electors in the district ; and that compensation should
be made to unwilling owners. With these conditions Mr.
Lincoln wanted, in the words of Henry Clay, to "sweep from
our capital the foul blot on our nation."
In regard to the fifth proposition, which referred to the
abolition of the slave trade between the states, Mr. Lincoln
said he had not given it the mature consideration that would
justify him in making a positive statement. If he could be
convinced, however, that congress had the power to abolish
such traffic, he would not favor its exercise except upon some
conservative principle similar to that which should govern the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.
Mr. Lincoln's attitude on the sixth question, concerning
the prohibition of slavery in the territories had been clearly
defined. He had also fully committed himself against the
admission of any more slave territory unless slavery should be
first prohibited therein.
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS
Republican Party in Illinois 57
Mr. Lincoln, in these answers, had burned his bridges
behind him. He repelled the insinuation that he shaded his
opinions to meet various geographical requirements. These
moderate statements had been made to a vast audience as
strongly tending to abolitionism as any that could be assembled
in Illinois. If they were offensive anywhere in the state, they
would be repudiated in the northern counties, which consti-
tuted the stronghold of the new faith. Lincoln told the truth,
as he saw it, regardless of consequences. The people knew it
and trusted him.
Despite his conservatism, Mr. Lincoln's answers were
frank and adroit. Douglas had gained nothing by his Socratic
method of argument. He had rather given his opponent an
opportunity to show his own consummate skill in propounding
questions. After the first debate at Ottawa, Mr. Lincoln had
not only carefully prepared his own replies, but he had elab-
orated a series of questions designed to embarrass Senator
Douglas, which he could not answer without sooner or later
invoking disaster upon his political fortunes.
A few days before the debate at Freeport, Mr. Lincoln
went to Chicago and took some of his friends into his confi-
dence. He outlined the questions he proposed to propound to
Douglas. Lincoln's friends sought to dissuade him. They
reasoned that if Douglas should reply that the Dred Scott
decision might be evaded by the people of a territory, and
slavery prohibited in the face of it, the answer would draw to
him the sympathies of the radical anti-slavery voters, and
defeat Lincoln.
Mr. Lincoln, on the contrary, was anticipating the greater
campaign two years later, and he was determined the south
should understand the antagonism between Douglas' latest
interpretation of popular sovereignty on the one hand, and the
58 Republican Party in Illinois
Dred Scott decision, the Nebraska bill and previous platforms
of the Democratic party on the other.
The national Democratic convention of 1856, which met
in Cincinnati, had adopted a very elaborate series of resolutions
on the subject of slavery. One resolution was cunningly
devised. From one point of view it seemed to give the people
of the territories the right to determine the question for them-
selves and upheld the doctrine of popular sovereignty. A
closer analysis of this declaration, however, disclosed the fact
that this "popular sovereignty" could not be exercised until
the territory was sufficiently populated to adopt a constitution
and apply for admission into the union. Meanwhile the slave-
holders could settle in the territories, and be protected in the
ownership of their slaves. James G. Elaine makes this com-
ment on the territorial status: "The Democrats flatly op-
posed the doctrine of congressional prohibition, but left a
margin for doubt as to the true construction of the constitu-
tion and of the act repealing the Missouri compromise, thus
enabling their partisans to present one issue in the north and
another in the south."
Douglas has been accused of being a party to this duplex
construction of the Cincinnati platform. The people of the
south had been led to believe that slavery would be protected
by the constitution in the territories against the power of the
citizens thereof, and against the authority of congress. This
status would continue until, under an enabling act to form
a constitution for a state government, the majority should
decide the question. The south understood, in other words,
that there was absolutely no power to keep slavery out of the
territories during their territorial status. The doctrine of
popular sovereignty, as defined by Douglas, was differently
interpreted in the north. It was there believed the people of
Republican Party in Illinois 59
the territories had the absolute right to settle the question for
themselves. This doctrine, however, had been totally nulli-
fied by the Dred Scott decision, and Mr. Douglas had
approved the opinion of the court.
All these facts were taken into account by Mr. Lincoln.
Douglas might answer the crucial question and be elected
senator. But Lincoln was a prophet. He was looking into
the future. His friends admonished him that he was con-
cerned only about the senatorship. "No," replied Mr.
Lincoln, "not alone exactly. I am killing larger game. The
great battle of 1860 is worth a thousand of this senatorial
race." Perhaps he had some foregleam of the fact that he
and Douglas would be rivals in the greater conflict.
Mr. Lincoln, in propounding his questions to Senator
Douglas, naively remarked: "I will bring forward a new
installment when I get them ready." His questions were as
follows :
First: If the people of Kansas shall, by means entirely
unobjectionable in all other respects, adopt a state constitu-
tion, and ask admission into the union under it, before they
have the requisite number of inhabitants, according to the
English bill some ninety-three thousand will you vote to
admit them?
Second: Can the people of a United States territory, in
any lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of the United
States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the formation
of a state constitution?
Third: If the supreme court of the United States shall
decide that states cannot exclude slavery from their limits,
are you in favor of acquiescing in adopting and following such
decision as a rule of political action ?
Fourth: Are you in favor of acquiring additional ter-
60 Republican Party in Illinois
ritory in disregard of how such acquisition may affect the
nation on the slavery question?
In the first debate, when Douglas had the opening speech,
it was the popular judgment that he had worsted Lincoln.
A few days after the discussion Theodore Parker wrote to
a friend: "In the Ottawa meeting, to judge from the
Tribune report, I thought Douglas had the best of it. He
questioned Mr. Lincoln on the great matters of slavery, and
put the most radical questions . . before the people. Mr.
Lincoln did not meet the issue. He made a technical evasion.
. . Daniel Webster stood on higher anti-slavery ground
than Abraham Lincoln does now." At Freeport the tide
changed. Lincoln's star was now in the ascendant.
Mr. Douglas replied in ad captandum fashion to three
of Mr. Lincoln's questions. The first and fourth he answered
substantially in the affirmative. He displayed a good deal of
temper in his reply to the third. He declared that Lincoln
cast an imputation upon the supreme court of the United
States by supposing it would violate the federal constitution.
"I tell him that such a thing is not possible. It would be an
act of moral treason that no man on the bench would ever
descend to."
The second question was the crucial test. Douglas recog-
nized his embarrassment. In the face of the Dred Scott
decision by the supreme court, he could not affirm that the
people of a territory could exclude slavery by direct enact-
ment. If, he admitted, on the other hand, that slavery was
fastened on the territories, without hope of resistance or
protest on the part of a majority of the citizens, he would
concede the very point for which Lincoln had contended.
Douglas sought to extricate himself from this dilemma in this
wise: "It matters not what way the supreme court may
Republican Party in Illinois 61
hereafter decide as to the abstract question whether slavery
may or may not go into a territory under the constitution,
the people have the lawful means to introduce it or exclude it
as they please, for the reason that slavery cannot exist for a
day or an hour anywhere unless it is supported by local police
regulations. Those police regulations can only be established
by the local legislature, and if the people are opposed to
slavery they will elect representatives to that body who will
by unfriendly legislation effectually prevent the introduction
of it into their midst. If, on the contrary, they are for it,
their legislature will favor its extension. Hence, no matter
what the decision of the supreme court may be on that
abstract question, still the right of the people to make a slave
territory or a free territory is perfect and complete under the
Nebraska bill. I hope Mr. Lincoln deems my answer satis-
factory on that point."
Mr. Douglas made this evasive answer with apparent
sincerity and defiant confidence. It seemed plausible, but was
not sound reasoning. Lincoln keenly analyzed this ingenious
doctrine for destroying a constitutional right by a police
regulation, and riddled it with a single sentence of sarcasm:
"Under this new doctrine slavery may be driven away from a
place where it has a lawful right to go."
Douglas, in this reply, signed his political death warrant.
He was swept from his mooring without anchor or rudder.
He was to win a temporary triumph in his return to the
senate, but Time vindicated Lincoln's prophecy that "Douglas
could not answer that question in such a way as to be elected
both senator and president." Douglas could not break with
his party in Illinois, but by his Freeport doctrine of unfriendly
legislation he had broken forever with the men who were
now in control of the southern Democracy. His new doctrine
62 Republican Party in Illinois
was really in conflict with the Dred Scott decision, which
Douglas had always defended. It was heralded throughout
the southern states as evidence that he had been guilty of
duplicity on the subject. He was accused of contending for
the extension of slavery under the decision ; and for its exclu-
sion under his later doctrine.
The discussion of these questions occupied only a portion
of the time at Freeport, but these overshadowed all other
phases, and the famous "Freeport debate" lives in history by
reason of the questions asked and answered.
CHAPTER VIII
LAST DEBATE AT ALTON DOUGLAS ASSAILS "HOUSE DIVIDED"
DOCTRINE AND DEFIES BUCHANAN LINCOLN PUTS
QUESTION ON MORAL BASIS THE ELECTIONS DOUGLAS
WINS A FINAL COMPARISON.
THE joint debates at Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg
and Quincy were for the most part re-statements
of the positions enunciated in the two previous dis-
cussions ; and the author's purpose will be subserved by briefly
reviewing the seventh and last, which was held at Alton,
October 15.
Mr. Douglas opened the discussion with a speech of great
force. In directness of statement, in precision of phrase, in
boldness of spirit akin to audacity it was one of his most
characteristic addresses. If it lacked some of the elements
of an oratorical masterpiece it was the best possible argument
for his favorite doctrine of squatter sovereignty, which had
been emasculated by the Dred Scott decision.
During the seven weeks preceeding the debate at Ottawa
Lincoln and Douglas had addressed large audiences in many
of the central counties of the state. In his speeches at Spring-
field and Chicago Mr. Lincoln had enunciated three general
propositions. These were : That the country could not per-
manently endure half slave and half free ; a criticism of the
Dred Scott decision ; that the declaration of independence
was intended by the fathers to include the negro.
Mr. Douglas again boldly and flatly contradicted the
"house divided" doctrine as a slander upon the distinguished
63
64 Republican Party in Illinois
framers of the constitution. He believed the government
could endure forever divided into free and slave states, as
the fathers had made it, with each state having the right to
prohibit, abolish or sustain slavery as it pleases. The fathers
knew the laws and institutions which were well adapted to the
Green mountains of Vermont were unsuitable to the rice
plantations of South Carolina. They knew that in a republic
of such gigantic proportions, with its variety of soil, climate
and interests, there must be corresponding differences in local
laws. Thus the union was established on the right of each
state to be a law unto itself in dealing with slavery.
Mr. Douglas supposes for the sake of argument that the
doctrine of Lincoln and the Abolutionists had prevailed when
the constitution was framed. He imagines the situation if
his opponent had been a member of the constitutional conven-
tion and that when its members were about to sign that
immortal document, Mr. Lincoln had said, "A house divided
against itself cannot stand." The union was then composed
of thirteen states, twelve of which were slave and one was
free. Douglas argued that under Lincoln's doctrine, the
twelve slave states would have outvoted the one free state,
and thus fastened slavery by constitutional provision, upon
every foot of the American republic forever. The question
now before the voters of Illinois, says Douglas, is, whether
they are willing, having become the majority section, to
enforce a doctrine on the minority which they would have
resisted with their heart's blood, had it been attempted when
they were such minority. The south had lost her power as
the majority section in the union, and the free states had
gained it by the operation of that principle which declares the
right of the people of each state and territory to regulate their
domestic institutions in their own way. It was under that
Republican Party in Illinois 65
principle that slavery was abolished in New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsyl-
vania; it was under that principle that one-half of the slave-
holding states became free ; under it the number of free states
had increased until they could control both houses of congress
and elect a president without the aid of a southern state.
After accusing Mr. Lincoln of crawfishing in regard to
the questions propounded at Ottawa, Mr. Douglas made an
elaborate defense of his course on the Lecompton constitution
and his consequent break with President Buchanan. He
asserted that the president had sought to coerce him, and he
defied the executive in these words: "I resisted this invasion
of the constitutional rights of a senator, and I intend to resist
it as long as I have a voice to speak or a vote to give."
Mr. Douglas urged the Democratic party to stand to-
gether, as the Democrats and Whigs, under the leadership
of Cass and Clay, had united their forces in 1850 in support
of the compromise measures. He affirmed in conclusion, the
signers of the declaration of independence when they declared
all men created equal, "did not mean the negro, nor the
savage Indians, nor the Fejee Islanders. They were speaking
of white men," and that the government "should be admin-
istered by white men and none other."
Mr. Lincoln began his reply by complimenting Senator
Douglas on the fact that he was gradually improving in his
warfare with the Buchanan administration. He rather de-
lighted in the family quarrel, and urged the combatants to
"go it husband, go it bear !" Douglas, he said, had undertaken
to involve President Buchanan in an inconsistency. He re-
minded Douglas that while he was valiantly fighting for the
Nebraska bill and the repeal of the Missouri compromise, it
had been but a little while since he had been an ardent
9
66 Republican Party in Illinois
advocate of that compromise. "I want to know," he says,
"if Buchanan has not as much right to be inconsistent as
Douglas has? Has Douglas the exclusive right in this
country of being on all sides of all questions? Is nobody
allowed that high privilege but himself? Is he to have an
entire monopoly on that subject ?"
In this last speech Mr. Lincoln arose to a height of moral
grandeur. He planted himself squarely upon the solid rock
of eternal and absolute truth. He uttered words that went
to the very heart of the matter. Slavery was an economic,
political and moral wrong. He denied, it is true, he had
ever complained that the supreme court, in the Dred Scott
decision, had declared that a negro could never become a
citizen of the United States. Mr. Lincoln, however, had
never taken an advanced position on the political rights of
the negro. He believed the authors of the declaration of
independence intended to include all men in their declaration
of equality, but did not mean to declare all men equal in all
respects. The fathers did not mean to say men were equal in
intellect, nor in moral or social development. They defined
with reasonable distinctness their belief that life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness are the inalienable rights of all men.
They did not mean to assert the obvious untruth that all men
were actually enjoying that equality, nor that it was to be
immediately conferred upon them. The makers of the con-
stitution had no power to confer this equality. They simply
meant to declare the right, so that its enforcement might
come as soon as circumstances would permit.
Mr. Lincoln challenged Senator Douglas to prove that
up to three or four years previous to these joint discussions,
the declaration of independence, in the minds of the fathers,
did not include the negro in the term "all men." There were
Republican Party in Illinois 67
men who found this assertion in the way of their schemes,
and they denied its truth. Senator Petit, of Indiana, had
declared that the declaration of independence was a "self-
evident lie" rather than a self-evident truth.
The principle upon which Mr. Lincoln insisted in this
canvass related to the founding of new societies. He had
never sought to apply it to the old states, for the purpose of
abolishing slavery therein. He declared it a miserable per-
version of his utterances to assume that Missouri or any other
slave state should emancipate her slaves.
Mr. Douglas maintained throughout these debates that
the fathers "made" the republic part slave and part free.
Mr. Lincoln denied this statement, and clearly had the facts
of history to sustain him. Lincoln insisted that the fathers
"found" the institution existing among them and left it as they
found it. They recognized the absolute impossibility of its
immediate removal, but they did place distinctive marks of
their disapproval upon it. Lincoln developed this thought
with great clearness and force in his speech at Quincy, when
he said : "In the first place, I insist that our fathers did not
make this nation half slave and half free, or part slave and
part free. I insist that they found the institution of slavery
existing here. They did not make it so, but they left it so
because they knew no way to get rid of it at that time. When
Judge Douglas undertakes to say that, as a matter of choice,
the fathers of the government made this nation part slave and
part free, he assumes what is historically a falsehood. More
than that: When the fathers of the government cut off the
source of slavery by the abolition of the slave trade, and
adopted a system of restricting it from the new territories
where it had not existed, I maintain that they placed it
where they understood, and all sensible men understood, it
68 Republican Party in Illinois
was in the course of ultimate extinction; and even Judge
Douglas asks me why it cannot continue as our fathers made
it. I ask him why he and his friends could not let it remain
as our fathers made it?"
Mr. Douglas in upholding the right of the states to regu-
late their own domestic affairs, vehemently defended a prin-
ciple that Mr. Lincoln never denied. The latter would have
no controversy with his opponent on that score, although
Douglas always sought to befog the popular mind on the
subject. But Mr. Lincoln denied that there was any parallel
between the institution of slavery and other varied pursuits
of the states arising from differences in soil and climate.
There had never been any trouble over the cranberry laws
of Indiana, or the oyster laws of Virginia or the pine lumber
laws of Maine, or the fact that Louisiana produces sugar and
Illinois flour. Slavery, on the other hand, had always been
an element of discord. The country had been at peace when
there was no discussion of the question; but there has been
turmoil whenever the Slave-Power has made an effort to
extend its dominion. History speaks in thunder tones, affirm-
ing that the policy which has given peace to the country
heretofore gives the greatest assurance of peace for the future.
The struggles over the Missouri compromise, the annexation
of Texas and the compromises of 1850 sprang from attempts
to enlarge the borders of slave territory. No party can ever
disturb the peace of the country; but slavery has divided the
church itself. It has rent in twain the Methodists and Pres-
byterians, and brought discord into other religious bodies.
"What has jarred and shaken the great American Tract
society recently, not yet splitting it, but sure to divide it in
the end? Is it not this same mighty, deep-seated power that
somehow operates on the minds of men, exciting and stirring
Republican Party in Illinois 69
them in every avenue of society in politics, in religion, in
literature, in morals, in all the manifold relations of life ?"
Douglas was fighting a man of straw when he assumed
that Lincoln was contending against the right of the states to
do as they pleased in the matter. His controversy with
Douglas concerned the new territories. Lincoln disclaimed
any power as citizens of the free states, or as members of the
federal union, through the general government, to disturb
slavery in the states where it already existed. Lincoln was
not making war upon the rights of "states." He would keep
the territories free from the blight of slavery while in a ter-
ritorial condition. He compressed the philosophy of the situ-
ation into these words: "If you go to the territory opposed
to slavery, and another man comes upon the same ground with
his slave, upon the assumption that the things are equal, it
turns out that he has the equal right all his way, and you have
no part of it your way. If he goes in and makes it a slave
territory and by consequence a slave state, is it not time that
those who would have it a free state were on equal ground?"
Mr. Douglas raised a false issue when he assumed that
Lincoln was in favor of introducing social and political
equality between the races; but Lincoln always repudiated
that doctrine. His oft-repeated assertion that the country
could not permanently endure half slave and half free, was
made purely as an economic proposition. But Lincoln believed
that an economic wrong is a moral wrong. Henceforth he
appeals to the conscience as well as to the judgment of his
hearers. The real issue in the country, he says, is between
those who believe the institution of slavery is wrong, and those
who do not so believe. The Republican party regards slavery
as an evil. "It is the sentiment around which all their actions
all their arguments circle from which all their proposi-
70 Republican Party in Illinois
tions radiate." The party, nevertheless, has a due regard for
its actual existence in the country, the constitutional obliga-
tions thrown around it, and the difficulty of its removal. The
party desires a policy that will not allow the danger to spread ;
it insists that as far as possible it shall be treated as a wrong.
One way of thus regarding it is to prohibit its extension.
The interrogatory form of argument was often used by
Lincoln with great effectiveness. He had a genius and a
passion for asking hard questions. Much of the philosophy
of Americaan history is compressed into these two: "Has
anything ever threatened the existence of this union save and
except this very institution of slavery? What has ever
threatened our liberty and prosperity save and except this
institution of slavery?"
Mr. Lincoln rises to the "height of this great argument"
and defines the issue with the skill of a master, in these
impressive words : "That is the real issue. That is the issue
that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of
Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal
struggle between these two principles right and wrong
throughout the world. They are the two principles that
have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will
ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of
humanity, and the other is the divine right of kings. It is
the same principle, in whatever shape it develops itself."
The election occurred on the second day of November.
James Miller, the Republican candidate for state treasurer,
received 125,430 votes; William B. Fondy, Democrat,
received 12 1,609; and John Dougherty, Buchanan Democrat,
5,071. Newton Bateman was elected superintendent of pub-
Republican Party in Illinois 71
lie instruction, over A. C. French and John Reynolds, both
former governors.
Under the apportionment of February 27, 1854, there
were twenty-five senators and seventy-five members in the
house, making a total of one hundred in the general assembly.
Mr. Lincoln received of the popular vote a majority of over
four thousand; but the apportionment was such that the
legislature was against him. There were eleven Republicans
and fourteen Democrats in the senate and thirty-five Repub-
licans and forty Democrats in the house. On the joint ballot
Lincoln received forty-six votes; Douglas received fifty-four
votes, and was elected. Mr Lincoln took his defeat philoso-
phically. In a letter to a friend he said: "The cause of
civil liberty must not be surrendered at the end of one or even
one hundred defeats." He had suffered a political defeat,
but had won a glorious moral victory.
The November election resulted in the choice of four
Republican congressmen and five Democrats, as follows:
First district, E. B. Washburne ; Second, John F. Farnsworth ;
Third, Owen Lovejoy; Fourth, William Kellogg; Fifth,
Isaac N. Morris; Sixth, Thomas L. Harris; Seventh, Aaron
Shaw; Eighth, Robert Smith; Ninth, Samuel S. Marshall.
The first four were Republicans and the last five Democrats.
A feature of this session of the legislature was the passage
by both houses of a legislative apportionment bill, which
gerrymandered the state in the interest of the Democrats.
The bill was vetoed by Governor Bissell.
Emerson says an institution is the lengthened shadow of
a man. Great moral reforms and world-movements become
incarnated in men. The word must ever become flesh and
dwell among men. There are born leaders who seem to
72 Republican Party in Illinois
belong to the elemental forces and men feel their power as
they feel the grandeur of the mountain and the sea.
Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were the fore-
most Americans of their time. The eyes of the nation and the
world were upon them. From the death of Henry Clay to
1 860, Douglas was the most commanding figure in a senate of
great men. He was America's nearest approach to the first
Napoleon. Douglas, like Napoleon, was Ambition's child
and king. Sumner, Seward and Chase were with him in the
senate, but in marvelous readiness and headlong force he was
master of them all. He was the "Little Giant." But the "iron
pen" of history must be just. Stephen A. Douglas, through-
out his distinguished career, never said that slavery was
wrong. He expressed his indifference as to whether it was
"voted up or down." He eliminated the moral element from
the supreme issue of the hour.
Lincoln was the antithesis of Douglas. He was ready to
die that his cause might triumph. He believed in the moral
order of the world, and that his own beloved country had
grievously transgressed that order. Like the prophets of old,
he "cried aloud and spared not." Lincoln had his appointed
task. He had a practical method of solving the problem. He
would arouse the conscience of the nation until it should
compel a reversal of the Dred Scott decision, and a new
judicial rule established upon the subject. He would place
slavery where the fathers placed it, and then trust the evolu-
tion of the moral sense of his countrymen to effect its ultimate
extinction. The divided house was to be united, but not in
the way that Lincoln had hoped. The reunion would not
come until colossal forces had shaken our broad territory and
made its -foundations tremble under the tread of uncounted
legions.
CHAPTER IX
ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION OF 1860 RICHARD
YATES NOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR NATIONAL REPUB-
LICAN CONVENTION LINCOLN NOMINATED INCI-
DENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN LINCOLN ELECTED AND IN-
AUGURATED EARLY EVENTS OF 1861.
IN 1860 Illinois had become the eleventh state in the union
in wealth and population. With her commercial metro-
polis on Lake Michigan she was to be henceforth the key-
stone in the magnificent arch of great western states. Illinois
occupied a corresponding place in the political history of the
nation. Under the apportionment of 1861 she was to be en-
titled to thirteen congressmen, besides one for the state at
large. This was a gain of six since 1850. The national
Republican convention of 1860 was held in Chicago, when
Abraham Lincoln was nominated for president of the
United States. Stephen A. Douglas was the nominee of one
of the wings of the disrupted Democracy for the same office.
These nominations were the outcome of the joint debates two
years before.
With the opening of this eventful year Mr. Lincoln was
frequently mentioned for the presidency. Lincoln at first
discouraged the efforts of his friends. In the preceding March
he had sent this message to Thomas J. Pickett: "Seriously, I
do not think I am fit for the presidency."
The first organized effort in behalf of Mr. Lincoln was
taken at a meeting held in the state house early in 1860, in the
office of O. M. Hatch, secretary of state. Besides Mr. Hatch
73
74 Republican Party in Illinois
there were present Norman B. Judd, chairman of the Repub-
lican state committee; Leonard Swett, Jesse K. Dubois,
Lawrence Weldon, A. C. Babcock, William Butler, John
Bunn, Ebenezer Peck, Jackson Grimshaw, Ward H. Lamon
and other leaders. Mr. Lamon afterward wrote a life of
Lincoln. These gentlemen asked Lincoln if they could use
his name as a candidate for president. Mr. Lincoln wanted
to defer his answer until the next day. Late in the afternoon
he authorized his friends, if they thought proper, to place him
in the field.
Mr. Lincoln had already received recognition from an
unexpected source. In the preceding October a committee in
New York City extended him an invitation to visit the metro-
polis and deliver an address. After giving the subject much
thought he accepted the invitation and notified the committee
that he would visit New York late in February, and discuss
the political issues of the day. His address is known as the
famous "Cooper institute speech." Lincoln evidently realized
the significance of this opportunity and spent much of the inter-
vening time in the preparation of his speech. It was a master-
ful effort, characterized by precision of statement, simplicity of
language, unity of thought and, withal, a perfect sincerity that
carried conviction. The New York dailies published the speech
in full and the fact that he had captured the metropolis was
known and read of all men. From New York Lincoln went
to New England, and made speeches in Rhode Island and
Connecticut, where he made a profound impression.
Mr. Lincoln received a great ovation on his return to
Springfield. From that time he began to consider himself
as a presidential possibility. His ambition was aroused, and he
wrote to party leaders throughout the state. One of his
biographers says: "I believe the idea prevails that Lincoln
Republican Party in Illinois 75
sat still in his chair at Springfield and that one of those un-
looked-for tides in human affairs came along and cast the
nomination into his lap. . . . The truth is, Lincoln was
as vigilant as he was ambitious, and there is no denying the
fact that he perfectly understood the situation from the start."
The Illinois state Republican convention assembled on the
9th of May. The sessions were held in a wigwam erected for
the purpose. Every county in the state except Pulaski was
represented and Judge Joseph Gillespie was chosen to preside.
There were three candidates for governor : Richard Yates, of
Morgan county; Norman B. Judd, of Cook, and Leonard
Swett, of McLean. Judd led on the informal ballot, with 245
votes; Swett 191 and Yates 183. Yates gained fourteen over
Swett on the first formal ballot. Judd also made a gain.
Yates and Judd made gains over Swett on the second ballot.
The third ballot stood: Judd, 252 ; Yates, 238 ; Swett, 246.
On the fourth ballot Swett's friends went to Yates. He
received 363 votes and was nominated.
Francis A. Hoffman, of Cook, was nominated for lieuten-
ant-governor ; Jesse K. Dubois, auditor; Ozias M. Hatch,
secretary of state; William Butler, treasurer; and Newton
Bateman, superintendent of public instruction.
The delegates from Illinois to the national Republican
convention at Chicago, chosen at Decatur, were: at large,
Norman B. Judd, Gustavus Koerner, David Davis and Orville
H. Browning; First district, Jason Marsh, Solon Cummings;
Second, George Schneider, George T. Smith ; Third, Burton
C. Cook, Oliver L. Davis; Fourth, Henry Grove, E. W.
Hazard ; Fifth, William Ross, James S. Erwin ; Sixth, Stephen
T. Logan, Nathan M. Knapp ; Seventh Thomas A. Marshall,
William P. Dole ; Eighth, F. S. Rutherford, David K. Green ;
Ninth, James C. Sloo, David L. Phelps.
76 Republican Party in Illinois
The presidential electors for Illinois were: John M.
Palmer, Leonard Swett, Allen C. Fuller, William B. Plato,
Lawrence Weldon, William Pitt Kellogg, James Stark, James
C. Conkling, Henry P. H. Bromwell, Thomas C. Allen,
John Olney.
The result of the Decatur convention was "big with the
fate of Cato and of Rome." Within one year, Abraham
Lincoln, as president of the United States, would need a tower
of strength in the executive chair of his own commonwealth.
The confidence reposed in Richard Yates by the people of
Illinois was not betrayed. He became their illustrious war
governor and his fame is secure.
Mr. Yates was born in Warsaw, Gallatin county, Ken-
tucky, January 18, 1815. His father, Henry Yates, impressed
with the evil of slavery, removed in 1831 to the free state of
Illinois and settled in Sangamon county. Richard graduated
in 1835 from Illinois college at Jacksonville and made that
city his permanent home. He read law in the office of General
John J. Hardin, and entered upon its practice. The legal
profession is often an "open sesame" to the arena of politics,
and so it proved to Richard Yates. He entered political life
as an ardent Whig, a believer in the principles of Webster and
Clay. In 1842 he was elected a member of the general assem-
bly from Morgan county. He was re-elected in 1844 and
again in 1848. In 1850 Mr. Yates was elected a member of
congress from the Seventh district, and was the only Whig
who was thus honored in Illinois that year. His Democratic
opponent was Major Thomas L. Harris. The state was re-
apportioned in 1852, and Morgan county was placed in the
Sixth district. Mr. Yates was elected over John Calhoun.
He was renominated in 1854, but was defeated by his old
rival, Major Harris, by a plurality of two hundred.
RICHARD YATES
Republican Party in Illinois 77
Richard Yates brought to the executive chair a legislative
experience of ten years, six in the legislature and four in con-
gress. His address was courteous and there was a rare charm
in his personality. The people of Illinois loved Richard Yates
better than he loved himself. As a public speaker, says his
old friend, Dr. William Jayne, "he belongs to that group of
orators in which are classed Emery Storrs, Owen Lovejoy and
Robert Ingersoll."
The great event of the convention was the endorsement of
Abraham Lincoln for president. This was the first public
movement in Illinois in behalf of her favorite son. It came
after all the nominations had been made, and was so sudden
that it was a surprise to the convention itself. It is the function
of the orator to interpret the deepest feeling of a people to
themselves. This was the rare fortune of Richard J. Oglesby
at Decatur, when, as "Uncle Dick" would say, he "got off on
the right foot first," and made a speech that was like touching
a torch to powder. The hour and the man had met, and
Oglesby 's impassioned tribute to Abraham Lincoln electrified
his countrymen. At the psychological moment "Old John
Hanks" came up the aisle carrying two fence-rails which were
made by himself and his kinsman Lincoln on the Sangamon
bottom in 1830. In the midst of this unsuppressed enthusiasm
instructions for Lincoln were unanimously adopted and the
convention adjourned.
The Democratic state convention assembled at Springfield
June 13. Hon. William McMurty presided. Judge James
C. Allen, of Crawford county, was nominated for governor
on the second ballot. He had served one term in the legislature
and two terms in congress. L. W. Ross was nominated for
lieutenant-governor; G. H. Campbell, for secretary of state;
78 Republican Party in Illinois
Bernard Arntzen, auditor; Hugh Maher, treasurer; E. R.
Roe, superintendent of public instruction.
State conventions were also held by the Buchanan wing of
the Democracy and by the followers of the Bell- Everett move-
ment. The former convention nominated T. M. Hope for
governor, and Thomas Snell for lieutenant-governor. John
T. Stuart headed the Bell-Everett ticket for governor, and
Henry S. Blackburn was nominated for lieutenant-governor.
The national Republican convention assembled at Chicago
May 16. For a year preceding the convention it was conceded
that William H. Seward would be nominated. He seemed
the logical candidate. For twelve years he had been at the
front of the battle in the senate, where he had expounded the
doctrine of the "irrepressible conflict" and the "higher law."
Moreover, his campaign was in the hands of Thurlow Weed,
the most sagacious politician of his time, and William M.
Evarts, who had attained great eminence as an orator and
lawyer. Mr. Seward's availability, however, did not go un-
challenged. He had been so conspicuous and so radical that
his strength was discredited. He was also seriously injured
by the open defection of Horace Greeley.
Meanwhile there were other candidates, most of whom
proved to have only the strength of favorite sons. Ohio pre-
sented Salmon P. Chase; Pennsylvania named Simon Cam-
eron; New Jersey wanted William L. Dayton; Missouri
urged the claims of Edward Bates; while Vermont favored
Jacob Collamer. Mr. Lincoln's campaign was managed
with consummate skill. Never did a candidate for the
presidency have more sagacious and enthusiastic supporters.
Among the chief in counsel were Judge David Davis, Leonard
Swett, Norman B. Judd and Orville H. Browning. Lin-
coln's friends would have been content at one time with his
Republican Party in Illinois 79
nomination for vice-president; but as the convention drew
near, opposition to Seward became more threatening. It was
at this opportune time that the state convention presented
Lincoln's name with an eclat that could not fail to find an
echo in Chicago. The selection of Chicago as the convention
city was fortunate for Lincoln. Mr. Elaine, in recognizing
the power of the mob, that has dethroned kings and dictated
candidates, says it is doubtful if Lincoln could have been
nominated in any city outside of Illinois.
The convention was held in the historic "wigwam,"
erected on the lake front for this purpose. David Wilmot
was chosen temporary chairman; while the honor of perma-
nent presiding officer was accorded George Ashmum, of Mas-
sachusetts, an old Webster Whig.
The result can be briefly told. Three ballots were taken.
The first resulted in 173^/2 votes for Seward and 102 for
Lincoln. There were 190 delegates holding the balance of
power, who divided their support between Bates, Cameron,
Chase, Collamer, Dayton and McLean. On the second
ballot Seward received 184^, and Lincoln 181. On the
third ballot Lincoln received 2311^ votes, only one and a
half less than the number needed to nominate. During the
progress of the last ballot Mr. Carter, of Ohio, changed four
votes of that state from Chase to Lincoln. The result was
quickly followed by a motion to make Lincoln's nomination
unanimous. The happy result was achieved without offense
to the other candidates, and was in itself an omen of victory.
Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, was nominated for vice-pres-
ident.
The Democratic national convention assembled in
Charleston, South Carolina, April 23 preceding. The
northern Democracy was loyal to Douglas, but he had hope-
80 Republican Party in Illinois
lessly fallen from grace in the estimation of the south, for
which he had done so much. No nomination was possible,
and on May 3 the convention adjourned to meet in Baltimore,
June 18. The disrupted Democracy failed to reunite. The
northern wing nominated Douglas for president and Herschel
V. Johnson, of Georgia, for vice-president. The southern
delegates nominated John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, for
president, and Joseph Lane, of Oregon, for vice-president.
The Constitutional Union party, representing the suc-
cessors of the old Whigs and Americans, met at Baltimore
and nominated John Bell, of Tennessee, and Edward Everett,
of Massachusetts, for president and vice-president, respec-
tively.
Every shade of political opinion was represented in the
four presidential tickets. Excitement in Illinois throughout
the campaign was intense. Both of the leading parties had
many distinguished speakers. Among the Republicans were
Richard Yates, Lyman Trumbull, Owen Lovejoy, John
Wentworth, Stephen A. Hurlbut, John M. Palmer, Richard
J. Oglesby, Shelby M. Cullom, Thomas J. Henderson,
William Pitt Kellogg, Isaac N. Arnold, John F. Farnsworth,
Joseph G. Cannon and Smith D. Atkins. Among those on
the Democratic side were Robert G. Ingersoll, John A.
Logan, William R. Morrison, John A. Rawlins, William A.
Richardson, John A. McClernand and Green B. Raum.
For the first time in twenty years the voice of Abraham
Lincoln was not heard in a political campaign in Illinois.
Douglas, on the other hand, broke all precedents for a presi-
dential candidate, and went directly before the people.
A notable incident of the campaign was a series of debates
in the Fourth congressional district between Robert G. Inger-
soll and Judge William Kellogg. Notwithstanding Ingersoll
Republican Party in Illinois 81
was an ardent Douglas Democrat, he savagely attacked the
Dred Scott decision and took a more advanced position on
the great moral issue than his Republican opponent. Clark
E. Carr, who heard him at Galesburg, says: "I have always
believed that Robert G. Ingersoll was the greatest orator
who ever stood before a public audience." Ingersoll became
a Republican the day Fort Sumter was bombarded.
During September and October joint discussions were
held by Judge Allen C. Fuller, of Belvidere, and John A.
Rawlins, of Galena. One debate was held in each county
in the First congressional district. Judge Fuller was the
Republican candidate for presidential elector, and Mr.
Rawlins was the candidate of the Douglas Democracy.
These debates have a historic interest by reason of the sub-
sequent prominence of the participants. Judge Fuller became
the war adjutant of the state and in this capacity he displayed
great executive ability, and was the able supporter of Gov-
ernor Yates in the organization of the military forces of the
state. Mr. Rawlins was the confidential friend and adviser
of General Grant during his campaigns, and in 1869 entered
Grant's cabinet as secretary of war.
The election resulted in the triumph of the Republican
party for the first time in Illinois. The Lincoln electors
received 172,171 votes; Douglas, 160,205; Union party,
4,913 ; Independent Democrat, 2,332.
For members of congress four Republicans were elected,
as follows: First district, E. B. Washburne; Second, Isaac
N. Arnold ; Third, Owen Lovejoy ; Fourth, William Kel-
logg. The five Democratic members were: Fifth district,
John A. McClernand; Sixth, William A. Richardson;
Seventh, James C. Robinson; Eighth, Philip B. Fouke;
Ninth, John A. Logan.
82 Republican Party in Illinois
The Republicans carried both branches of the legislature.
Their majority was one in the senate and seven in the house.
Events moved rapidly in the early months of 1861. The
general assembly convened January 7. Shelby M. Cullom
was elected speaker of the house. Mr. Cullom was urged to
become a candidate by Stephen A. Hurlbut, of Boone, and
Lawrence S. Church, of McHenry. January 10 the two
houses met in joint session for the election of a United States
senator. The Republicans favored the re-election of Lyman
Trumbull, and the Democrats supported Samuel S. Marshall.
Trumbull was chosen by a vote of fifty-four to forty-six. "The
Nemesis of Fate," says John Moses, "with exact mathematical
accuracy, reversed the ballot of two years before, which had
resulted in the election of Douglas."
Governor Yates was inaugurated January 14. His in-
augural address, which discussed the impending crisis, was
a remarkable state paper, which brought new courage to the
hearts of his countrymen.
One of the acts of the assembly was the new legislative
apportionment, approved January 31. The state was divided
into twenty-five senatorial districts, with an equal number
of senators. There were sixty-five representative districts,
from which eighty-five members were to be elected. Previous
to 1870 senatorial and representative districts did not com-
prise the same territory.
February 2, in response to an invitation from the state
of Virginia, Governor Yates appointed commissioners to the
peace conference at Washington. They were Stephen T.
Logan, John M. Palmer, John Wood, Burton C. Cook and
Thomas J. Turner. Mr. Wood as lieutenant-governor, had
filled out the unexpired term of Governor Bissell, who died
March 18, 1860.
Republican Party in Illinois 83
In March it became necessary for Mr. Lincoln to know
whether there was any loyal sentiment in South Carolina.
He sent Stephen A. Hurlbut, of Belvidere, on a special
mission to Charleston, his native city. Ward H. Lamon
accompanied him. James L. Petigru, with whom Hurlbut
had read law four years, was the only union man of promi-
nence then in Charleston. Mr. Hurlbut consulted with his
former law instructor, and reported to Mr. Lincoln that
there was no attachment to the union, and that the sentiment
of South Carolina was unamimous for separation.
Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated president of the United
States March 4, 1861. Never was poetic justice more strik-
ingly illustrated. Roger B. Taney, chief justice of the
supreme court, whose Dred Scott decision had precipitated
the political revolution, administered the oath of office.
Stephen A. Douglas, a life-long rival, held Lincoln's hat
when he subscribed to the oath. When, three months later,
the curtain fell upon the brilliant career of Stephen A.
Douglas, he was still, at only forty-eight years of age,
"resolute, vigorous, commanding." He was the second man
in the nation. Abraham Lincoln was first.
The election of Lincoln was perhaps the most notable
event in the history of the nation. He was the divinely
appointed man for the hour. Such men are instruments in
the consummation of the divine purpose. It was said of
Cyrus in the olden time, "I girded thee though thou hast not
known me." There seem to be certain superhuman adjust-
ments that philosophy does not explain, that work out
righteous results. Human wisdom does not foresee them;
they do not destroy human freedom, but they do achieve their
results with infallible certainty. The leaders in such events
are like Aeneas in the fable: they are often covered with a
84 Republican Party in Illinois
cloud woven by divine fingers, and men do not see them.
But when they are needed the cloud breaks away and they
stand before the world prepared to do their work. Such a
man was Abraham Lincoln. He was called to lead in a war
made holy by the quickened moral conscience of the nation.
Poets and reformers and statesmen had cast up the highway
for the King, who should visit the nation with chastening.
This judgment day was at hand because Phillips, and Gar-
rison and Sumner had come; because Whittier and Lowell
and Harriet Beecher Stowe had come; because Lincoln and
Seward and Chase had come; because Grant and Sherman
and Sheridan had come; because the great and terrible day
of the Lord had come !
CHAPTER X
OUTBREAK OF CIVIL WAR DOUGLAS' SPEECH AT SPRINGFIELD
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION CONSTITUTION RE-
PUDIATED REVERSES OF 1862 LEGISLATURE PRO-
ROGUED BY GOVERNOR YATES OGLESBY NOMINATED
FOR GOVERNOR LINCOLN RENOMINATED COLONEL
INGERSOLL'S PRAYER THE ELECTIONS.
APRIL 15, 1861, the day following the surrender of
Fort Sumter, President Lincoln issued a call for
seventy-five thousand volunteers to subdue "combina-
tions too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of
judicial proceedings, and to cause the laws to be duly exe-
cuted." Governor Yates immediately convened the legislature
in special session. The regular session had adjourned February
22, after a service of forty- seven days.
The special session convened April 23. The sentiment of
loyalty to the union, irrespective of party, was dominant in
both houses. The secretary of war notified Governor Yates
that the quota of Illinois, under the president's call, was six
regiments of militia ; and it became the first duty of the general
assembly to provide for the organization and equipment of
these regiments.
While the legislature was in session Senator Douglas
arrived in Springfield from Washington. He had been asked
by President Lincoln to visit Illinois, where there was much
disunion sentiment. Upon invitation he addressed the two
houses in joint session on the evening of April 25. The senator
was introduced by Mr. Cullom, speaker of the house. It was
85
86 Republican Party in Illinois
during this speech that Senator Douglas uttered his celebrated
dictum that in the present crisis there are only two parties,
"patriots and traitors." "It is a duty we owe to ourselves,
and our children, and our God, to protect this government,
and that flag, from every assailant, be he who he may." These
words meant more to the union, coming from Stephen A.
Douglas at this time, than they would from any other living
American. The "Little Giant" was never more masterful.
It was the farewell message of a great senator in the capitol
of a great state which had honored him to idolatry. His
Springfield speech probably saved Illinois to the union. It
was the turning point in the life of John A. Logan, who had
a great personal following. He espoused the union cause
and became an ardent Republican.
The legislature provided for the creation of a war fund
of $2,000,000 and enacted other needful war legislation. The
state was divided into thirteen congressional districts. By an
error in the apportionment the number of congressmen was
fixed at thirteen, although the state was entitled to fourteen.
The error was corrected by electing one member from the
state at large. The legislature adjourned May 3, after a ses-
sion of eleven days.
Governor Yates appointed O. H. Browning to succeed
Stephen A. Douglas in the United States senate until the
vacancy should be filled by a regular election.
An act of the general assembly approved January 31,
1861, provided for the calling of a constitutional convention
to amend the state constitution. The act provided for the
election of seventy-five delegates and these were chosen at an
election held in November, 1861. The people had become so
absorbed in the prosecution of the war that too little attention
was paid to the selection of delegates. The Democrats, whose
Republican Party in Illinois 87
leaders were watchful of their advantage, secured forty-five
delegates; the Republicans elected twenty-one; seven were
classed as Fusionists, and two as doubtful. Among the Demo-
cratic members was Melville W. Fuller, who was appointed
chief justice of the supreme court of the United States by
President Cleveland. John Wentworth, of Chicago, and
Luther W. Lawrence, of Boone county, were leaders on the
Republican side. The delegate from Winnebago county was
Porter Sheldon.
The convention assembled at Springfield January 7, 1862.
William A. Hacker was chosen president, and William M.
Springer, secretary. The history of Illinois furnishes no par-
allel to the impertinence and arrogance displayed by the
dominant element in the convention. Some of the members
refused to take the oath prescribed by the statute which called
them together. They assumed a dictatorial policy toward all
departments of the state government. They demanded reports
from officers in the field. Major Quincy McNeil, of the
Second Illinois cavalry, sent a stinging retort to the chairman
of the committee on military affairs, from which a few lines
are quoted : "Should I give you the information the resolution
calls for, I should make as great an ass of myself as the con-
vention has of you, by asking you to attend to that which is
none of your business. . . If I am rightly informed, you
were elected to make a convention for the state of Illinois.
Why in h don't you do it?" The convention seriously
debated whether it did not have the power to elect a United
States senator, to succeed O. H. Browning. Governor Yates
became exasperated to the limit of endurance and informed the
convention, in response to a request for a certain report that
"he did not acknowledge the right of the convention to instruct
him in the performance of his duty." The climax was reached
88 Republican Party in Illinois
when the convention, which was simply called to amend the
constitution, submitted an entirely new constitution.
The convention continued in session until March 24. Only
fifty-four names were signed to the instrument. Messrs.
Wentworth, Sheldon and Anthony were the only Republicans
who affixed their names and the latter two did so by proxy.
The proposed constitution was submitted to the people, at
a special election June 17, and was repudiated by a majority
of over sixteen thousand votes.
In the summer of 1862 popular interest was divided be-
tween events in the field and the election in November. A year
before party lines had been practically obliterated in Illinois,
as the people rallied to the support of the government in the
prosecution of the war. This unanimity had been changed by
the progress of events. The reverses sustained during the first
year of the war could not fail to have a political significance.
President Lincoln's early conservatism on the slavery ques-
tion had contributed an element of strength to his war policy.
As he became more aggressive, sharp political divisions arose.
The slavery question was still the dividing issue, "and by a
common instinct throughout the free states," says Mr. Blaine,
"the Democrats joined in the cry against an abolition war."
The vote on the abolition of slavery in the District of Colum-
bia, the proposal for compensated emancipation in the border
states, and the act confiscating the property of rebels were on
strict party lines in congress.
President Lincoln realized the danger, but his wisdom
was sufficient for the hour. He knew slavery was the cause
of the revolt, and its greatest source of strength. He therefore
determined to strike the fatal blow. His monitory proclama-
tion of emancipation, September 22, gave notice that on the
first day of January, 1863, all persons held as slaves in states
Republican Party in Illinois 89
which were in revolt against the union, should be forever free.
Under these conditions the Illinois state conventions assem-
bled. The Republican convention was held September 24.
Eben C. Ingersoll was nominated for member of congress for
the state at large. William Butler and Newton Bateman
were nominated for treasurer and superintendent of public
instruction, respectively. The platform endorsed the emanci-
pation proclamation "as a great and imperative war measure,
essential to the salvation of the union."
The Democratic convention was held September 10.
James C. Allen was nominated for congressman-at-large ;
Alexander Starne for treasurer, and John P. Brooks for
superintendent of public instruction. The platform put the
party on record in favor of the war, although it protested
against the president's anti-slavery policy. The Democrats
of Illinois were still frightened by the bugbear of abolition.
The result of the elections in November was a defeat for
the Republicans. The Democrats elected their entire ticket
by a majority of seventeen thousand, and seven of the fourteen
representatives in congress. The delegation in congress was
as follows: For the state at large, James C. Allen; First
district, Isaac N. Arnold; Second district, John F. Farns-
worth;. Third, Elihu B. Washburne; Fourth, Charles M.
Harris; Fifth, Owen Lovejoy; Sixth, Jesse O. Norton; Sev-
enth, John R. Eden; Eighth, John T. Stuart; Ninth, Lewis
W. Ross; Tenth, Anthony L. Knapp; Eleventh, James C.
Robinson ; Twelfth, William R. Morrison ; Thirteenth, Wil-
liam J. Allen. Messrs. Arnold, Farnsworth, Washburne,
Lovejoy, Norton and Stuart were Republicans. James C.
Allen died at Olney, Illinois, January 30, 1912, the day
following his ninetieth birthday.
90 Republican Party in Illinois
The Democrats also carried both houses of the legislature.
In the senate there were twelve Republicans and thirteen Dem-
ocrats; in the house there were thirty Republicans and fifty-
eight Democrats. The large number of soldiers in the field,
who were deprived of the privilege of voting to uphold their
president, was an important factor in this unfortunate result.
Eleven states had provided for taking the votes of the soldiers
in the field. Illinois did not make this provision.
Although Illinois had repudiated the anti-slavery policy
of her great war president, the result throughout the country
was an endorsement of the administration, which obtained a
working majority in the lower house of congress.
The twenty-third general assembly has been justly pilloried
by the historians of Illinois. It was dominated throughout by
a body of men who devoted their time to violent attacks upon
the war policy of President Lincoln. The assembly convened
January 5, 1863. Samuel A. Buckmaster, of Madison county,
was elected speaker. He received fifty-two votes ; Luther W.
Lawrence, of Boone, twenty-five, and Selden M. Church, of
Winnebago, one vote.
On the evening of the day the legislature assembled, a
meeting of those opposed to the administration was held in
the house. The speakers denounced the president as a usurper
and the war as barbarous.
On the following day Governor Yates fearlessly faced the
majority against him in both houses, and delivered an address
full of lofty patriotism. He defended the emancipation proc-
lamation and insisted that every son of Illinois be loyal to the
flag.
January 12 the legislature met in joint session for the
election of a United States senator, to fill the unexpired term
of Judge Douglas, which O. H. Browning was serving, under
Republican Party in Illinois 91
appointment of Governor Yates. William A. Richardson
received sixty-five votes and was elected. Richard Yates
received thirty-eight votes.
Two sets of resolutions on the state of the war were intro-
duced in the house. Those opposed to the administration were
drawn by a committee of sixteen, one for each congressional
district, and three for the state at large. The several resolu-
tions were referred to the committee on federal relations.
Majority and minority reports were presented February 4
and 5. The majority report embraced eleven resolutions,
which embodied two general propositions: opposition to the
war under present administrative methods; a demand for an
armistice, the calling of a national convention to conclude
terms of peace, and the appointment of commissioners to
secure these results.
The majority report was adopted in the house February
12 by a vote of fifty- two to twenty-eight. The report was
then sent to the senate. The death of J. M. Rogers, a Demo-
cratic senator, left the senate a tie, with a Republican presiding
officer, and the scheme failed in the upper house. February 14
the legislature adjourned to June 2, when it was proposed to
receive the report of the peace commissioners appointed under
the resolutions.
The passage of the peace resolutions by the house was a
surprise to the people of the state. Although they had elected
a Democratic legislature there was a violent reaction against
their representatives. The peace movement was impracticable
and ignominously failed.
The legislature reconvened June 2. There were no peace
commissioners to hear from and the session was short-lived.
It had proved a dismal failure, and finally the two houses
could not agree upon a time for adjournment. At this juncture
92 Republican Party in Illinois
Governor Yates availed himself of his constitutional pregro-
gative, and on June 10 prorogued the legislature. These
representatives of the people had attempted to array the pres-
ident's own state against his war policy. They were outwitted
by a patriotic and courageous governor. The majority in the
house held that the action of the governor was illegal, but it
was sustained by the supreme court of the state.
The Republican state convention assembled at Springfield
May 25. A. J. Kuykendall presided. The candidates for
governor were Richard J. Oglesby, Allen C. Fuller, Jesse K.
Dubois and John M. Palmer. The real contest was between
Oglesby and Fuller. The latter had made a remarkable
record as adjutant-general of the state. General Fuller was
the central figure of the war-power of Illinois, the forger of
her thunderbolts, the splendid defender of her sons. General
John C. Black once told the writer that General Fuller was
a greater executive force than Edwin M. Stanton. Moreover,
he received the unanimous support of twenty-two northern
counties, which roll up the Republican majorities. General
Fuller, however, had a most formidable rival in Richard J.
Oglesby, the most greatly beloved officer in the western army.
On the informal ballot Oglesby received 283 votes ; Fuller,
220; Dubois, 103; Palmer, 75. On the next ballot Oglesby
received 358 out of 681 votes and was declared the nominee.
William Bross was nominated for lieutenant-governor ; Sharon
Tyndale, secretary of state ; Orlin H. Miner, auditor ; James
H. Beveridge, treasurer ; Newton Bateman, superintendent of
public instruction ; Samuel W. Moulton, congressman-at-large.
The platform reported by the committee was too conser-
vative and it was referred to a new committee. The amended
platform was an enthusiastic endorsement of the administra-
tions of President Lincoln and Governor Yates. The presi-
Republican Party in Illinois 93
dential electors were: John Dougherty, Francis A. Hoffman,
Benjamin M. Prentiss, John V. Farwell, Anson S. Miller,
John V. Eustace, James S. Poague, John I. Bennett, William
T. Hopkins, Franklin Blades, James C. Conkling, William
Walker, Thomas W. Harris, N. M. McCurdy, Henry S.
Baker, Z. S. Clifford.
The Democratic State convention was held at Springfield,
June 15. William A. Hacker presided. Delegates to the
national convention and presidential electors were appointed,
but no ticket was nominated. The convention for nominating
candidates met at Springfield September 6. The following
ticket was named : Governor, James C. Robinson ; lieutenant-
governor, S. Corning Judd ; auditor, John Hise ; treasurer,
Alexander Starne; secretary of state, William A. Turney;
superintendent of public instruction, John P. Brooks; con-
gressman-at-large, James C. Allen.
The national Republican convention assembled at Balti-
more, June 7. The delegates from Illinois were : Burton C.
Cook, Leonard Swett, J. A. Powell, Augustus H. Burley,
Henry Dummer, John Huegly, J. Young Scammon, Lorenz
Brentano, George Bangs, E. P. Ferry, J. Wilson Shaffer,
James McCoy, Harrison Dills, Solon Burroughs, Henry F.
Royce, Clark E. Carr, Joseph L. Braden, Washington Bush-
nell, George N. Rives, James Cone, R. K. Fell, James Brown,
William A. Grimshaw, W. B. Green, Isaac L. Morrison,
J. T. Alexander, William H. Robinson, T. H. Sams, John
Thomas, William Copp, F. S. Rhodes, Morris P. Brown.
Early in the campaign the opposition to President Lincoln
developed formidable proportions. The politicians in both
houses of congress were against him and there were intriguing
malcontents in his cabinet. But the tide suddenly turned as
state after state sent delegates instructed for his renomination.
94 Republican Party in Illinois
Lincoln would have been nominated by acclamation, had
it not been for a master stroke of politics on the part of the
president himself. Missouri sent rival delegations. The con-
servatives supported Lincoln, while the radicals were for
General Grant. At a meeting of the Illinois delegation, a
young man arose and urged the delegates to vote for the admis-
sion of the radical delegation from Missouri, and the delegates
recognized the fact at once that Abraham Lincoln was speak-
ing through his private secretary, John G. Nicolay.
The reason was obvious. When the radical delegation
took their seats in the convention they were morally bound by
its action. On the first ballot Lincoln received 484 votes, and
Missouri gave her twenty-two votes to General Grant. Before
the result was announced, however, Missouri changed her vote
and Lincoln was unanimously renominated. The opposition
could not say it was a Lincoln party instead of a Republican
party, and all factions were united. Andrew Johnson, of Ten-
nessee, was nominated for vice-president. Six weeks before
the election, John C. Fremont and John Cochrane, who had
been nominated for president and vice-president by the Repub-
lican malcontents, withdrew from the field.
Colonel Clark E. Carr, in his "Day and Generation,"
tells an interesting incident of a Republican mass meeting at
Quincy during this campaign. Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll
was one of the speakers. His splendid tribute to the valor of
the army closed with the following peroration : "God bless
the soldiers of the army of the United States, wherever they
may be whether they be fighting on the hillside, the open
plain or in the dark valley ; whether weary and footsore on
the long march, whether parched with thirst they are dying
on the field, or are ministered to by loving hands in the hos-
pitals, whether they be tossed upon the uncertain waves of the
Republican Party in Illinois 95
great deep, whether they be writing letters to their friends by
the dim light of the camp fire, or reading letters from home,
God bless the soldiers of the army of the United States. God
bless their friends and God damn their enemies!"
"Never did an orator," says Colonel Carr, "express the
intensity of feeling of a great audience more completely than
Robert Ingersoll in that prayer and philippic." Rev. Horatio
Foote, a Congregational clergyman, and a brother of the late
Hiram Foote, of Rockford, was seated on the platform, enthus-
iastically pounding his cane. Some one said to him: "Doctor,
is not that blasphemous?" "Inspiration, gentlemen, inspira-
tion," was Mr. Foote's reply as he continued to applaud.
At the election in November Lincoln received every elec-
toral vote over McClellan, except those of New Jersey, Del-
aware and Kentucky. His majority in the popular vote was
nearly half a million.
Mr. Lincoln's vote in Illinois was 189,496; McClellan's
158,730. The entire Republican state ticket was elected and
both branches of the legislature were Republican. In the
senate there were fourteen Republicans and eleven Democrats ;
in the house fifty-one Republicans and thirty-four Democrats.
Eleven congressmen were elected out of fourteen. This was a
gain of five. The delegation in congress was as follows : State
at large, S. W. Moulton; First district, John Wentworth;
Second, John F. Farnsworth; Third, E. B. Washburne;
Fourth, Abner C. Harding ; Fifth, Eben C. Ingersoll ; Sixth,
Burton C. Cook ; Seventh, H. P. H. Bromwell ; Eighth, Shelby
M. Cullom ; Ninth, Lewis W. Ross ; Tenth, Anthony Thorn-
ton; Eleventh, Samuel S. Marshall; Twelfth, Jehu Baker;
Thirteenth, A. J. Kuykendall. Ross, Thornton and Marshall
were Democrats. Ingersoll succeeded Owen Love joy, who
died in March, 1864.
CHAPTER XI
ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR OGLESBY THIRTEENTH
AMENDMENT REPEAL OF BLACK LAWS ELECTIONS OF
1866 TRUMBULL RE-ELECTED SENATOR GENERAL
GRANT ELECTED PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION OF GOV-
ERNOR PALMER CONSTITUTION OF 1870 GENERAL
LOGAN ELECTED UNITED STATES SENATOR.
RICHARD J. OGLESBY was inaugurated January 17,
1865, as the third Republican governor of Illinois.
A more interesting personality, with the possible ex-
ception of his immediate predecessor, Richard Yates, never
graced the executive chair of the state. Governor Oglesby
was born in Oldham county, Kentucky, July 25, 1824. He
came to Illinois with an uncle in 1836 ; was admitted to the bar
and began the practice of his profession at Sullivan, in Moul-
trie county. He began his political career in 1852 as a Whig
elector, and in 1858 he was an unsuccessful candidate for con-
gress in the Decatur district. In 1860 Oglesby was elected
to the state senate. On the outbreak of the civil war he re-
signed his seat and tendered his services to the government on
the day President Lincoln issued his first call for troops. He
had been lieutenant of an Illinois company in the Mexican war.
With this prestige he quickly arose from the colonelcy of the
Eighth regiment to the rank of major-general. At the battle
of Corinth he was shot through the left lung. He partially
recovered, but resigned from the service in May, 1864.
Governor Oglesby was highly endowed with those qualities
which made him a leader of men. He had a sublime faith in
96
RICHARD J. OGLESBY
Republican Party in Illinois 97
the ability of the people to govern themselves, and the people,
in turn, as fully believed in their gallant "Uncle Dick." Bluff,
like Ben Wade, he was a vigorous campaigner and knew no
fear. He was a great commoner of the old school, kindly, but
firm, of strict integrity and lofty patriotism. Honor was in
his blood and bone. His faults arose from his generous nature,
but they weighed little in the balance against the devotion of
his life to the highest ideals of civic duty. With a physique of
large proportions, the gifts of wit and humor, intensity of
feeling, and the true oratorical temperament, Richard J.
Oglesby was one of the most commanding figures of his time.
William Bross, the lieutenant-governor, had won distinc-
tion as a journalist. He graduated from Williams college in
1836, and became one of the editors of the Democratic Press
in Chicago, now the Tribune. After his retirement from
public life he wrote several books. Among these are a brief
History of Chicago, History of Camp Douglas, and Tom
Quick. Mr. Bross died in Chicago, January 27, 1890.
The administration of Governor Oglesby was peaceful
and prosperous. The north was emerging victoriously from
civil war, and the soldiers were about to return to the avoca-
tions of peace. The notable legislation of the following years
is an inviting field for the historian ; but the scope of these
chapters is restricted to the achievements of a single party.
This fact also forbids detailed reference to the glorious military
record of Illinois, which sent 226,592 soldiers to the front, to
fight the battles of the union. The writer can deal only with
facts of a general political nature.
The legislature convened January 2. General Allen C.
Fuller was elected speaker of the house. Three days later
the legislature met in joint session for the election of a United
States senator, to succeed William A. Richardson. Richard
7
98 Republican Party in Illinois
Yates, the caucus nominee, was elected on the first ballot.
On the first day of February the thirteenth amendment to
the constitution of the United States received the official
sanction of President Lincoln. Senator Trumbull, chairman
of the judiciary committee, immediately notified Governor
Oglesby by telegraph. The executive thereupon sent a mes-
sage to the general assembly, with a stirring appeal for im-
mediate action. He said : "Let Illinois be the first state in the
union to ratify, by the act of her legislature this proposed
amendment. ... So far as we can, by any act of our
state, destroy this pestilent cause of civil discord, disruption
and dissolution the source of so much unhappiness and misery
to the people of the whole nation, let us do so, and do it now."
The senate and the house promptly responded and ratified
the amendment on the very day it had been approved by the
president. Thus Illinois, the home of the great emancipator,
was the first state to ratify a constitutional provision for the
freedom of the slave. Had the general assembly not at once
responded to the request of the governor, "to do so and do it
now," Illinois would not have won this distinction, for Rhode
Island and Michigan ratified the amendment on the following
day.
This session of the general assembly was signalized by the
repeal of the odious "black laws." One of these laws had been
on the statute books since 1819. Another, approved February
12, 1853, was designed "to prevent the immigration of free
negroes into the state." A negro who entered Illinois was
liable to conviction for misdemeanor, with a fine of fifty dol-
lars. If this fine was not paid, he was advertised to be sold
to the bidder who would pay the fine and costs, and the negro
was held in servitude until he had earned the full amount
advanced. Should the unfortunate black man remain in the
Republican Party in Illinois 99
state ten days after his release, he was liable to second prosecu-
tion.
April 9, 1865. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S.
Grant at Appomattox. In scarcely more than a decade the
Republican party, aided by loyal Democrats, had not only
prevented the extension of slavery, but had purged the nation
of the ancient sin and restored the integrity of the union. A
part of the price was the life of the immortal emancipator;
but ere he fell by the assassin's bullet, he had seen of the travail
of his soul, and was satisfied.
The Republican state convention met at Springfield,
August 8, 1866. General Green B. Raum presided, and
James P. Root was chosen secretary. General John A. Logan
was nominated congressman-at-large ; Newton Bateman was
renominated by acclamation for superintendent of public in-
struction ; General George W. Smith, of Chicago, was nom-
inated for treasurer on the second ballot.
The platform endorsed the congressional policy of recon-
struction as opposed to President Johnson, and denied the
right of the executive to encroach upon the constitutional
power of the co-ordinate branch of the government.
The Democratic state convention assembled at Springfield
August 29. General John A. McClernand presided. Colonel
T. Lyle Dickey was nominated for congressman-at-large on
the second ballot; General Jesse J. Phillips for treasurer, by
acclamation, and Colonel John M. Crebs for superintendent
of public instruction. Joint discussions were held by candi-
dates for congress in nearly all the districts. Among the
debaters were General Raum and W. J. Allen; H. P. H.
Bromwell and General John C. Black; Shelby M. Cullom
and Dr. Edwin Fowler ; General Logan and Colonel Dickey.
100 Republican Party in Illinois
The elections resulted in decisive victories for the Repub-
licans all along the line. They elected eleven out of the four-
teen congressmen, and secured both branches of the legislature.
The senate had sixteen Republicans and nine Democrats; in
the house there were sixty Republicans and twenty-five
Democrats. General Logan's majority for congressman-at-
large was 55,987. The delegation in congress from 1867 to
] 869 was as follows : Congressman-at-large, John A. Logan ;
First district, Norman B. Judd; Second district, John F.
Farnsworth; Third, E. B. Washburne; Fourth, Abner C.
Harding; Fifth, Eben C. Ingersoll; Sixth, Burton C. Cook;
Seventh, H. P. H. Bromwell; Eighth, Shelby M. Cullom;
Ninth, Lewis W. Ross; Tenth, Albert G. Burr; Eleventh,
Samuel S. Marshall; Twelfth, Jehu Baker; Thirteenth,
Green B. Raum. Messrs. Ross, Burr and Marshall were
Democrats.
The twenty-fifth general assembly convened January 7,
1867. Franklin Corwin, of La Salle, was elected speaker of
the house ; Charles E. Lippencott was chosen secretary of the
senate.
The first political work of the session was the election of
a United States senator to succeed Lyman Trumbull. He
had already served two terms and a sentiment had developed
that the honor should go to a soldier. The opposition was
crystalized on John M. Palmer, who had the active support
of Generals Oglesby and Logan. The test of strength came
on a preliminary ballot, when Trumbull received forty-eight
votes and Palmer twenty-eight. Palmer's name was with-
drawn ; Trumbull was renominated by acclamation and
elected on January 16.
The fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the
United States was ratified January 15 by a strict party vote
Republican Party in Illinois 101
in both houses. The amendment conferred citizenship upon
all persons born or naturalized in the United States without
regard to color.
This session re-created the office of attorney-general, which
had not existed since 1846. A law, approved February 27,
provided that an attorney-general should be chosen at each
succeeding gubernatorial election, and that the governor should
appoint the first incumbent, who should serve until the election
of his successor. February 28 Governor Oglesby appointed
Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, who served two years.
The campaign of 1868 opened early. The Democratic
state convention met in Springfield, April 15. Anthony L.
Thornton presided. The political features of the platform
were opposition to the reconstruction policy of congress; that
the right of suffrage should be limited to the white race, al-
though each state should determine the question for itself,
and a resolution endorsing George H. Pendleton for president.
John R. Eden was nominated for governor ; William H. Van
Epps, lieutenant-governor; Gustavus Van Hornebecke, secre-
tary of state; John R. Shannon, auditor; Jesse L. Phillips,
treasurer; and William O'Brien for congressman-at-large.
The Republican state convention assembled at Peoria, May
6. Franklin Corwin presided, and James P. Root was chosen
secretary. Peoria was the home of Colonel Robert G. Inger-
soll, who had been favorably mentioned for governor in the
event that General John M. Palmer would not accept the
nomination. General Palmer, however, would have been
nominated by acclamation had the fact been generally known
he would not decline the honor. On the first ballot Palmer
received 263 votes; Ingersoll, 117 ; S. W. Moulton, 82; Jesse
K. Dubois, 17. The second ballot resulted as follows: Pal-
102 Republican Party in Illinois
mer, 317 ; Ingersoll, 118; Moulton, 52 ; Dubois, 17. Palmer's
nomination was then made unanimous.
John Dougherty was nominated for lieutenant-governor;
Edward Rummel, secretary of state; Charles E. Lippincott,
auditor; Erastus N. Bates, treasurer. There was a lively
contest over the nomination for attorney-general between
General Stephen A. Hurlbut and Washington Bushnell,
which resulted in the choice of the latter. General John A.
Logan was renominated for congressman-at-large by acclama-
tion.
The platform endorsed the reconstruction policy of con-
gress, denounced the repudiation of any portion of the public
debt, and endorsed General Ulysses S. Grant for president.
Delegates to the Republican national convention were
chosen as follows: At large, John A. Logan, B. J. Sweet,
A. C. Babcock, J. K. Dubois, E. A. Storrs; district delegates,
J. R. Jones, Herman Raster, M. L. Joslyn, William Hulin,
James L. Camp, N. D. Swift, Calvin Truesdale, Ira D.
Chamberlain, Mark Bangs, W. L. Wiley, Henry Fish,
Calhoun Grant, J. W. Langley, James H. Steele, Giles A.
Smith, I. S. Whitmore, Hugh L. Fullerton, C. N. Whitney,
John Logan, A. C. Vanderwater, J. A. Powell, William H.
Robinson, P. E. Hosmer, Philip Isenmeyer, B. G. Roots,
Thomas S. Ridgway.
The presidential electors were : At large, Stephen A. Hurl-
but, Gustavus Koerner ; district electors, Thomas J. Hender-
son, Lorenz Brentano, Jesse S. Hildrup, James McCoy,
Henry W. Draper, Thomas G. Frost, Joseph O. Glover,
John W. Blackburn, Samuel C. Parks, Damon G. Tunnicliff,
John D. Strong, Edward Kitchell, Charles F. Springer,
Daniel W. Munn.
Republican Party in Illinois 103
The national Republican convention met in Chicago May
21. General Ulysses S. Grant was practically the unanimous
choice of the delegates. General Logan presented the name
of General Grant in a brief and stirring speech. Upon the
roll call of states every one of the 650 votes was given to the
general. While the enthusiasm was at its height, a large
portrait of General Grant was unveiled, and the delegates
again went wild with cheering. Schuyler Colfax was nom-
inated for vice-president on the fifth ballot. Benjamin F.
Wade, Reuben E. Fenton and Henry Wilson were candidates.
General Grant's rise to fame is scarcely without parallel in
any part of the world. In 1861 he was a discouraged man
doing clerical work in a dingy, scantily furnished room in the
adjutant-general's office at Springfield at two dollars per day.
Within four years he was hailed as one of the conquerors of the
world; and in another four years he was president of the
United States. With the exception of a few months as secre-
tary of war in President Johnson's cabinet, the presidency
was the only office ever held by General Grant. He was
born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, April 27, 1822 ; graduated from
West Point in 1843; served in the Mexican war, after which
he lived on a farm near St. Louis and then removed to
Galena. After much humiliation and discouragement he
received the appointment of colonel of the Twenty-first regi-
ment of infantry from Governor Yates. From that day the
stars in their courses fought for him, from Fort Gibson,
Raymond, Champion Hill, Chattanooga, Vicksburg and "on
to Richmond." He had Napoleon's genius without his am-
bition for conquest. In the hour of triumph he displayed the
simplicity of a child. At Appomattox Lee appeared the con-
queror and Grant the conquered. Grant's mistakes were in
104 Republican Party in Illinois
men, not in measures. He trusted his friends, sometimes not
wisely, but too much.
The national Democratic convention began its sessions in
New York City July 4. Horatio Seymour, of New York,
was nominated for president on the twenty-second ballot;
F. P. Blair, of Missouri, was nominated for vice-president.
The supreme issue was the congressional policy of recon-
struction. General Grant carried twenty-six states, with 214
electoral votes; Seymour carried eight states, with eighty
electoral votes. Grant's majority in Illinois was 51,150;
General Palmer's was 50,099. The Republicans elected their
entire state ticket and retained control of both branches of the
legislature by increased majorities. The delegation in con-
gress included ten Republicans and four Democrats, as fol-
lows : State at large, John A. Logan ; First district, Norman
B. Judd ; Second, J. F. Farnsworth ; Third, E. B. Washburne ;
Fourth, John B. Hawley; Fifth, Eben C. Ingersoll; Sixth,
Burton C. Cook; Seventh, Jesse H. Moore; Eighth Shelby
M. Cullom; Ninth, T. W. McNeely; Tenth, Albert G.
Burr; Eleventh, Samuel S. Marshall; Twelfth, John B. Hay;
Thirteenth, John M. Crebs. Messrs. McNeely, Burr, Mar-
shall and Crebs were Democrats.
John M. Palmer took the oath of office as governor of
Illinois January 11, 1869. In his inaugural address he dis-
cussed the great question of more complete legislative control
over the franchises of common carriers. This was the first
time an Illinois executive had undertaken to grapple with
this problem, which had already assumed such importance in
some of the eastern states. Governor Palmer was born in
Eagle Creek, Scott county, Kentucky, September 13, 1817.
It is an interesting fact that three successive governors of
Illinois, Richard Yates, Richard J. Oglesby and John M.
Republican Party in Illinois 105
Palmer, with Abraham Lincoln who had wrought so glor-
iously for freedom, should have come from a border slave
state. Governor Palmer had achieved distinction in civil
and military life. He was elected colonel of the Fourteenth
Illinois Volunteers, and arose to the rank of brigadier-general.
Previous to that time he had been probate judge of Macoupin
county, state senator, member of a constitutional convention,
presidential elector and peace commissioner. General Palmer
was a sturdy type of statesman. Without the eloquence or
brilliance of Yates and Oglesby, he was the peer of either in
sheer intellectual force. As a public speaker he marshaled
his arguments with convincing power. He was pre-eminently
a lawyer, and the unusual number of his vetoes revealed the
utmost confidence in his own grasp of large principles. He
was a noble old Roman, and the honors he received from his
adopted state were worthily bestowed.
Colonel John Dougherty brought to the office of lieuten-
ant-governor the experience of eight years in the house and four
in the senate. Before the civil war he had been a Democrat.
The twenty-sixth general assembly, the last under the
constitution of 1848, convened January 4, 1869. There
were fifty-eight Republicans and twenty-seven Democrats in
the house and eighteen Republicans and seven Democrats in
the senate. Franklin Corwin was elected speaker of the house
and James P. Root, clerk.
Governor Palmer's recommendation concerning railroads
bore immediate fruit. General Fuller, chairman of the senate
committee on railroads, introduced a bill regulating passenger
rates. The bill passed both houses, but was vetoed by Gov-
ernor Palmer, on the ground that it was too drastic. General
Fuller promptly introduced a new measure, which was more
in accordance with the governor's views and it became a law
106 Republican Party in Illinois
March 10, 1869. Thus to General Fuller belongs the honor
of the first statute in Illinois for the regulation of railroad
rates by law. It was superseded, however, by legislation
under the constitution of 1870. Other notable events of
Governor Palmer's administration were the lake front and
Chicago fire controversies.
The fifteenth amendment to the federal constitution was
ratified by a strict party vote in each house on the 5th of
March. It provided that "the right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States, or by any state, on account of race, color or previous
condition of servitude."
General Grant was inaugurated president of the United
States March 4, 1869. The president selected his old
neighbor, E. B. Washburne, for secretary of state. Mr.
Washburne had served the Galena district sixteen years in
congress and was known as the "father of the house," and
"the watchdog of the treasury." He administered the speak-
er's oath of office twice to Schuyler Colfax and once to James
G. Elaine. Mr. Washburne was succeeded in the house by
Horatio C. Burchard, of Freeport, who achieved a national
reputation as an authority on coinage.
Mr. Washburne resigned from the cabinet March 17,
and President Grant appointed him minister to France, where
he remained eight years. He was the only representative of
a foreign government who remained in Paris during the siege
and the reign of the commune. Mr. Washburne published
his "Recollections of a Minister to France" in two volumes
in 1887.
President Grant honored other Illinois friends with
diplomatic and consular posts. Among these were General
Stephen A. Hurlbut, of Belvidere, as minister to the United
Republican Party in Illinois 107
States of Colombia; Colonel Clark E. Carr, of Galesburg,
minister to Denmark; General A. L. Chetlain, of Galena,
United States consul at Brussels. The president appointed
General John A. Rawlins, of Galena, secretary of war.
In 1867 the legislature adopted a resolution recommend-
ing that the electors, at the general election in 1868, vote on
the question of calling a convention to frame a new constitu-
tion. The proposition carried by the narrow margin of 704
votes. The legislature in 1869 provided for an election to
be held the following November, for the choice of delegates.
The convention assembled at Springfield, December 13.
It consisted of eighty-five members, forty-four of whom were
Republicans and forty-one Democrats. Hon. Charles Hitch-
cock was the presiding officer. The final adjournment took
place May 13, 1870. The constitution was ratified by a vote
of the people July 6 and went into effect August 8, 1870.
The distinctive political features of the new constitution
were the removing of the restriction upon two consecutive
terms for the governor, and placing it upon the treasurer;
the offices of attorney-general and superintendent of public
instruction, heretofore existing only by statute, were perma-
nently established ; the number of members of the legislature
was permanently fixed at fifty-one senators and one hundred
and fifty-three representatives, with a new apportionment
every ten years; minority representation was established
through the influence of Joseph Medill; the number of
supreme court justices was increased from four to seven and
all special legislation was prohibited.
The Republican state convention was held at Springfield
September 1. General Logan was renominated for congress-
man-at-large ; General Bates for state treasurer; Newton
Bateman for superintendent of public instruction.
108 Republican Party in Illinois
The Democratic convention was held at Springfield,
September 14. General William B. Anderson was nominated
for congressman-at-large ; Charles Ridgley for treasurer;
Charles Feinz for superintendent of public instruction.
The elections were carried by the Republicans, who elected
their state ticket, both branches of the legislature, and nine
of the fourteen congressmen. The Illinois members of the
forty-second congress were : State at large, John A. Logan ;
First district, Charles B. Farwell ; Second, J. F. Farnsworth ;
Third, H. C. Burchard; Fourth, John B. Hawley; Fifth,
Brad. N. Stevens; Sixth, Burton C. Cook; Seventh, Jesse H.
Moore ; Eighth, James C. Robinson ; Ninth, T. W. McNeely ;
Tenth, Edward Y. Rice; Eleventh, Samuel S. Marshall;
Twelfth, John B. Hay ; Thirteenth, John M. Crebs. Messrs.
Robinson, McNeely, Rice, Marshall and Crebs were Demo-
crats.
The general assembly convened January 4, 1871. It had
a larger number of members than any preceding or succeeding
assembly. Since the apportionment of 1861 there had been
twenty-five senators and eighty-five representatives. The new
constitution provided that the legislatures elected in 1872
and thereafter should consist of fifty-one senators and one
hundred and fifty-three representatives. Section 15 of the
schedule of the new constitution also provided, as a provisional
measure, that the first general assembly elected after its
adoption should have fifty senators; and Section 13 pro-
vided that the governor and secretary of state should appor-
tion the state for the election of representatives. Under this
apportionment 177 members of the house were elected at the
general election in 1870.
Railroad legislation occupied a considerable portion of the
time. This fact recalls an incident which is without a parallel
Republican Party in Illinois 109
in the history of the state, and has escaped the attention of all
historians. General Fuller, of Belvidere, was chairman of
the senate committee on railroads; his next door neighbor,
Hon. Jesse S. Hildrup, was chairman of the house committee
on railroads. These gentlemen, invested with the power of
shaping the railroad legislation of Illinois, were from the same
little town of three thousand people, with only a single rail-
road.
January 17 the legislature convened in joint session for
the election of a United States senator to succeed Richard
Yates. The Republican caucus showed 98 for Logan ; 23 for
Oglesby and 8 for Koerner. The Democrats supported
Colonel Thomas J. Turner. The vote in the senate stood:
Logan, 32; Turner, 18. House, Logan, 99; Turner, 71;
William R. Snyder, 2.
Upon the expiration of his senatorial term Mr. Yates
retired to private life. He died suddenly November 27, 1873,
in St. Louis, while returning from Arkansas, where he had
gone as a United States commissioner, to inspect a land sub-
sidy railroad, under appointment of President Grant.
The advancement of General Logan to the senate required
an election of his successor as congressman-at-large. A state
convention was held at Springfield September 20. General
John L. Beveridge was nominated, and received a majority
of 19,000 over his Democratic opponent, Samuel Snowden
Hayes.
CHAPTER XII
RECONSTRUCTION COMPLETED THE CAMPAIGN OF 1872
RISE AND FALL OF LIBERAL REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT
NAST'S CARTOONS RE-ELECTION OF GENERAL GRANT.
IN a representative government the supremacy of any party
will not continue unchallenged. Since the Republicans
first came into full power in Illinois in 1860, they had
retained control of all branches of the state government, with
the exception of 1862. In 1872 opposition developed within
the ranks of the party itself. There were "insurgents" in
those days, but they adopted another name.
The reconstruction of the southern states had been prac-
tically completed during the administration of President
Johnson. Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas were the
only states that had not complied with the conditions already
established, and these soon returned to the union. Thus con-
gress completed its work of reconstruction in 1870.
The reconstruction policy of the government may be
briefly summarized. One of the great problems after the
civil war was to define the status of the states which had
seceded and to reconstruct their governments. President
Lincoln had proceeded upon the theory it was only necessary
that a sufficient number of citizens should form a state gov-
ernment, of which the officials were loyally desirous of main-
taining constitutional relations with the federal government.
The separation of West Virginia from Virginia had been
accomplished by a Virginia legislature so constituted. Pres-
ident Johnson proceeded upon the same theory. Other
110
Republican Party in Illinois 111
theories were advanced in congress, and some even went so
far as to hold that the seceding states had ceased to exist as
states, and constituted territories, respecting which congress
was at liberty to make such terms as it chose.
The view generally held by congress was that the southern
states could be admitted only on such terms as congress should
impose. The maintenance of this view was largely due to the
belief that the substantial results of the war, concerning the
enfranchisement and the civil rights of the negro, could not
be secured in any other way, because of the reluctance of some
southern legislatures to accept these results.
Before congress convened in December, 1865, President
Johnson had recognized provisional governments in all the
southern states, with a single exception, on their acceptance
of the thirteenth amendment. Congress, however, proposed
the fourteenth amendment, and insisted on its acceptance as a
requisite to the re-admission of any state. In 1867 congress
passed the reconstruction act, which divided the south into
five military districts, under command of generals of the army,
who were to secure a registration of voters, including negroes,
and excluding those disqualified by the fourteenth amendment.
These voters were to elect delegates to a convention, which
should form a constitution, to be ratified by popular vote. It
should then be submitted to congress, and if it was acceptable
to that body, the state should be re-instated whenever its
legislature had ratified the fourteenth amendment. The
result was the "carpet-bag" governments.
Under this act Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and
the Carolinas were re-admitted. Tennessee had already been
re-admitted by congress in 1866. Georgia, Mississippi, Texas
and Virginia were also required to ratify the fifteenth amend-
ment, and were not re-admitted until 1870. In 1868 the
112 Republican Party in Illinois
supreme court, in the case of Texas versus White, sustained
the congressional, as against the presidential, theory of recon-
struction. It was many years, however, before the southern
question was settled.
The administration of President Grant had given great
dissatisfaction to an influential minority in his own party.
The discontent first manifested itself in Missouri in 1870,
when a movement was inaugurated for the repeal of a consti-
tutional provision disfranchising rebels. Carl Schurz was its
most distinguished leader. Schurz was at that time an exile
from the Fatherland, which regarded him as a traitor; and
those who have read his thrilling experiences, as related in his
autobiography, will understand why the cause of the disfran-
chised made an irresistible appeal to him.
The revolt in Missouri was local in its original scope, but
the impelling motive struck a responsive chord in other states.
The Republican party was savagely attacked for its alleged
despotic treatment of the states lately in rebellion ; and it was
charged that congressional reconstruction had been a bungling
piece of business.
Other grounds of opposition were President Grant's policy
looking to an early resumption of specie payments ; his desire
for the annexation of Santo Domingo, and his alleged favorit-
ism and nepotism, by which the civil service had been degraded.
These discordant elements in Missouri crystallized in a
state mass meeting held in Jefferson City, in January, 1872,
when a call was issued for a national convention of liberal
Republicans, to be held May 1, in Cincinnati.
Carl Schurz was permanent presiding officer of the Cincin-
nati convention. Horace Greeley was nominated for president
on the sixth ballot. Lyman Trumbull and David Davis, of
Illinois, received votes on every ballot. B. Bratz Brown, of
Republican Party in Illinois 113
Missouri, was nominated for vice-president on the second
ballot.
The national Democratic convention met at Baltimore,
July 9, ratified the nomination of Greeley and Brown and
adopted the same platform of principles.
Many distinguished Republicans in Illinois became identi-
fied with this liberal movement. Among these were Lyman
Trumbull, John M. Palmer, Newton Bateman, Francis A.
Hoffman, William Bross, Gustavus Koerner, David Davis,
Leonard Swett, Jesse K. Dubois, O. M. Hatch, Horace
White and John Wentworth.
The Democrats and liberal Republicans "pooled their
issues" in Illinois. Separate state conventions were held at
Springfield June 26. General Palmer presided over the
"liberal" body, and James C. Allen over the Democrats.
The state ticket was composed of representative candidates
from each party, who were nominated by a conference com-
mittee appointed by the two conventions, and confirmed by
each. This fusion ticket was as follows: For governor,
Gustavus Koerner; lieutenant-governor, John C. Black; sec-
retary of state, Edward Rummel; auditor, Daniel O'Hara;
treasurer, C. H. Lamphier; attorney-general, Lawrence Wei-
don. Each convention was addressed by Governor Palmer
and Senator Trumbull, both of whom had been signally hon-
ored by the Republican party, and by General Shields.
The Republican state convention opened its sessions at
Springfield May 22. Judge Stephen T. Logan presided, and
the proceedings were characterized by harmony and enthus-
iasm. It had been supposed that Governor Palmer would seek
a renomination, but about the middle of April he announced
that he would not be a candidate before the convention on the
ground that he could not support President Grant for a
6
114 Republican Party in Illinois
second term. This declaration simplified matters for the
convention, which nominated General Oglesby for governor
without a dissenting vote. General John L. Beveridge was
nominated for lieutenant-governor; George H. Harlow, sec-
retary of state ; Charles E. Lippincott, auditor ; Edward Rutz,
treasurer ; James K. Edsall, attorney-general.
The platform defined the relations between state sov-
ereignty and national supremacy and stated that the principles
underlying this issue had been previously enunciated, and that
time had justified the attitude of the party on this question.
The platform advocated a protective tariff, endorsed the ad-
ministration of President Grant and instructed the Illinois
delegates to vote for his renomination.
The following delegates were chosen to the national con-
vention : State at large, Stephen T. Logan, Emory A. Storrs,
Leonard F. Ross, Jasper Partridge; district delegates: J.
Young Scammon, Lewis Ellsworth, Herman Raster, James
L. Campbell, Clark W. Upton, William Vocke, J. H. May-
burn, A. B. Coon, John C. Smith, Edward B. Warner,
Andrew Crawford, J. W. Templeton, Lyman B. Ray, W.
M. Sweetland, W. R. Hickox, N. E. Stevens, Enoch Emery,
Edwin Butler, John McKeeney, Sr., Henry Tubbs, George
W. Burns, David Pierson, Shelby M. Cullom, John Moses,
William McGailliard, Thomas Snell, Joseph R. Mosser,
James Knight, T. A. Apperson, James Steele, H. C. Goodnow,
J. F. Alexander, Russell Hinckley, A. W. Metcalf, George
Waters, T. H. Burgess, D. W. Lusk and Israel A. Powell.
The presidential electors were: Henry Greenbaum,
David T. Linegar, Chauncey T. Bowen, Lester L. Bond,
Mahlon D. Ogden, Richard L. Devine, James Shaw, Norman
H. Ryan, Irus Coy, Joseph J. Cassell, William Selden Gale,
William D. Henderson, Moses M. Bane, George A. Sanders,
Republican Party in Illinois 115
Hugh Fullerton, Martin B. Thompson, Jacob W. Wilkin,
John P. Van Dorston, John I. Rinaker, John Dougherty,
William H. Robinson.
The national Republican convention assembled at Phil-
adelphia, June 8. President Grant was renominated without
opposition. Senator Cullom was chairman of the Illinois
delegation, and nominated Grant in the shortest speech of the
kind ever made in a national Republican convention. Senator
Cullom said: "Gentlemen of the convention: On behalf
of the great Republican party of Illinois, and that of the
union in the name of liberty, of loyalty, of justice, and of law
in the interest of economy, of good government, of peace,
and of the equal rights of all remembering with profound
gratitude his glorious achievements in the field, and his noble
statesmanship as chief magistrate of this great nation I nom-
inate as president of the United States, for a second term,
Ulysses S. Grant."
Henry Wilson, United States senator from Massachusetts,
was nominated for vice-president, after a spirited contest with
the incumbent, Schuyler Colfax.
One of the stirring incidents of the convention was the
speech of Governor Oglesby, who made a wonderful im-
pression. Senator Cullom, in his "Recollections," describes
the scene as follows: "I do not recall that I ever saw a man
electrify an audience as did Governor Oglesby on that occas-
ion. It was the first convention where there were colored
men admitted as delegates. Some of the delegates occupied
the main floor. Old Garret Smith, the great abolitionist, was
in the gallery, at the head of the New York delegation.
Oglesby took for his theme first the colored man represented
there on the floor of that convention, and then Garret Smith.
He set the crowd wild. They cheered him to the echo. We
116 Republican Party in Illinois
adjourned for luncheon immediately after he concluded his
speech, and many of the delegates asked me who that man
was. I was proud to be able to tell them that it was Governor
Oglesby, of Illinois; and the remark was frequently made
that it was no wonder that Illinois gave sixty thousand Repub-
lican majority with such a man as its governor."
There were Democrats in the country who believed the
fusion with liberal Republicans was a cowardly surrender of
principle for the sake of a possible victory. Their representa-
tives assembled in national convention at Louisville, Kentucky,
September 8, and nominated Charles O'Conor, of New York,
for president, and John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, for
vice-president. Labor reformers and prohibitionists also held
conventions and nominated candidates. David Davis, of
Illinois, who had been nominated by the labor reformers,
declined the honor four months after it was tendered, and the
name of Charles O'Conor was substituted.
With the practical elimination of the labor reformers
there were four tickets in the field. The leaders who revolted
against President Grant were very influential, not only in
Illinois, but throughout the entire country. The Chicago
Tribune was that year under the editorial management of
Horace White, who gave its influence to Mr. Greeley. Early
in the campaign there was much apprehension among Repub-
licans concerning the outcome.
A memorable feature of the campaign was Thomas Nast's
cartoons in Harper's Weekly of Mr. Greeley with his white
silk hat and overcoat of the same color, from the pockets of
which always protruded copies of the New York Tribune,
with articles on "What I Know About Farming."
One of Nast's most striking cartoons was Charles Sumner
weeping over the neglected grave of Preston S. Brooks, of
Republican Party in Illinois 117
South Carolina. Brooks was the southerner who in 1856
assaulted Sumner in the senate chamber. Mr. Sumner
"Greeleyized" during this campaign, and the picture presented
the distinguished Massachusetts senator as one in spirit with
the brute who had struck him down. Irony was never more
powerfully portrayed in a cartoon.
As the campaign progressed the Republicans became more
confident and their early alarm proved to be without founda-
tion. Many of the leaders in the revolt were unable to swing
their personal followings into line, and, as a result, no serious
inroads were made into the rank and file of the party. The
Greeley movement was a complete failure.
General Grant received 286 electoral votes; combined
Liberal and Democratic parties, 63; while 17 were not
counted.
The Republicans captured everything in sight in Illinois.
The Grant electors received 241,237 votes; Greeley electors
184,772; Grant's plurality, 56,465. Oglesby's plurality for
governor over Koerner was 40,690, and the pluralities for the
remainder of the state ticket was above 48,000. Both branches
of the legislature were Republican, and they elected fourteen
congressmen.
Under the congressional apportionment of July 1, 1872,
the state was divided into nineteen congressional districts. The
delegation of Illinois in the Forty-third congress was as fol-
lows: First district, John B. Rice; Second, Jasper D. Ward;
Third, Charles B. Farwell; Fourth, Stephen A. Hurlbut;
Fifth, H. C. Burchard; Sixth, John B. Hawley; Seventh,
Franklin Corwin; Eighth Greenbury L. Fort; Ninth, Gran-
ville Barriere ; Tenth, William H. Ray ; Eleventh, Robert M.
Knapp ; Twelfth, James C. Robinson ; Thirteenth, John Me
Nulta; Fourteenth, Joseph G. Cannon; Fifteenth, John R.
118 Republican Party in Illinois
Eden ; Sixteenth, James S. Martin ; Seventeenth, William R.
Morrison; Eighteenth, Isaac Clements; Nineteenth, Samuel
S. Marshall.
Messrs. Knapp, Robinson, Eden, Morrison and Marshall
were Democrats. It will be observed that this was the year
Joseph G. Cannon entered upon his unique congressional
career, which in some respects has no parallel in the history
of the country.
With the collapse of the Liberal Republican party, its
leaders sought other affiliations. Some returned to the old
party fold, while a still larger number became permanently
identified with the Democratic party. Treason to party is
not readily forgiven ; and no wandering prodigals had fatted
calves killed in honor of their return. General Palmer and
Judge Davis were subsequently elected United States senators
by Democratic votes. They were men above suspicion of
changing their party for personal advantage, and their sin-
cerity was never questioned. Lyman Trumbull may have
been equally sincere, but he was not so successful in convincing
the people of the fact.
CHAPTER XIII
INAUGURATION OF GENERAL OGLESBY AND HIS ELECTION TO
THE UNITED STATES SENATE GOVERNOR JOHN L.
BEVERIDGE REVERSES OF 1874 HAYES-TILDEN CON-
TEST OF 1876 GENERAL HURLBUT GETS COLONEL
INGERSOLL TO NOMINATE BLAINE FOR PRESIDENT
HURLBUT WARNS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS THE ELEC-
TIONS DAVID DAVIS ELECTED SENATOR CAMPAIGN OF
1878 LOGAN RETURNS TO THE SENATE.
GENERAL Oglesby was inaugurated governor of
Illinois a second time January 13, 1873. The inaug-
uration, however, was a mere formality, as General
Oglesby had already been unanimously declared the nominee
of the Republican caucus for United States senator. Lyman
Trumbull was the Democratic nominee. The election was
held January 21, with the following result: Senate, Oglesby,
33; Trumbull, 16; Coolbaugh, 2; in the house, Oglesby, 84;
Trumbull, 62.
Opponents of General Oglesby challenged the validity
of his election. They contended he was ineligible to the office
under Section 5, of Article 5 of the state constitution, which
says: "Neither the governor, lieutenant-governor, auditor of
public accounts, secretary of state, superintendent of public
instruction, nor attorney-general shall be eligible to any other
office during the period for which he shall have been elected."
The protest had no effect, as each house of congress is sole
judge of the election and qualification of its own members.
11?
120 Republican Party in Illinois
The defeat of Lyman Trumbull resulted in his retirement
to private life, after eighteen years of conspicuous service in
the United States senate. His estrangement from his party
began with his opposition to the impeachment of Andrew
Johnson and culminated in the Greeley campaign of 1872.
January 23, two days after his inauguration, Governor
Oglesby tendered his resignation, and the lieutenant-governor
succeeded to the office.
John L. Beveridge was born in Greenwich, Washington
county, New York, July 6, 1824, of Scotch Presbyterian an-
cestry. He came with his father's family to Illinois in 1842
and settled in DeKalb county. He went to Tennessee, where
he read law and practiced his profession for several years.
In 1851 he returned to Illinois, resided in Sycamore until
1854, when he removed to Evanston and opened a law office
in Chicago. He recruited a company for the Eighth Illinois
cavalry, of which his law partner, John F. Farnsworth, was
colonel. Mr. Beveridge subsequently organized the Seven-
teenth Illinois cavalry and served with distinction. He was
mustered out of the service February 6, 1866, with the rank
of brevet brigadier-general.
Mr. Beveridge's honors in civil life came in quick succes-
sion. He was elected state senator in 1870. He resigned his
seat to accept the nomination for congressman-at-large, to
succeed John A. Logan, who had been elected United States
senator. Mr. Beveridge resigned this position to become a
candidate for lieutenant-governor in 1872. Thus within three
weeks he held the offices of congressman, lieutenant-governor
and governor. Governor Beveridge administered the affairs
of his high office with dignity and honor.
The legislature convened January 8, 1873. There were
fifty-one senators and 153 representatives. This is the number
Republican Party in Illinois 121
which had been definitely fixed by the new constitution. The
Republicans had a majority of seventeen in the senate, and
nineteen in the house.
Upon the organization of the senate, John Early, of Win-
nebago, was chosen president pro tempore, and thus acting
lieutenant-governor of the state. In 1870 Mr. Early was
elected state senator from the Twenty-third district, composed
of Winnebago, Boone, McHenry and Lake counties. After
the state had been redistricted he was elected senator in 1872
from the Ninth district, which included Winnebago and Boone
counties; and in 1874 he was again elected for the full term
of four years.
Shelby M. Cullom was elected speaker of the house a
second time, over Newton R. Casey. Daniel Shepard was
chosen clerk.
This legislature was in session two hundred and four days,
and finally adjourned March 31, 1874. It enacted much
important legislation, although there was nothing of a dis-
tinctively political nature.
The revolt within the Republican party in 1872 continued
with more serious results in 1874. Upon the ruins of the
Liberal Republican organization there was formed an anti-
monopoly party. The issues incident to the civil war and
reconstruction had been settled, so far as Illinois was con-
cerned. Other questions of a different nature had arisen.
Among these were the currency and the legislative control of
railroads.
The order of Patrons of Husbandry had been organ-
ized a few years before, and, contrary to the alleged purpose
of its origin, it soon developed into a political power. The
railroads were determined to disregard the legislation of 1871.
Moreover, the state supreme court had in 1873 declared in-
122 Republican Party in Illinois
operative a portion of the law against discrimination in freight
rates. The sequel to this decision was the defeat of Judge
Lawrence, who prepared the opinion, as a candidate for re-
election as a justice of the supreme court.
These facts gave significance to the new organization
which adopted the name of the "Illinois State Independent
Reform" party. It held the first state convention of the year
at Springfield, June 10, 1874, and was composed of representa-
tives from all existing political organizations. J. M. Allen,
of Henry county, presided.
Some of the features of the platform were a demand for
the repeal of the national banking law and the issue of legal
tender currency direct from the treasury, interchangeable for
government bonds bearing a low rate of interest ; a declaration
in favor of railroad legislation ; condemnation of the practice
of public officials receiving railroad passes; opposition to the
principle of protective tariff.
David Gore was nominated for state treasurer, and Samuel
M. Etter for superintendent of public instruction.
The Republican state convention assembled at Springfield,
June 17. Shelby M. Cullom presided. Thomas S. Ridgway
was nominated for state treasurer, and William H. Powell,
of Kane county, for superintendent of public instruction.
The platform reaffirmed the declaration of the national
convention in 1872, in favor of an early return to specie pay-
ments; opposed the retiring of $382,000,000 United States
treasury notes ; favored free banking and the election of pres-
ident and vice-president by a direct vote of the people.
A third convention, calling itself "Democratic Liberal,"
was held at Springfield, August 26. Charles Carroll was
nominated for state treasurer. S. M. Etter, the nominee of
Republican Party in Illinois 123
the reformers, was endorsed for superintendent of public in-
struction.
The platform declared for the restoration of gold and
silver as the basis of currency; for the resumption of specie
payments as soon as possible; no tariff except for revenue
purposes ; individual liberty and opposition to sumptuary laws
were favored.
The elections resulted in the first defeat of the Republicans
since the reverses in 1862. Thomas S. Ridgway, the Repub-
lican candidate for treasurer, was elected; but S. M. Etter,
the fusion candidate for superintendent, was chosen over
William B. Powell, Republican.
The Republicans elected only seven members of congress,
and the contests were close in several districts. Carter Har-
rison was elected in the Second Chicago district by only eight
votes. General Stephen A. Hurlbut had a majority of only
1,149 over John F. Farnsworth in the Fourth district, one of
the bulwarks of Republicanism. Illinois was represented in
the Forty-fourth congress by the following: First district,
B. G. Caulfield, Second, Carter H. Harrison ; Third, Charles
B. Farwell; Fourth, Stephen A. Hurlbut; Fifth, H. C.
Burchard ; Sixth, Thomas J. Henderson ; Seventh, Alexander
Campbell; Eighth, Greenbury L. Fort; Ninth, Richard H.
Whiting; Tenth, John C. Bagby; Eleventh, Scot Wike;
Twelfth, William M. Springer; Thirteenth, A. E. Steven-
son ; Fourteenth, Joseph G. Cannon ; Fifteenth, John R. Eden,
Sixteenth, William A. J. Sparks; Seventeenth, William R.
Morrison; Eighteenth, William Hartzell; Nineteenth, Wil-
liam B. Anderson. Messrs. Campbell and Anderson were
Reformers or Greenbackers ; Messrs. Farwell, Hurlbut, Bur-
chard, Henderson, Fort, Whiting and Cannon were Repub-
124 Republican Party in Illinois
licans. Farwell's seat was contested, declared vacant and
John V. LeMoyne, Democrat, was elected his successor.
The political complexion of the legislature was decidedly
mixed. In the senate were 24 Republicans, 19 Democrats,
and 9 Independents, Liberals and Reformers. The Indepen-
dents, therefore, held the balance of power in both houses.
The general assembly convened in January. It was a
stormy session from beginning to end. The trouble began
with the contest over the speakership. Mr. Cullom was the
nominee of the Republican caucus. The Independents sup-
ported E. M. Haines, of Waukegan, and the fact soon
developed that the honor would not go to a Democrat. The
break came after the first ballot, when enough Democrats
voted for Haines to secure his election. Haines had been a
Democrat, then a Republican, and was now an Independent
Reformer. He was a thorough parliamentarian, but his rul-
ings were arbitrary, and his career as speaker ended in scenes
of disorder.
Archibald A. Glenn, a Democrat, was elected president of
the senate, over John Early, the Republican caucus nominee,
and thus became acting lieutenant-governor of the state.
The general assembly adjourned April 18, 1875, and the
session laws were contained in the smallest volume that had
been published in forty years.
The presidential campaign of 1876 was one of the most
memorable in the history of the republic. The financial panic
of 1873, the operations of the "whisky ring" and the impeach-
ment of Secretary Belknap had been unfortunate incidents in
President Grant's second term. The flames of party passion
were enkindled early in the year through other causes. The
political revulsion in 1874 gave the Democrats the control
of the house when the Forty-fourth congress assembled in
Republican Party in Illinois 125
December, 1875. James G. Blaine, who had served three
terms as speaker, became the leader of the minority.
During the winter a general amnesty bill was introduced
to remove the political disabilities of participants in the civil
war which had been imposed by the fourteenth amendment.
Mr. Blaine moved to amend by making an exception of
Jefferson Davis, and supported his amendment with an impas-
sioned speech. Benjamin H. Hill, of Georgia, replied to Mr.
Blaine, and a period of stormy contention followed. The
episode attracted national attention and Mr. Blaine added to
his laurels as a parliamentary leader. Many Republicans,
however, deplored the fact that he had revived memories of
the civil war that they were willing to forget.
The Republican state convention met at Springfield, May
24, 1876. Henry S. Baker, of Madison county, presided.
Shelby M. Cullom was nominated for governor on the first
ballot, over John L. Beveridge, and Thomas S. Ridgway.
Andrew Shuman was nominated for lieutenant-governor;
George H. Harlow, secretary of state; Thomas B. Needles,
auditor ; Edward Rutz, treasurer ; James K. Edsall, attorney-
general.
The platform condemned leniency toward the people of
the south who had lately been in rebellion ; favored a lower
rate of interest for United States bonds; the payment of the
public debt in good faith, and endorsed the existing system of
paper currency.
Delegates were appointed to the national convention as
follows : For the state at large, Robert G. Ingersoll, Joseph
W. Robbins, Green B. Raum, George D. Banks; from dis-
tricts in the numerical order, two from each: Sidney Smith,
George M. Bogue; John McArthur, S. K. Dow; Frank W.
Palmer, Charles B. Farwell; William CofHn, E. E. Ayers;
126 Republican Party in Illinois
L. Burchell, Alexander Walker ; A. R. Mack, J. W. Hopkins ;
J. Everts, G. N. Chittenden ; J. F. Culver, A. Burk ; Thomas
A. Boyd, Enoch Emery ; D. Mack, D. McDill ; J. M. Davis,
George W. Ware ; William Prescott, N. W. Branson ; C. R.
Cummings, R. B. Latham ; D. D. Evans, L. J. Bond ; Benson
Wood, Thomas L. Golden ; James S. Martin, George C. Me
Cord ; John I. Rinaker, H. L. Baker ; William M. Adams,
Isaac C. Clements ; F. D, Ham, William H. Robinson.
The presidential electors were: John I. Rinaker, Peter
Schuttler, George Armour, Bolivar G. Gill, Louis Schaffner,
Allen C. Fuller, Joseph M. Bailey, John B. Hawley, Franklin
Corwin, Jason W. Strevell, Oscar F. Price, Alexander Me
Lean, David E. Beaty, Philip N. Miniere, Michael Donahue,
Hugh Crea, George D. Chafee, James M. Truitt, Cyrus
Happy, George C. Ross, Joseph J. Castles.
The Greenback or Reform party held its state convention
at Decatur and nominated Lewis Steward for governor; M.
M. Hooton, secretary of state ; John Hise, auditor ; Henry T.
Aspern, treasurer ; Winfield S. Coy, attorney-general.
The Democrats held two state conventions at Springfield.
The first was for the purpose of nominating delegates to the
national convention at St. Louis. The second, held July 27,
endorsed Lewis Steward, the reform nominee, for governor,
and nominated A. A. Glenn for lieutenant-governor; S. Y.
Thornton, secretary of state; John Hise, Fusion, auditor;
George Gundlack, treasurer; Edmund Lynch, attorney-gen-
eral.
From the day Mr. Elaine met Ben Hill in debate on the
floor of the house, he was hailed as a Moses to lead his party
to victory in the impending presidential campaign.
Mr. Blaine became an avowed candidate for president and
was anxious to be nominated in the convention by an Illinois
Republican Party in Illinois 127
man. He made known his wishes to General Hurlbut, who
was then representing the Fourth district in the house. Gen-
eral Hurlbut had been profoundly impressed by Mr. Elaine's
terrific arraignment of the southern "brigadiers," and became
an enthusiastic supporter of the "man from Maine." It was
understood among Hurlbut's friends that he would have been
appointed secretary of war had Elaine succeeded to the pres-
idency.
General Hurlbut told Mr. Elaine he knew a man in
Illinois who would properly place him in nomination if he
would "quit his nonsense long enough." Hurlbut referred to
Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, who was then attracting local
attention by his attacks upon religion. It was arranged that
General Hurlbut should visit Peoria and secure Colonel Inger-
soll to make the nominating speech.
The sequel is familiar history. The national Republican
convention assembled at Cincinnati, June 14. Colonel Inger-
soll, in a speech of rare eloquence and noble diction, nominated
James G. Elaine for the presidency. In graphic word-painting
Ingersoll was without a peer. He described Elaine's encounter
with the southern fire-eaters in these words of flame: "Like
an armed warrior, like a plumed knight, James G. Elaine
marched down the halls of the American congress, and threw
his shining lance full and fair, against the brazen foreheads of
the defamers of his country, and the maligners of his honor."
Although Elaine never became president, he was ever after-
ward the "plumed knight," and Colonel Ingersoll leaped to
fame at a single bound.
Other candidates before the convention were Benjamin H.
Bristow, Roscoe Conkling, John A. Hartranft, Rutherford
B. Hayes, Marshall Jewell and Oliver P. Morton. General
Hayes was nominated on the seventh ballot. William A.
128 Republican Party in Illinois
Wheeler, of New York, was nominated for vice-president.
The national Democratic convention was held at St. Louis,
June 27. General John A. McClernand, of Illinois, presided.
Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, was nominated for president
on the second ballot, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana,
for vice-president.
The National Greenback party, in convention at Indian-
apolis, May 17, nominated Peter Cooper, of New York, for
president, and Samuel F. Gary, of Ohio, for vice-president.
The story of the campaign that followed, the uncertainty
of the outcome for months after the election, and the extra-
constitutional expedient of an electoral commission to deter-
mine the result belong to the domain of national history. The
serious complications that may arise when the electoral vote
is almost evenly divided are indicated in a letter written by
General Hurlbut to his neighbor, General Fuller, of Belvidere,
who was a presidential elector. In the letter, now in possession
of the writer, General Hurlbut said: "I learn from sure
sources that both Belmont and Barlow, of New York, have
within forty-eight hours declared their absolute certainty of
electing Tilden, even if Hayes should receive South Carolina,
Florida and Louisiana. This may easily be done. If any one
of our electors should vote a blank vote, it will make a tie and
throw it into the house. I think some man has been secured to
do this. It can be done safely if the voting is done by secret
ballot, and will not appear or be known until the mischief is
done. We therefore advise all our friends in the state electoral
colleges to adopt the open ballot, for I do not believe any man
can be found to do this act of treachery openly. No man
supposes that any one of our people in Illinois will do it, but
we want the rule universal. We are on the edge of revolution
Republican Party in Illinois 129
already. Things are miserably bad, but do not leave a single
loop-hole unguarded."
The Republican electors in Illinois received 277,227 votes ;
Democratic, 258,445; Peter Cooper, 17,232. General Hayes
had only the small plurality of 1,560.
Shelby M. Cullom had a plurality of only 6,798 for gov-
ernor over Steward. The entire state ticket was elected by
reduced majorities.
The Republicans elected eleven of the nineteen congress-
men. The election resulted as follows: First district, Wil-
liam Aldrich; Second, Carter H. Harrison; Third, Lorenz
Brentano ; Fourth, William Lathrop ; Fifth, H. C. Burchard ;
Sixth, T. J. Henderson; Seventh, Philip C. Hayes; Eighth,
Greenbury L. Fort ; Ninth, Thomas A. Boyd ; Tenth, Ben-
jamin F. Marsh; Eleventh, Robert M. Knapp; Twelfth,
William M. Springer ; Thirteenth, Thomas F. Tipton ; Four-
teenth, Joseph G. Cannon; Fifteenth, John R. Eden; Six-
teenth, William A. J. Sparks ; Seventeeth, William R. Mor-
rison; Eighteenth, William Hartzell; Nineteenth, R. W.
Townshend. Messrs. Harrison, Knapp, Springer, Eden,
Sparks, Morrison, Hartzell and Townshend were Democrats.
The Republicans lost control of the senate, but had a
majority in the house. In the senate there were 21 Repub-
licans, 22 Democrats and 8 Independents. The house con-
tained 79 Republicans, 67 Democrats, 7 Independents.
Shelby M. Cullom was inaugurated governor January 8.
He was the fourth consecutively elected governor of Illinois
who was a native of Kentucky. He was born in Monticello,
Wayne county, November 22, 1829. Mr. Cullom was elected
a member of the house of representatives in the Illinois leg-
islature in 1856, 1860, 1872 and 1874, and was chosen speaker
10
130 Republican Party in Illinois
in 1861 and 1873. From 1865 to 1871 he represented the
Eighth district in congress.
Andrew Shuman was born in Lancaster county, Pennsyl-
vania, in November, 1830. His life was devoted to journalism,
and his nomination as lieutenant-governor was a recognition of
his efficient services for the Republican party as one of the
editors of the Chicago Evening Journal.
The legislature convened January 3, 1877, in the new
state house, which was nearly completed. James Shaw, of Mt.
Carroll, was elected speaker of the house. The notable
political event of the session was the election of a United
States senator to succeed General Logan. The motley political
complexion of both houses made this a difficult task. General
Logan was the nominee of the Republican caucus, while the
Democrats supported General Palmer. The first ballot was
taken January 16. Successive ballots showed that neither
Logan nor Palmer could be elected. The eight Independents
in the senate and seven in the house held the balance of power
on joint ballot. Those in the house were under the leadership
of Andrew Ashton, of Winnebago county, who had been
elected in 1874 and re-elected in 1876. Mr. Ashton, in telling
this story a short time before his death to the writer, said
Abraham Lincoln was the only man in public life he ever
idolized, and Lincoln, in turn, highly esteemed Judge Davis.
Mr. Ashton therefore determined he would support Judge
Davis for senator. Mr. Ashton and his friends had up to
this time received no intimation that Judge Davis desired to
be senator.
During the contest Jesse Fell, of Normal, a confidential
friend of Judge Davis, went to Springfield, made the acquain-
tance of Mr. Ashton and told him that Judge Davis would
Republican Party in Illinois 131
accept the senatorship, as his duties on the supreme bench were
onerous, and he longed to be relieved of them.
Mr. Ashton and his friends became more determined.
Meanwhile the deadlock continued. January 22 General
Palmer's name was withdrawn, and two days later General
Logan withdrew. Judge Davis was elected January 25 on the
fortieth ballot.
Judge Davis was born in Cecil county, Maryland, March
6, 1815. He settled in Bloomington in 1836, served in the
house in the fourteenth general assembly in 1844, and was a
member of the constitutional convention of 1847. The next
year he was elected judge of the eighth judicial circuit and
was re-elected in 1855 and 1861. In 1862 he was appointed
justice of the supreme court of the United States by President
Lincoln. Judge Davis pursued an independent course after
his election to the senate, and frequently acted with the Repub-
licans.
It has been said that the course of Mr. Ashton in this
matter also resulted in the seating of Mr. Hayes as president.
This tradition is based on the supposition that Judge Davis,
as a member of the supreme court, would have been chosen the
fifteenth member of the electoral commission, and would have
voted to seat Mr. Tilden. The facts, however, are quite the
reverse. Judge Davis told Mr. Ashton that Mr. Tilden did
not want him placed on the commission. In view of this fact,
Judge Davis could, under no circumstances, accept the appoint-
ment, even if it were tendered him. Thus, while Mr. Ashton
did not contribute, even indirectly, to the seating of Mr.
Hayes, it was his determined course that made David Davis,
upon the death of William A. Wheeler, acting vice-president
of the United States.
132 Republican Party in Illinois
The state campaign of 1878 was characterized by unusual
interest for an off year. The Republican convention met at
Springfield, June 26, and was the largest ever held in the state
up to that time. Charles E. Lippincott was the permanent
presiding officer, and Daniel Shepard was chosen secretary.
General John C. Smith was nominated for state treasurer on
the third ballot. James P. Slade, of St. Clair county, was
named for superintendent of public instruction on the second
ballot.
The platform contained the following reference to the
currency: "We are also opposed to any further contraction of
the greenback currency, and are in favor of such currency as
can be maintained at par with, and convertible into coin at the
will of the' holder. We are in favor of such currency being
received for impost duties." Speeches were made by Generals
Oglesby, Logan and Hurlbut and Emery A. Storrs.
The Independent Reformers and Democrats were in favor
of a demand for the repeal of the resumption law, but they
could not agree upon other issues. The Independents held
their state convention at Springfield, March 27. General
Erastus N. Bates was nominated for state treasurer, and
Frank H. Hall, of Kane county, for state superintendent of
public instruction.
The Democrats assembled in state convention April 11.
Edward L. Cronkrite was nominated for state treasurer on
the third ballot, and S. M. Etter for superintendent of public
instruction on the first ballot.
The revolt within the party which began in 1872 and
continued several years had spent its force in 1878. General
John C. Smith received 206,458 votes for state treasurer;
Cronkrite, Democrat, 170,085; Bates, Greenback Reformer,
65,689 ; Gorin, Prohibitionist, 2,228 ; James P. Slade received
Republican Party in Illinois 133
205,461 votes for superintendent; Etter, Democrat, 171,336;
Hall, Greenbacker, 65,487; Kate Hopkins, Prohibitionist,
2,109.
The Republicans also regained control of both branches of
the legislature for the first time in six years and elected eleven
of the nineteen members of congress.
Illinois was represented in the forty-sixth congress as fol-
lows: First district, William Aldrich; Second, George R.
Davis; Third, Hiram Barber; Fourth, John C. Sherwin;
Fifth, R. M. A. Hawk; Sixth, T. J. Henderson; Seventh,
Philip C. Hayes ; Eighth, Greenbury L. Fort ; Ninth, Thomas
A. Boyd; Tenth, Benjamin F. Marsh; Eleventh, James W.
Singleton; Twelfth, William M. Springer; Thirteenth, A.
E. Stevenson ; Fourteenth, Joseph G. Cannon ; Fifteenth, A.
P. Forsythe; Sixteenth, William A. J. Sparks; Seventeenth,
William R. Morrison; Eighteenth, John R. Thomas; Nine-
teenth, R. W. Townshend. Messrs. Singleton, Springer,
Stevenson, Sparks, Morrison and Townshend were Demo-
crats, and Forsythe a Greenbacker.
The legislature convened January 8, 1879. The contest
for the Republican nomination for speaker was unusually
spirited, as it was involved in the approaching election of a
United States senator. The candidates were Isaac L. Mor-
rison, Colonel William A. James, Thomas F. Mitchell and
former Speaker James Shaw. Colonel James was elected on
the fifth ballot. James Herrington was the nominee of the
Democrats.
General Oglesby's term as United States senator was
about to expire and he was a candidate for re-election. His
claim was contested by General Logan, who had been de-
feated at the expiration of his own term by Judge Davis two
years before. The contest between two gallant and greatly
134 Republican Party in Illinois
beloved volunteer generals was an unusual situation; but it
was conducted in the main in a friendly spirit. General
Logan secured 80 votes in the Republican caucus and General
Oglesby 26. General John C. Black was the nominee of the
Democratic caucus. The election, which was held January
21, resulted in the choice of General Logan, with a majority
of eight on joint ballot over all other candidates.
CHAPTER XIV
FAMOUS GARFIELD CAMPAIGN OF 1880 FIGHT OVER THE
UNIT RULE IN STATE CONVENTION CONTESTING
DELEGATES ADMITTED AT CHICAGO THE ELECTIONS
ESTRANGEMENT BETWEEN GRANT AND WASHBURNE
CAMPAIGN OF 1882 CULLOM ELECTED SENATOR.
THE presidential campaign of 1880 has never been
surpassed in certain elements of popular interest.
There were no such vital issues as were involved in
the elections of 1860 and 1864. The interest centered rather
in the personalities of the several Republican candidates before
the nominating convention, and in the leaders of the respective
factions. The leading candidates were General Grant and
James G. Elaine.
In the autumn of the preceding year General Grant
returned from his tour around the world. His journey from
San Francisco to Chicago was a continuous triumph, surpass-
ing those of Pompey and Caesar when they entered Rome at
the head of their conquering legions. The demonstration in
Grant's honor in Chicago could not fail to strengthen the
sentiment for his nomination for a third term. His candidacy
was promoted by a famous senatorial triumvirate, consisting
of Roscoe Conkling, of New York; J. Donald Cameron, of
Pennsylvania; and John A. Logan, of Illinois.
Meanwhile James G. Elaine was still the idol of a large
element in his party, and was a formidable rival. Mr.
Elaine's campaign in Illinois was committed to the manage-
ment of General Stephen A. Hurlbut, Joseph Medill, of the
135
136 Republican Party in Illinois
Chicago Tribune, and Charles B. Farwell. Other candidates
were John Sherman, E. B. Washburne, William Windom
and George F. Edmunds.
The Republican state convention assembled at Springfield,
May 19. "The political cauldron," says John Moses, "was
at white heat." General Green B. Raum, a "third termer,"
presided. General Logan and Emery A. Storrs were in charge
of General Grant's interests, and were determined to send
a solid delegation to Chicago. General Hurlbut, one of the
most brilliant orators Illinois ever produced, led in the fight
for Blaine, and was ably assisted by Kirk Hawes, Senator
Hunt, J. W. Robbins and others.
The struggle began over the contesting delegations from
the First, Second and Third districts, in Cook county. The
Cook county convention had broken up in a row and two sets
of delegates were chosen. This placed the first three districts
in a contest for seats in the state convention, and left the
Grant forces from other parts of the state in control of the
organization.
When the convention opened the state central committee
gave seats to the Grant delegates chosen by the bolters of the
Cook county convention, and this action was ratified by the
convention by a vote of 341 to 261.
The second day was devoted to the appointment of dele-
gates to the national convention. It had been the custom in
former conventions for the delegates from the congressional
districts to assemble in separate caucuses and nominate
members of the several committees, presidential electors and
delegates to national conventions from their respective dis-
tricts. It was now proposed that the delegates should be
selected by a committee appointed by the presiding officer of
the convention. The debate continued all day and nearly all
Republican Party in Illinois 137
night. General Logan, A. W. Metcalf, Richard Rowett
and Isaac Clements made speeches in favor of the proposed
change; while Charles Thomas, Kirk Hawes and J. M.
Beardsley opposed it. A vote was reached at two o'clock in
the morning of the third day, and was in favor of the Grant
men by 389 to 304. The vote instructing the delegates to
vote as a unit for General Grant was 399 to 285.
The delegates chosen to represent the state at the national
convention were as follows: For the state at large, John A.
Logan, Emery A. Storrs, Green B. Raum, D. T. Littler;
by the committee of the convention: First district, John
Wentworth, Stephen A. Douglas; Second, A. M. Wright,
Richard S. Tuthill ; Third, John L. Beveridge, L. J. Kadish ;
Fourth, N. C. Thompson, N. N. Ravlin ; Fifth, J. B. Brown,
Miles White; Sixth, Henry T. Noble, W. H. Shepard;
Seventh, E. F. Bull, E. W. Willard ; Eighth, J. B. Wilson,
R. J. Hanna ; Ninth, Joel Mershon, William Jackson ; Tenth,
Hosea Davis, F. P. Burgett; Eleventh, O. B. Hamilton,
M. D. Massie; Twelfth, George M. Brinkerhoff, C. M.
Eames ; Thirteenth, John McNulta, V. Warren ; Fourteenth,
James Heyworth, J. B. Harris; Fifteenth, W. H. Barlow,
A. P. Green; Sixteenth, J. M. Truitt, Lewis Krueghoff;
Seventeenth, A. W. Metcalf, Richard Rowett; Eighteenth,
C. O. Patier, J. M. Davis; Nineteenth, C. W. Pavey, W.
H. Williams.
The old Fourth district, comprising Kane, DeKalb,
McHenry, Boone and Winnebago counties, was divided.
DeKalb, McHenry and Boone were for Elaine ; Winnebago
was for Grant; Kane was divided, with a majority in favor
of Elaine. Hon. C. W. Marsh, of DeKalb, the inventor of
138 Republican Party in Illinois
the Marsh harvester, was one of the contestants, as a selected
delegate from the Fourth district. In his "Recollections,"
Mr. Marsh gives his version of the proceedings. When
notices were posted by the state central committee, advising
the delegates from congressional districts of the places and
purposes of their meetings, the delegates discovered the selec-
tion of delegates to the national convention had been omitted.
Mr. Marsh tells the sequel so admirably that it is reproduced
as follows:
"As several of our delegates were standing before the
notice and discussing the omission, Judge Coon, the late A. B.
Coon, of Marengo, came to us. I asked the old gentleman
what ought we to do in this case, and he answered, 'Why,
damn 'em, they don't intend to let us select our own delegates.
The thing for you to do is to go right ahead, nominate your
men, as you have always done, send in their names, and then
we will see what they are going to do about it.' We acted
on this advice. Two delegates to the national convention and
their alternates were duly selected. As the first three districts
were in contest, the Fourth was the first on call ; it was there-
fore the first to report, to present the names of its delegates
with those selected for committees. The other anti-Grant
district delegates followed suit; some having selected their
men as we had, while others, seeing the point of our action,
immediately withdrew into the hall or lobby and there hastily
chose their delegates. But the convention, being under the
control of the Grant majority, refused to give a hearing to
such part of our reports as related to the selection of delegates,
and through a committee named by the chair, appointed Grant
men to represent our districts in the national convention.
This was the action from which we appealed to the national
convention."
Republican Party in Illinois 139
The contesting delegates appointed by the districts,
ignored by the state convention, but finally seated at Chicago,
were: First district, W. J. Campbell, Eldridge G. Keith;
Third, Elliott Anthony, Washington Hesing; Fourth, C. W.
Marsh, Lot B. Smith; Fifth, Robert E. Logan, W. H. Hoi-
comb ; Sixth, James K. Edsall, John P. Hand ; Ninth, John
A. Gray, W. S. Gale ; Tenth, Henry Tebbs, John Fletcher ;
Thirteenth, E. D. Blinn, F. Low; Seventeenth, W. E.
Kieffner, Emil Guelsch.
A tilt between Chairman Raum and General Hurlbut was
one of the spectacular incidents of the convention. Hurlbut
arose to address the chair, but the latter did not recognize him.
Hurlbut was a typical southerner, who never shrank from
an encounter, and sarcasm was a weapon which he used with
the consummate skill of Roscoe Conkling. Hurlbut addressed
the chair a second and a third time, but still received no recog-
nition from the presiding officer. At length Hurlbut walked
with great dignity down the aisle of the convention hall, stood
directly in front of the chairman, and coolly inquired : "Will
the commissioner of internal revenue recognize the gentleman
from Boone?"
Pandemonium instantly broke loose and it was several
minutes before order could be restored.
Nominations for state officers were not made until the
third day. The candidates for governor were Shelby M.
Cullom, for a second term, General John B. Hawley, General
John I. Rinaker, Colonel Greenbury L. Fort, Colonel Thomas
S. Ridgway, Colonel Clark E. Carr and General John C.
Smith. The contest was spirited throughout and resulted in
the choice of Mr. Cullom on the fourth ballot.
John M. Hamilton, of McLean county, was nominated
for lieutenant-governor on the first ballot ; Henry D. Dement
140 Republican Party in Illinois
was nominated for secretary of state on the second ballot ;
Charles P. Swigert for auditor; Edward Rutz, treasurer;
James McCartney, attorney-general.
The presidential electors chosen were : George Schneider,
Ethelbert Callahan, Robert T. Lincoln, John M. Smyth,
James A. Kirk, Christopher M. Brazee, Robert E. Logan,
Isaac H. Elliott, James Goodspeed, Alfred Sample, Sabin D.
Puterbaugh, Emery C. Humphrey, William A. Grimshaw,
James C. McQuigg, Jonathan H. Rowell, William R. Jewell,
Jackson M. Sheets, James W. Peterson, Wilbur T. Norton,
George W. Smith, William H. Johnson.
The Democratic state convention was held at Springfield,
June 10. Lyman Trumbull was nominated for governor by
acclamation ; Lewis B. Parsons, lieutenant-governor ; John H.
Oberly, secretary of state ; Lewis C. Starkel, auditor ; Thomas
Butterworth, treasurer; Lawrence Harmon, attorney-gen-
eral.
The Greenback-Reform party nominated the following
ticket: Governor, A. J. Streeter; lieutenant-governor, A. M.
Adair; secretary of state, J. M. Thompson; auditor, W. T.
Ingram; treasurer, J. W. Evans; attorney-general, H. G.
Whitlock.
The national Republican convention assembled Wednes-
day, June 2, 1880, in the old Inter-state Exposition building
in Chicago. The contest was fierce from the start and Illinois
was the storm center. There were contesting delegations
from several states, but the one in Illinois was most important,
as the admission of the contestants would impair the prestige
of General Grant.
The committee on credentials, with Senator Conger as
its chairman, reported in favor of admitting the Illinois con-
testants, with the exception of those from the Second district.
Republican Party in Illinois 141
After an exhaustive discussion, which continued two days,
the convention adopted the report on Saturday.
This convention settled, for all time, the question of
future representation by declaring that the congressional dis-
trict shall be the unit ; in other words, that the people of such
district shall have the right to select their own delegates.
This fatal blow at the "unit rule" was affirmed in a series of
rules reported from the committee by General Garfield.
The platform was adopted Saturday and candidates were
placed in nomination. James F. Joy, of Michigan, presented
the name of James G. Blaine; Roscoe Conkling nominated
General Grant, and John Sherman was nominated by General
Garfield in the most brilliant speech made during the con-
vention.
The balloting began on Monday, the fifth day of the
convention. There were 756 delegates. On the first ballot
Grant received 304 votes ; Blaine, 284 ; Sherman, 93 ; with
the remainder of the votes divided between Washburne,
Edmunds and Windom. The loyalty of the "old guard" of
306 delegates to General Grant throughout the convention
is a rare instance of personal devotion. Repeated ballots
showed that neither Grant nor Blaine could be nominated.
On Wednesday Elaine's delegates went over to Garfield, and
he was nominated on the 36th ballot.
Chester A. Arthur was nominated for vice-president on
the first ballot.
At the national Greenback convention, held in Chicago
June 9, General James B. Weaver, of Iowa, was nominated
for president and E. J. Chambers, of Texas, for vice-president.
The Democrats, in national convention in Cincinnati,
nominated General Winfield Scott Hancock, of Pennsylvania,
142 Republican Party in Illinois
for president, on the second ballot. William H. English, of
Indiana, was nominated for vice-president.
The election resulted in a victory for the Garfield electors
and the entire state Republican ticket. Garfield electors
received 317,879 votes to 277,314 for Hancock. Cullom
received 314,565 votes for governor; Trumbull, 277,532.
The Republicans also carried both houses of the legislature
and elected thirteen of the nineteen congressmen. Illinois
was represented in the Forty-seventh congress as follows:
First district, William Aldrich; Second, George R. Davis;
Third, Charles B. Farwell ; Fourth, John C. Sherwin ; Fifth,
R. M. A. Hawk ; Sixth, T. J. Henderson ; Seventh, William
Cullen; Eighth, Lewis E. Payson; Ninth, John H. Lewis;
Tenth, Benjamin F. Marsh ; Eleventh, James W. Singleton ;
Twelfth, William M. Springer; Thirteenth, Dietrich C.
Smith ; Fourteenth, Joseph G. Cannon ; Fifteenth, Samuel
W. Moulton ; Sixteenth, William A. J. Sparks ; Seventeenth,
William R. Morrison; Eighteenth, John R. Thomas; Nine-
teenth, R. W. Townshend. Messrs. Singleton, Springer,
Moulton, Sparks, Morrison and Townshend were Democrats.
One of the incidents of this memorable campaign was the
estrangement between General Grant and his old neighbor,
E. B. Washburne. The writer is indebted to General A. L.
Chetlain, of Galena, as he gives it in his "Recollections."
When General Grant returned from his tour around the
world, his friends who were managing his th'ird term campaign
claimed he could be nominated by acclamation ; and the
enthusiasm which attended his home-coming from abroad
seemed to justify this belief. General Grant, when first
consulted, declared he would not consent to be considered
a candidate ; but he finally modified this attitude by saying
that he would make no effort to secure the nomination, and
ULYSSES S. GRANT
Republican Party in Illinois 143
that it must come to him unsolicited or not at all. Mr.
Washburne, General Grant's old neighbor at Galena, was
then residing in Chicago, and promptly gave his support to
the movement. After the ovations were over, and the anti-
third term sentiment began to develop in the party, Mr. Wash-
burne became convinced that General. Grant would not allow
his name to go before the convention if there was to be a con-
test ; and he foresaw that a struggle was inevitable.
General Grant took his family to his home at Galena.
Shortly afterward he started on a tour through the southern
states, Cuba and Mexico. It had been arranged that Mr.
Washburne should join the General and his party in Cuba
and go with them to Mexico. For some reason which General
Chetlain declared he never understood, Mr. Washburne did
not carry out his agreement. As the preliminary campaign
progressed it became apparent that the anti-third term senti-
ment was growing rapidly, and especially among German
Republicans. An appeal was made to Mr. Washburne, as
General Grant's nearest friend, to arrest the opposition and
to secure his nomination. The suggestion was then made that
should General Grant refuse to allow his name to go before
the convention, that Mr. Washburne himself would be nomi-
nated. Others appealed to Mr. Washburne to openly avow
himself a candidate. To all these overtures Mr. Washburne
promptly replied: "I am a Grant man, and will support him
for president."
In March, 1880, a Republican club was organized at Mt.
Carroll, called the Washburne club, for the purpose of advanc-
ing the candidacy of Mr. Washburne. He addressed a letter
to the president of the club, protesting against the use of his
name, and said he "was a Grant man and not a candidate for
president."
144 Republican Party in Illinois
In spite of these protestations, however, Republicans
throughout the state distrusted the loyalty of Mr. Washburne
to General Grant. General Chetlain says he urged Mr.
Washburne to dissuade his friends from openly supporting
him. Mr. Washburne replied that he had done everything
possible to prevent his friends from so doing. General Chet-
lain further admonished him and said: "Your only hope is
with the Grant supporters. If anything should happen to
him and you are on the right terms with his adherents, they
would undoubtedly favor you, but the way things are going
on, in such an emergency you would be ground to powder."
To these admonitions Mr. Washburne briefly replied: "I
have done all I can more I can not do."
As the spring advanced Mr. Washburne continued to
receive letters urging him to cut loose from General Grant,
and openly declare himself a candidate. But he still insisted
that he was committed to Grant, and would stand by his
pledge. During all this time, however, Mr. Washburne was
perplexed over the situation.
About the first of May General Grant visited Mr.
Washburne at his home in Chicago. Their former friendly
relations seemed unchanged. General Grant was on his way
to Springfield, with a number of Republican leaders, to hold
a conference. Mr. Washburne joined the party. He was
somewhat indisposed, although his ailment was more mental
than physical. At Springfield the party was invited to dine
with Governor Cullom. The company, including Mr. Wash-
burne, accepted the invitation. During the dinner, however,
he asked to be excused on account of illness. He went to his
hotel, took a late train for the east, and stopped at the home
of a relative at Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he was de-
tained several weeks by illness.
Republican Party in Illinois 145
During the convention General Grant was at his home in
Galena. He was kept informed of the proceedings by a
private telegraph wire in the office of his old staff officer,
General Rowley.
June 8, at 11 o'clock, a dispatch came to him stating
that at 1 o'clock he would be nominated. Instead, however,
at the appointed hour, General Grant received word that
General Garfield had been nominated. General Grant ex-
hibited no emotion. He arose from his seat, lighted a cigar
and remarked: "Well, I am glad that so good a man as
Garfield has received the nomination." He then went home
to tell the news to his wife.
On the following day General Grant complained to Gen-
eral Rowley that his friends had not fairly treated him.
"They assured me," he said, "that there would be no serious
opposition to me in the convention. I could not afford to go
before that convention and be defeated." General Grant
keenly felt his defeat. He did not fully realize the strength
of the opposition to a third term.
Mr. Washburne received only a small vote in the con-
vention, although he was the second choice of many of the
Grant delegates. He had reached Detroit on his return home
when General Garfield was nominated. The feeling of the
Grant men against Mr. Washburne intensified after the con-
vention, and General Grant shared in this feeling. Mr.
Washburne was charged with perfidy, and in the excitement
much was said and done that was unjust to that gentleman.
General Chetlain believes that the leaders who attempted
to make General Grant president a third term did so to head
off a movement to nominate Mr. Washburne. Senator
Conkling had been his bitter enemy for twenty years ; General
Logan feared Mr. Washburne's influence in Illinois, and
11
146 Republican Party in Illinois
Senator Cameron did not want to see him president. In
view of the prestige of General Grant, which had been aug-
mented by his tour abroad, he was considered the most avail-
able candidate. Although Mr Washburne joined heartily
in the movement to make his old friend again president, it is
believed that by the middle of the winter he became convinced
that General Grant would not be nominated, and held to
that opinion to the last. It has been asserted that Mr. Wash-
burne controlled enough votes in the convention to have nom-
inated General Grant, had he so desired. This statement is
not true. Mr. Washburne had a few friends among the anti-
Grant delegates, but these were not under his control. His
strength was with the friends of the general. There was no
combination favoring Mr. Washburne or any one else who
was opposed to General Grant. The contest was not between
General Grant and some other candidate, but between General
Grant and the third term idea.
The estrangement between these old friends was complete.
They never met again after the dinner at the executive mansion
at Springfield. General Grant, in completing his memoirs
just before his death, almost entirely ignored Mr. Washburne.
"The breach between these two great men of world- wide
renown," says General Chetlain, "was the saddest that had
ever occurred in the history of the nation."
General Chetlain observes that General Grant ought
never to have consented to become a candidate for a third
term; but that he should have urged his friends to work for
the nomination of Mr. Washburne.
In February, 1885, General Grant was so ill at his home
in New York City that his physicians believed that the end
was near. Mr. Washburne went hurriedly to New York
and returned in ten days greatly depressed in spirits. In
Republican Party in Illinois 147
conversation with a friend, he said with some hesitation, that
he had gone to New York in the hope that he might meet
General Grant, and that a reconciliation might be effected.
He registered at one of the leading hotels in the city, and the
daily newspapers noticed his arrival. When asked if he had
made any effort to see General Grant, Mr. Washburne
replied : "No ; the general knew I was in the city, and if he
had desired to see me he could easily have notified me. He
was the greater man, and it was for him to extend his hand,
which I would have taken with pleasure."
General Grant distrusted the loyalty of Mr. Washburne.
In this he erred grievously. Mr. Washburne may have felt
the quickened flame of ambition stir his manly breast. He
would scarcely have been human had it been otherwise. Sad,
indeed, that Damon could not have loved his Pythias to the
last ! How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle !
And in their death they were divided.
The Thirty-second general assembly convened January 5,
1881. There were 32 Republicans, 18 Democrats and one
Independent in the senate; and 82 Republicans and 71 Dem-
ocrats in the house. The senate was organized by the election
of William J. Campbell, of Cook, president pro tempore.
Horace H. Thomas was nominated in the Republican caucus
for speaker by acclamation, and was elected over Bradford
K. Durfee, of Macon county. Mr. Thomas was the first
speaker chosen from Chicago. Governor Cullom, in his
biennial address delivered January 7, announced that "the
last dollar of the state debt was paid."
The legislature failed to pass the apportionment bills, and
it was convened in special session for this purpose March 23,
1882. The congressional apportionment act of April 29
148 Republican Party in Illinois
divided the state into twenty districts. The senatorial appor-
tionment act was approved May 6.
James A. Garfield was inaugurated president March 4,
1881. Illinois was represented in his cabinet by Robert T.
Lincoln as secretary of war. Among the president's early
diplomatic appointments was that of General Hurlbut as
minister to Peru. Hurlbut died at Lima, March 27, 1882.
There is a tradition that President Garfield wanted to honor
Colonel Ingersoll with a diplomatic appointment, but he
feared he would offend the religious sentiment of the country.
The Republican state convention for 1882 was held at
Springfield, June 28. General John C. Smith was nominated
for state treasurer and Charles T. Stratton for state
superintendent of public instruction.
At the Democratic state convention, held September 7,
Alfred Orendorf was nominated for state treasurer, and
Henry Raab for superintendent of instruction. The nominees
of the Greenbackers were : Treasurer, Daniel McLaughlin ;
superintendent, Frank H. Hall. The Prohibitionists nom-
inated John G. Irwin for treasurer and Elizabeth B. Brown
for superintendent.
The elections resulted in a divided victory. General
Smith was elected treasurer by a plurality of 6,137, and Raab
led for superintendent by a smaller plurality. The Repub-
licans, however, secured majorities in both branches of the
legislature and elected twelve of the twenty members of
congress. Illinois was represented in the Forty-eighth con-
gress as follows: First district, R. W. Dunham; Second,
John F. Finerty; Third, George R. Davis; Fourth, George
E. Adams; Fifth, Reuben Ellwood; Sixth, Robert R. Hitt;
Seventh, T. J. Henderson; Eighth, William Cullen; Ninth,
Republican Party in Illinois 149
Lewis E. Payson; Tenth, N. E. Worthington; Eleventh,
William H. Neece ; Twelfth, James M. Riggs ; Thirteenth,
William M. Springer; Fourteenth, J. H. Rowell; Fifteenth,
Joseph G. Cannon; Sixteenth, Aaron Shaw; Seventeenth,
Samuel W. Moulton; Eighteenth, William R. Morrison;
Nineteenth, R. W. Townshend ; Twentieth, John R. Thomas .
Messrs. Worthington, Neece, Riggs, Springer, Shaw, Moul-
ton, Morrison and Townshend were Democrats.
The legislature convened January 2, 1883. There were
31 Republicans and 20 Democrats in the senate; and 77
Republicans and 76 Democrats in the house. Loren C. Col-
lins, Jr., was elected speaker over Austin O. Sexton.
The political event of the session was the election of a
United States senator to succeed David Davis. The Repub-
lican candidates were Richard J. Oglesby, Shelby M. Cullom,
Green B. Raum and Thomas J. Henderson. Cullom was
nominated in caucus on the fifth ballot, and he was elected
over John M. Palmer, the choice of the Democrats. The
objection was raised in the legislature that Mr. Cullom was
not eligible, under the constitution, to election while serving
as governor. Mr. Cullom entrusted his case to William
J. Calhoun, who, in an able speech, removed the constitutional
objection, and Mr. Cullom received every Republican vote
except that of George E. Adams, a senator from Cook.
John M. Hamilton succeeded to the governorship. He
was born in Union county, Ohio, May 28, 1847. He was
graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan university in 1868, and a
few years later he occupied a chair of languages in the Illinois
Wesleyan university at Bloomington. In 1876 he was elected
state senator from McLean county. He was a lawyer of high
standing and the youngest man who ever occupied the execu-
tive chair in Illinois. He died September 23, 1905.
150 Republican Party in Illinois
Upon the accession of Mr. Hamilton to the governorship,
William J. Campbell, president pro tempore of the senate,
became ex officio lieutenant-governor.
CHAPTER XV
ELAINE AND LOGAN CAMPAIGN OF 1884 GOVERNOR HAMIL-
TON SAVES UNITED STATES SENATE TO THE REPUBLICANS
GENERAL LOGAN RE-ELECTED SENATOR HIS DEATH
CHARLES B. FARWELL SUCCEEDS HIM.
THE political campaign opened early in Illinois in 1884.
The Republican state convention assembled in Peoria,
April 16. Colonel James A. Connolly presided.
Governor Hamilton had an honorable ambition to be elected
to the office, which had come to him through the resignation of
Governor Cullom; but he withdrew from the contest when
he discovered the drift in the convention was toward another.
Ex-Governor Oglesby was nominated by acclamation. Gen-
eral John C. Smith was nominated for lieutenant-governor
on the first ballot. Other nominations were: Secretary of
state, Henry D. Dement; treasurer, Jacob Gross; attorney-
general, George Hunt; auditor, Charles P. Swigert.
The platform emphasized the importance of state issues,
including a revision of the criminal code and greater efficiency
in the civil service.
The convention was enthusiastic in its support of General
John A. Logan for president and sent a nearly unanimous
delegation in his favor to Chicago as follows : State at large,
Shelby M. Cullom, John M. Hamilton, Burton C. Cook,
Clark E. Carr; First district, J. L. Woodward, Abner Tay-
lor; Second, W. H. Ruger, C. E. Piper; Third, George R.
Davis, J. R. Wheeler; Fourth, Samuel B. Raymond, L. C.
Collins, Jr.; Fifth, L. M. Kelley, Charles E. Fuller; Sixth,
151
152 Republican Party in Illinois
Norman Lewis, O. C. Towne; Seventh, I. G. Baldwin,
H. T. Noble ; Eighth, R. W. Willet, A. J. Bell ; Ninth, S. T.
Rogers, Thomas Vennum; Tenth W. W. Wright, R. H.
Whiting; Eleventh, C. V. Chandler, C. A. Ballard ; Twelfth,
A. C. Matthews, William W. Berry ; Thirteenth, Dr. Wil-
liam Jayne, D. C. Smith; Fourteenth, Joseph W. Fifer,
George K. Ingham; Fifteenth, Charles G. Eckhart, L. S.
Wilson; Sixteenth, Charles Churchill, Harrison Black; Sev-
enteenth, John I. Rinaker, J. M. Truett; Eighteenth, R. A.
Halbert, H. Reuter ; Nineteenth, Thomas S. Ridgway, C. T.
Strattan ; Twentieth, T. M. Simpson, W. McAdams.
The presidential electors were Andrew Shuman, Isaac
Lesem, George Bass, John C. Tegtmeyer, John M. Smyth,
James A. Sexton, Albert J. Hopkins, Conrad J. Fry, William
H. Shepard, Robert A. Childs, David McWilliams, Rufus
W. Miles, John A. Harvey, Francis M. Davis, J. Otis
Humphrey, Edward D. Blinn, William O. Wilson, Rufus
Cope, John H. Dunscomb, Cicero J. Lindly, Jasper Part-
ridge, Matthew J. Inscore.
The Democratic state convention met at Peoria, July 2.
Judge Monroe C. Crawford presided. The following ticket
was nominated : For governor, Carter H. Harrison ; lieuten-
ant-governor, Henry Seiter; secretary of state, Michael J.
Dougherty; treasurer, Alfred Orendorf; auditor, Walter E.
Carlin; attorney-general, Robert L. McKinlay.
The Prohibitionists held their state convention at Bloom-
ington, June 18, and nominated the following ticket: Govern-
or, J. B. Hobbs ; lieutenant-governor, James L. Ferryman ; sec-
retary of state, C. W. Enos ; treasurer, Uriah Copp ; auditor,
A. B. Irwin; attorney-general, Hale Johnson.
The Greenback party, at its convention held in July, made
these nominations: Governor, Jesse Harper; lieutenant-gov-
Republican Party in Illinois 153
ernor, A. C. Vanderwater ; secretary of state, H. E. Baldwin;
treasurer, Benjamin W. Goodhue; auditor, E. F. Reeves;
attorney-general, John N. Gwin.
The national Republican convention met in Chicago, June
3, 1884. The candidates for president were James G. Blaine,
Chester A. Arthur, George F. Edmunds, John A. Logan and
John Sherman. General Logan was placed in nomination by
Senator Cullom. Mr. Blaine was nominated on the fourth
ballot. General Logan was nominated for vice-president by
a unanimous vote.
The Democratic party met in national convention in
Chicago, June 10. Grover Cleveland, of New York, was
nominated for president on the second ballot; Thomas A.
Hendricks, of Indiana, was nominated for vice-president.
The Greenback national party, at its convention held in
Indianapolis, May 28, nominated General Benjamin F. But-
ler, of Massachusetts, for president and General A. M. West,
of Mississippi, for vice-president.
The Prohibitionists held the last convention of the year
in Pittsburg, July 23. John P. St. John, of Kansas, was nom-
inated for president and William Daniel, of Maryland, for
vice-president.
After two unsuccessful attempts Mr. Blaine seemed about
to realize the ambition of his life. The nomination of General
Logan for the second place on the ticket was regarded as an
element of strength. The great battleground was in New
York, where the result was so close that the defeat of Mr.
Blaine might be attributed to any one of several causes: to
the prominence of the Prohibitionists, to the disaffection of
Roscoe Conkling; or to Dr. Burchard's unfortunate allitera-
tion of "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion." All were made
scapegoats and were never forgiven by the admirers of the
154 Republican Party in Illinois
"plumed knight." The impartial historian, however, must
record the fact that enough votes were stolen in New York to
defeat Mr. Elaine, on the face of the returns, and give the
presidency to Grover Cleveland.
The Elaine electors carried Illinois by a plurality of 25,000
in round numbers. They received 337,469 votes; Cleveland
electors, 312,351; St. John, 12,074; Butler, 10,776.
The entire state ticket was elected by smaller majorities.
Oglesby received 334,234 votes; Harrison, 319,635. The
legislature was almost evenly divided in both houses.
The returns from the Sixth district of Cook county showed
that Rudolph Brand had received 6,696 votes and Henry W.
Leman 6,686. The state board of canvassers, however, re-
ported to Governor Hamilton that from statements and
affidavits presented with the returns, Leman really had a
plurality of 390, but in view of all the facts the board declined
to certify the election of either claimant.
Governor Hamilton decided that he had a right, under the
circumstances, of going back of the original returns. He
became satisfied that Leman had received a majority of the
votes polled and issued to him a certificate of election. Thus
Governor Hamilton thwarted a scheme, conceived after the
election, by which this one vote would have secured a Dem-
ocratic majority in the legislature and the election of a Demo-
cratic United States senator to succeed General Logan, and
probably changed the complexion of the United States senate.
Thus do trifles sometimes change the current of history.
The action of Governor Hamilton in converting a min-
isterial act into a judicial inquiry, was criticized in some
quarters at the time, but it was finally sustained by the legis-
lature, the press and the public.
Republican Party in Illinois 155
Illinois was represented in the Forty-ninth congress from
1885 to 1887, by ten Republicans and ten Democrats, as fol-
lows : First district, R. W. Dunham ; Second, Frank Lawler ;
Third, James H. Ward; Fourth, George E. Adams; Fifth,
Albert J. Hopkins; Sixth, Robert R. Hitt; Seventh, T. J.
Henderson ; Eighth, Ralph Plumb ; Ninth, Lewis E. Payson ;
Tenth, N. E. Worthington; Eleventh, William H. Neece;
Twelfth, James M. Riggs ; Thirteenth, William M. Springer ;
Fourteenth, J. H. Rowell; Fifteenth, Joseph G. Cannon;
Sixteenth, Silas Z. Landes; Seventeenth, John R. Eden;
Eighteenth, William R. Morrison ; Nineteenth, R. W. Town-
shend; Twentieth, John R. Thomas. Messrs. Dunham,
Adams, Hopkins, Hitt, Henderson, Plumb, Payson, Rowell,
Cannon and Thomas were Republicans.
The organization of the senate was completed January
7, 1885, by the election of William J. Canipbell, president for
a third term. The senate contained 26 Republicans, 24 Demo-
crats and one Greenback-Democrat.
The house was not so easily organized. There were 76
Republicans, 76 Democrats, with E. M Haines, independent,
holding the balance of power. Charles E. Fuller, of Boone,
was nominated for speaker by the Republican caucus ; Edward
L. Cronkrite, of Stephenson, was the Democratic nominee.
E. M. Haines was made temporary speaker. A permanent
organization was not effected until January 29, when the
Democrats, rinding they could not elect Cronkrite, voted for
Haines, and he was elected speaker. The final vote stood,
Haines, 78 ; Fuller, 74 ; and one, Haines, for Cronkrite.
The new state officials were inaugurated January 30.
"Uncle Dick" Oglesby had fulfilled his threat, made during
the campaign that he would "lam Carter Harrison out of his
boots, so help me God !" For a third time he took the oath of
156 Republican Party in Illinois
office as governor of this imperial state. This distinction has
been conferred upon no other public servant. The honor was
the more conspicuous because a period of twenty years had
elapsed between his first and third elections. It is given to
few men to retain this pre-eminence for such a period.
General John Corson Smith, the lieutenant-governor, was
born in Philadelphia, February 13, 1832. He became a
resident of Galena and from there enlisted as a private in the
Ninety-sixth regiment. At the close of the war he was brevet-
ted a brigadier-general. His civil and military career were
alike honorable.
One of the results of the November election was the pro-
longed and dramatic senatorial deadlock of 1885. General
Logan was about to complete his second term as United
States senator, and had been nominated by the Republican
caucus. The Democratic caucus nominated Colonel William
R. Morrison. The organization of the house had been delayed
so that the first ballot was not taken until February 10, and
there was no ballot in joint assembly until February 18, when
Logan received 101 votes; Morrison 94; Haines, 4; 3 scatter-
ing. Thus Logan lacked only one vote of election. Ballots
were taken February 19 and 20, t with practically the same
result. During the remainder of the month and throughout
March and April there was not a time when both parties
voted for senator on the same ballot. The view prevailed
that only the majority of a quorum, and not a majority of all
members elected, was necessary to an election. Thus there
was an ever-present fear that the absence of a member would
enable the enemy to elect a senator ; and one side and then the
other would refrain from voting in order to break the quorum.
As a matter of fact, however, no senator has ever been elected
Republican Party in Illinois 157
without the votes of an actual majority of all the members
being present and voting.
Three members of the legislature died during the session.
Representative Robert E. Logan, Republican, of the Nine-
teenth district, died February 26. Senator Frank M. Bridges,
Democrat, of the Thirty-seventh district, died March 20.
Special elections were held. Representative Logan was suc-
ceeded by a Republican, and Senator Bridges by a Democrat.
Thus the political complexion of the assembly remained un-
changed. The third death was that of Representative J.
Henry Shaw, Democrat, of the Thirty-fourth district. This
district was a Democratic stronghold, and it was taken for
granted that Shaw's successor would be a Democrat. Shrewd
Republican leaders, however, proposed a "still hunt" in the
district. A special election was called for May 6. The
Democrats nominated Arthur Leeper. The Republicans made
no nomination, and, to all appearances, proposed to allow the
election to go by default. A meeting of Logan's friends was
held at the Leland hotel in Springfield, at which the details
of the proposed strategy were completed. Among those in the
secret were Daniel Shepard, secretary of the state central
committee; Charles E. Fuller, a member of the house; and
Jacob Wheeler, then United States marshal, and formerly
of the Thirty-fourth district.
Hon. J. McCan Davis, clerk of the Illinois supreme court,
has given an interesting version of this unique strategy, in a
paper read before the Illinois State Historical Society in 1909.
A single paragraph is quoted : "A few days before the sena-
torial election, pursuant to the plan arranged in Springfield,
trusted emissaries were sent through the Thirty-fourth dis-
trict, some in the guise of stock-buyers, others as insurance
agents, others as sewing machine agents all with plausible
158 Republican Party in Illinois
excuses for being in the neighborhood. They visited Repub-
licans whom they could trust with the secret, and left with
them tickets bearing the name of Captain William H. Weaver,
a Republican of Menard county. Instructions were given that
the Republicans were to manifest the utmost indifference and
were to remain away from the polls until 3 o'clock or later in
the afternoon of the day of the election. Then they were to
go quietly to the polls and deposit the Weaver tickets."
The Democrats were off their guard, and were defeated
by this sleight-of-hand performance. Weaver was elected by
a majority of 336 votes.
May 14, the day before Weaver was to be sworn in, the
Democrats made a final effort to avert the inevitable. Every
member was present, and Morrison received 101 votes. The
Democrats then concentrated their strength on Judge Lambert
Tree, but without success. May 19 General Logan was
elected on the 120th ballot. He received 103 votes; Lambert
Tree, 96, and 5 scattering.
The triumph of General Logan was an event of national
significance, as Democratic successes in other states had made
the United States senate dangerously close. Congratulations
by hundreds were sent to General Logan from all parts of the
country. He had been the hero of many battles, and this
victory brought him to the pinnacle of his fame.
General Logan lived to serve less than one-third of his
last senatorial term. He died in Washington, D. C., Decem-
ber 26, 1886. Although he was only sixty years of age, his
career was one of remarkable achievement.
John Alexander Logan was born in Browsville, Jackson
county, Illinois, February 9, 1826. His father was Doctor
John Logan, after whom Logan county was named. The son
served in the Mexican war, enlisting in 1847 with the Fifth
JOHN A. LOGAN
Republican Party in Illinois 159
Illinois regiment. He was county clerk and prosecuting
attorney of Jackson county, and a Buchanan presidential elec-
tor in 1856. Logan's legislative career began in 1852, when
he was elected a member of the general assembly, and re-
elected in 1856. In 1858 he was elected member of congress
as a Douglas Democrat, and re-elected in 1860. He resigned
his seat in congress early in 1861, raised the Thirty-first
company of Illinois volunteers and was commissioned its
colonel by Governor Yates. His military career was brilliant
and he became a major-general. General Logan re-entered
congress in 1866, from the state at large, and was re-elected
in 1868 and 1870. He was elected United States senator in
1871 and re-elected in 1879. His defeat as a candidate for
the presidential nomination in 1884, and his failure of election
to the vice-presidency the same year, did not impair his prestige.
He was the author of "The Great Conspiracy" and "The
Volunteer Soldier of America."
General Logan was the greatest union general of the civil
war, who entered the service as a volunteer. His career in
civil life was equally honorable. As chairman of the senate
committee on military affairs he was in a position of great
power. The elements of his success are easily analyzed. His
physical bravery knew no fear; his intellectual honesty was
above suspicion; his moral heroism was noble. He had the
imperial will that characterized Stephen A. Douglas and the
same fearlessness in carrying a fight to a finish. A contem-
porary historian has said that, "without the logical power of
Douglas, the legal ability of Palmer, the eloquence of Yates,
or the invective of Oglesby, Logan was endowed with a certain
intellectual dash which always commanded attention." Logan
was the idol of the volunteer soldiers, and it was through his
initiative as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the
160 Republican Party in Illinois
Republic, that May 30 has been consecrated as Memorial
Day. Hereafter the reading of General Logan's order setting
aside this date will be made a part of Memorial day services.
This order was issued this year by Commander-in-chief
Trimble.
Illinois has duly honored the memory of her illustrious
son. In 1897 an equestrian statue was dedicated on the lake
front in Chicago. The Illinois legislature, in 1907, set apart
a room in the state house for the preservation of the mementoes
collected by General Logan and presented to the state by his
widow.
General Logan was a statesman, soldier, patriot, loyal
friend, and in his latest and best years a Christian gentleman.
The political events of 1 886 do not call for extended notice.
The Democrats held the first state convention of the year at
Springfield, August 26. Henry Francis J. Ricker, of Adams
county, was nominated for treasurer, and Franklin T. Oldt,
of Carroll, for superintendent of public instruction.
The Republican convention assembled September 1, and
nominated John R. Tanner, of Clay county, for treasurer, and
Richard Edwards, of Bureau county, for superintendent.
The platform opposed the ownership of land by non-resi-
dent aliens, endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment
concerning contract labor, and approved the inter-state com-
merce law proposed by Senator Cullom.
The Greenback party nominated John Budlong, of Win-
nebago, for treasurer, and Daniel L. Braucher for superinten-
dent. The nominees of the Prohibitionists were: For treas-
urer, Henry W. Austin, and Ulrich Z. Gilmer for superin-
tendent.
The Republicans elected their state ticket, with increased
pluralities over 1884. The vote for treasurer was as follows:
Republican Party in Illinois 161
Tanner, 276,680; Ricker, 240,864; Budlong, 34,821 ; Austin,
19,766. For superintendent of public instruction : Edwards,
276,710; Oldt, 246,782; Braucher, 34,701 ; Gilmer, 19,402.
The Republicans had a plurality of over 35,000, but were in
a minority of more than 18,000 in the state. The Republicans
also secured control of both branches of the legislature and
elected fourteen of the twenty congressmen. Illinois sent
the following delegates to the Fiftieth congress: First dis-
trict, R. W. Dunham; Second, Frank Lawler; Third, Wil-
liam E. Mason; Fourth, George E. Adams; Fifth, A. J.
Hopkins ; Sixth, Robert R. Hitt ; Seventh, T. J. Henderson ;
Eighth, Ralph Plumb; Ninth, Lewis E. Payson; Tenth,
Philip Sidney Post; Eleventh, William G. Gest; Twelfth,
G. A. Anderson; Thirteenth, William M. Springer; Four-
teenth, J. H. Rowell; Fifteenth, Joseph G. Cannon; Six-
teenth, Silas Z. Landes; Seventeenth, Edward Lane; Eigh-
teenth, Jehu Baker ; Nineteenth, R. W. Townshend ; Twen-
tieth, John R. Thomas. Messrs. Lawler, Anderson, Springer,
Landes, Lane and Townshend were Democrats.
The Thirty-fifth general assembly convened January 5,
1887. The senate was composed of 32 Republicans, 17 Dem-
ocrats, one labor member and one Prohibitionist. August W.
Bergren was chosen president pro tempore. He was a native
of Sweden, had served four terms as sheriff of Knox county,
and had entered upon his second term as senator.
There were 78 Republicans in the house, 66 Democrats,
eight labor members and one Prohibitionist, James Lamont,
of Winnebago county. The candidates for speaker were Dr.
William F. Calhoun, Joseph B. Messick, Charles E. Fuller
and David T. Littler. Dr. Calhoun was elected after several
ballots.
12
162 Republican Party in Illinois
The political event of the session was the election of a
United States senator to succeed General Logan. Charles
B. Farwell, John M. Hamilton, L. E. Payson, J. G. Cannon,
Thomas J. Henderson, Clark E. Carr, Green B. Raum and
H. C. Burchard received votes in the Republican caucus. Mr.
Farwell was nominated on the second ballot and was elected
January 18. William R. Morrison was the nominee of the
Democrats.
Mr. Farwell was born in Steuben county, New York, July
1, 1823. With his father's family he settled in Ogle county,
and in 1844 he removed to Chicago. In 1864 he became a
member of Farwell, Field & Company, which was later
known as John V. Farwell & Company. Mr. Farwell served
six years in congress. He was also given a certificate of elec-
tion to the Forty-fourth congress, but his seat was contested
by John V. Le Moyne, to whom it was awarded. Mr. Far-
well's experience in large business affairs made him a valuable
member of the senate.
February 22, 1887, there was a proceeding in the general
assembly for which there was no precedent. It was a joint
memorial service in honor of "our deceased distinguished
citizens, General John A. Logan and Judge David Davis."
CHAPTER XVI
HARRISON CAMPAIGN OF 1888 CULLOM RETURNED TO THE
SENATE REVERSES OF 1890 AND 1892 ELECTION OF
CLEVELAND AND ALTGELD PALMER CHOSEN SENATOR.
THE Republicans of Illinois and the nation organized
their forces early in 1888 to defeat the re-election of
Grover Cleveland to the presidency. Mr. Cleveland
had been the only Democrat elected to that office since James
Buchanan, thirty-two years before.
The Republican state convention met at Springfield, May
2. There were seven candidates for governor: Joseph W.
Fifer, John McNulta, Clark E. Carr, James A. Connolly,
John I. Rinaker, John C. Smith and Francis M. Wright.
Fifer led on the first ballot, and was nominated on the fifth.
Lyman B. Ray, of Grundy, was nominated for lieutenant-
governor on the second ballot. The office of secretary of state
was sought by I. N. Pearson, of Macomb ; Jasper N. Reece,
of Sangamon; W. F. Calhoun, of Dewitt, and Thomas C.
McMillan, of Chicago. Pearson was nominated on the fifth
ballot. There were ten candidates for auditor, and it required
six ballots to award the honor to Charles W. Pavey. George
Hunt was renominated for attorney-general by acclamation,
and Charles Becker was named for treasurer.
The platform was mainly devoted to an arraignment of
President Cleveland's administration. General Walter Q.
Gresham was endorsed as the candidate of Illinois for the
presidency.
163
164 Republican Party in Illinois
The Democratic state convention was held at Springfield,
May 23. John M. Palmer was nominated for governor;
Andrew J. Bell, lieutenant-governor; N. Douglas Ricks,
secretary of state; Andrew Welch, auditor; Charles H.
Wacker, treasurer; Jacob R. Creighton, attorney-general.
Although General Palmer had reached the age of three
score and ten, he made a vigorous canvass and secured a larger
vote than Carter Harrison four years previous.
The Democrats met in St. Louis June 6. Grover Cleve-
land was renominated amid great enthusiasm, and Allen G.
Thurman, of Ohio, was named for vice-president. The
Republicans met in national convention in Chicago June 20.
The principal candidates for president were Benjamin
Harrison, John Sherman, Walter Q. Gresham, Chauncey M.
Depew, Russell A. Alger and William B. Allison. Mr.
Harrison was nominated on the eighth ballot. Levi P.
Morton, of New York, was named for vice-president.
The main issue of the campaign was the tariff. Up to
this time Grover Cleveland had been a stranger to defeat in
his political ambitions. This fact spurred the Republicans
to a strenuous fight. The result was so decisive that the
dangers of 1876 and 1884 were averted.
General Harrison carried Illinois over Cleveland, al-
though he received a minority of all the votes cast. The result
was as follows: Harrison, 370,473; Cleveland, 348,378;
Clinton B. Fisk, Prohibitionist, 21,695 ; A. J. Streeter, Labor,
7,090.
For governor, Mr. Fifer fell behind the national ticket,
and General Palmer made a gain of about seven thousand
votes. The official figures were: Fifer, 367,860; Palmer,
355,313; Harts, Prohibitionist, 18,874; Jones, Labor, 6,394.
Republican Party in Illinois 165
The vote for the other Republican state officers did not differ
greatly from that cast for Harrison and Morton.
The Republicans obtained control of both branches of the
legislature, and elected thirteen congressmen, as follows:
First district, Abner Taylor ; Second, Frank Lawler ; Third,
William E. Mason ; Fourth, George E. Adams ; Fifth, A. J.
Hopkins; Sixth, Robert R. Hitt; Seventh, T. J. Henderson;
Eighth, Charles A. Hill; Ninth, Lewis E. Payson; Tenth,
Philip Sidney Post; Eleventh, William H. Gest; Twelfth,
Scott Wike; Thirteenth, William M. Springer; Fourteenth,
J. H. Rowell; Fifteenth, Joseph G. Cannon; Sixteenth,
George W. Fithian ; Seventeenth, Edward Lane ; Eighteenth,
William S. Forman; Nineteenth, R. W. Townshend; Twen-
tieth, George W. Smith. Messrs. Lawler, Wike, Springer,
Fithian, Lane, Forman and Townshend were Democrats.
Townshend died in office, and was succeeded by James R.
Williams, a Democrat.
The Thirty-sixth general assembly convened January 7,
1889. There were 35 Republicans, 15 Democrats and one
labor member in the senate. The Republicans thus had a
greater majority in this chamber than ever before. The
house was composed of 80 Republicans, 72 Democrats and
one labor member. These figures gave the party a larger
majority on joint ballot than at any session since 1871.
Theodore Chapman, of Jersey county, was elected pres-
ident pro tempore of the senate. Colonel Asa C. Matthews,
of Pike county, was the unanimous choice of the Republican
caucus for speaker, and he was elected over Clayton E. Crafts,
of Chicago, the Democratic nominee.
Colonel Matthews was born in Pike county, Illinois, and
was graduated from Illinois college in 1855. He enlisted as
a private in the 99th regiment of volunteer infantry, and in
166 Republican Party in Illinois
1864 became its colonel. In 1869 Colonel Matthews was
appointed collector of internal revenue for his district, and
retained the office until 1875. He was then made supervisor of
internal revenue.
Joseph W. Fifer was inaugurated governor of Illinois
January 14, 1889. He was born in Stanton, Augusta county,
Virginia, October 28, 1840. The family removed to McLean
county, Illinois, in 1857. The son enlisted as a private in the
Thirty-third regiment, and he has ever since borne the name
of "Private Joe." He was severely wounded in the assault
on Jackson, but he recovered and returned to his regiment.
After the war Mr. Fifer graduated from Wesleyan university
at Bloomington in 1868, and was admitted to the bar the
following year. He served eight years as state's attorney of
McLean county, and in this capacity he attained a high repu-
tation as a criminal lawyer. Mr. Fifer subsequently entered
the state senate, where he remained four years. He was an
able debater and an efficient and faithful executive.
Lieutenant-Governor Ray was born in Crittenden county,
Vermont, August 17, 1831, and had been a resident of Illinois
since 1852. In 1872 he was chosen a member of the house,
and in 1882 he was elected state senator and served four years.
He was an able and popular presiding officer.
Senator Cullom's first term expired March 4, 1889. The
absolute control by the Republicans in both houses made an
election of a successor an easy matter. Mr. Cullom was
renominated in the Republican caucus without a dissenting
vote, and without leaving his seat in the senate to make a
canvass. This fact had no precedent in the history of the
state. Senator Cullom was re-elected January 22 over Gen-
eral Palmer, the Democratic nominee. Each candidate re-
ceived the full vote of his party.
Republican Party in Illinois 167
Speaker Matthews' service as presiding officer of the
house was brief. His friends urged President Harrison to
appoint him commissioner of internal revenue. The president
was unable to make this appointment, but a short time later
he named Colonel Matthews for first comptroller of the
treasury. When the news reached Springfield the house took
a recess to congratulate Colonel Matthews. This tribute
came from Democrats as well as Republicans.
Colonel Matthews resigned the speakership May 10, and
was succeeded by James H. Miller, of Stark county.
One of the important acts of the legislature was the pas-
sage of a bill to create sanitary districts. The law was
intended primarily for the benefit of Chicago, and it was
under its provisions that the drainage canal was constructed.
A special session of the general assembly was called by
Governor Fifer to convene July 24, 1890, to enact legislation
made necessary by the selection of Chicago as the site of the
Columbian exposition. Four days before the legislature as-
sembled, speaker Miller died at Manitou Springs, Colorado.
William G. Cochran, of Moultrie county, was chosen his
successor.
The exposition was given the use of all state lands, includ-
ing parks, in and adjacent to Chicago. A resolution was
adopted providing for the submission of a constitutional
amendment, giving the city of Chicago the power upon con-
sent of her voters, to issue bonds to the amount of $5,000,000.
The proceeds from the sale of these bonds were to be turned
over to the managers of the World's Columbian Exposition.
The special session adjourned August 1.
The Republican party, not only in Illinois, but through-
out the nation, suffered in 1890 one of the periodical reverses
that are sure to come under representative government. The
168 Republican Party in Illinois
desire for a change will assert itself now and then with
irresistible force in individuals, communities and states. The
wisdom of the change may be challenged, but the fact remains.
The campaign was opened in Illinois by the Democrats,
with a state convention held at Springfield, June 3. Edward
S. Wilson, of Richland county, was nominated for treasurer,
and Henry Raab, of St. Clair, was named for superintendent
of public instruction. The convention made an innovation
by nominating General Palmer for United States senator.
The platform contained a plank which favored the election
of senators by a direct vote of the people.
The Republican convention was held at Springfield, June
24. General John M. McNulta was chosen permanent pre-
siding officer. Franz Amberg, of Chicago, was nominated
for treasurer on the second ballot. Dr. Richard Edwards
was renominated for superintendent of public instruction
without opposition
The platform declared for the Australian ballot system
and for amending the compulsory education law of 1889.
The Democratic state ticket was elected. Wilson had
a majority of 9,847 over Amberg for treasurer, and Raab led
Edwards by 34,042. The Democrats also elected a majority
of the members of the house. The Republicans, however,
retained control of the senate.
The greatest change was in the complexion of the con-
gressional delegation. The Democrats elected thirteen con-
gressmen ; Republicans, six ; while Lewis Steward represented
the Farmers' Mutual Benevolent Alliance.
Illinois was represented in the Fifty-second congress as
follows: First district, Abner Taylor; Second, L. E. Me
Gann; Third, A. C. Durborow, Jr.; Fourth, Walter C.
Newberry; Fifth, Albert J. Hopkins; Sixth, Robert R. Hitt;
Republican Party in Illinois 169
Seventh, Thomas J. Henderson; Eighth, Lewis Steward;
Ninth, Herman W. Snow; Tenth, Philip Sidney Post;
Eleventh, Ben T. Cable ; Twelfth, Scott Wike ; Thirteenth,
William M. Springer; Fourteenth, Owen Scott; Fifteenth,
Samuel T. Busey; Sixteenth, George W. Fithian; Seven-
teenth, Edward Lane ; Eighteenth, William S. Forman ;
Nineteenth, James R. Williams; Twentieth, George W.
Smith. Messrs. Taylor, Hopkins, Hitt, Henderson, Post
and Smith were Republicans. Steward was elected by the
Farmers' Alliance. Mr. Cannon was defeated for the first
time since he entered congress in 1872.
The defeat of the Republican party may be attributed to
the fact that the McKinley tariff bill had become a law only
a few weeks before the election, and thus the country was not
prepared to pass judgment upon its merits. Another factor
contributed to the result in Illinois. The disparity between
the majorities for Wilson for treasurer and Raab for superin-
tendent shows the opposition to the school law was the greatest
cause of Republican defection.
The Thirty-seventh general assembly convened January
7, 1891. There were 27 Republicans and 24 Democrats in
the senate, which was organized by the election of Milton W.
Matthews, of Champaign, as president pro tempore.
The house was composed of 77 Democrats, 73 Republicans
and three members of the Farmers' Alliance. Clayton E.
Crafts was elected speaker over David Hunter, of Winnebago,
the Republican nominee. Dr. Hosea H. Moore, of Wayne
county, received the vote of the Farmers' Alliance.
Mr. FarwelFs term as United States senator expired
March 4, 1891. The Democrats lacked two of a majority on
joint ballot in the general assembly, with the members of the
Farmers' Alliance holding the balance of power. These facts
1 70 Republican Party in Illinois
resulted in another prolonged senatorial deadlock. General
Palmer was the Democratic nominee, by virtue of his endorse-
ment at the preceding state convention. General Oglesby
was nominated at the Republican caucus. A. J. Streeter was
the candidate of the Farmers' Alliance.
On the first ballot every member of both houses was
present and voted, but there was no election. The struggle
continued until March 11, when General Palmer was chosen
on the 154th ballot. He received 103 votes, the exact number
required to elect him. Two of these were cast by Moore and
Cockrell, members of the Farmers' Alliance.
The campaign of 1892 resulted far more disastrously to
the Republicans than did the off-year election two years
previous.
The first state convention of the year was held by the
Democrats at Springfield, April 27, and resulted in the nom-
ination of the following ticket : Governor, John P. Altgeld ;
lieutenant-governor, Joseph B. Gill; secretary of state, Wil-
liam H. Hinrichsen; treasurer, Rufus N. Ramsey; auditor,
David Gore; attorney-general, Maurice T. Moloney; con-
gressmen-at-large, John C. Black and Andrew J. Hunter.
Under the act of congress, based on the census of 1890,
Illinois was entitled to twenty-two congressmen. The legis-
lature, however, had not made a new apportionment, and the
two additional congressmen were chosen from the state at
large.
The Republican state convention assembled at Springfield
in May. Congressman A. J. Hopkins presided. Joseph W.
Fifer was chosen for governor; Lyman B. Ray for lieutenant-
governor; Isaac N. Pierson, secretary of state; Charles W.
Pavey, auditor. All these were renominations. George W.
Prince was named for attorney-general; Henry L. Hertz,
JOHN M. PALMER
Republican Party in Illinois 171
treasurer; George S. Willits and Richard Yates, congressmen-
at-large.
A state convention of the People's party was held at
Danville, May 19. Its ticket was as follows: For governor,
Nathan M. Barrett ; lieutenant-governor, Charles G. Dixon ;
secretary of state, Frederick G. Blood; treasurer, John Me
Elroy; auditor S. C. Hill; attorney-general, Jesse Cox; con-
gressmen-at-large, Jesse Harper and Michael McDonough.
At the national convention of this party, James B. Weaver,
of Iowa, was nominated for president, and James G. Field,
of Virginia, for vice-president.
The Prohibitionists nominated Robert R. Link for gov-
ernor ; James Lament, lieutenant-governor ; John T. Killam,
secretary of state; Thomas S. Marshall, treasurer; Samuel
D. Noe, auditor; Alonzo P. Wright, attorney-general; con-
gressmen-at-large, Francis Andrews and James S. Felter. The
Prohibitionists in national convention nominated John Bid-
well, of California, for president, and James B. Cranfield, of
Texas, for vice-president.
The national Republican convention assembled in Minne-
apolis June 7. Governor William McKinley, of Ohio, pre-
sided. President Benjamin Harrison was renominated on the
first ballot. The vote was as follows : Harrison, 535 ; Me
Kinley, 182; Elaine, 181; Thomas B. Reed, 4; Robert T.
Lincoln, 1. Whitelaw Reid, of New York, was nominated
for vice-president. It is a fact worthy of note that fate closed
the door of the White House against the greatest three par-
liamentary leaders in American history : Henry Clay, Stephen
A. Douglas and James G. Blaine ; as well as against two
other of the greatest statesmen, Daniel Webster and William
H. Seward.
172 Republican Party in Illinois
The Democratic national convention assembled in Chi-
cago, June 21. Grover Cleveland was nominated for a third
time on the first ballot. Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, was
nominated for vice-president. The election of Mr. Stevenson
gave Illinois its first vice-president. He had served four years
in congress and was first assistant postmaster-general from
1885 to 1889, by appointment of President Cleveland.
The campaign was fought entirely on the tariff issue, and
resulted in the election of Mr. Cleveland.
The result in Illinois was a victory for the Democratic
national, state and legislative tickets. Eleven Republicans
and eleven Democrats were elected members of congress.
It was the first time since 1856 that Illinois had given its
electoral vote for a Democratic president, and not since 1852
had the state chosen a governor from that party. The Har-
rison electors received 399,288 votes, and the Cleveland
electors 426,281, a plurality of 26,993.
John P. Altgeld was elected governor by 425,558 votes,
over Fifer, who received 402,676 votes. Altgeld's plurality
was 22,882.
Illinois sent the following delegation to the Fifty-third
congress : For the state at large, John C. Black and Andrew
Hunter; First district, J. F. Aldrich; Second, Lawrence E.
McGann ; Third, A. C. Durborow ; Fourth, Julius Goldzier ;
Fifth, Albert J. Hopkins; Sixth, Robert R. Hitt; Seventh,
T. J. Henderson ; Eighth, Robert A. Childs ; Ninth, Hamilton
K. Wheeler; Tenth, Philip Sidney Post; Eleventh, Benjamin
F. Marsh ; Twelfth, John J. McDannold ; Thirteenth, W.
M. Springer; Fourteenth, B. F. Funk; Fifteenth, Joseph G.
Cannon; Sixteenth G. W. Fithian; Seventeenth, Edward
Lane; Eighteenth, William S. Forman; Nineteenth, James R.
Williams; Twentieth, George W. Smith. A feature of the
Republican Party in Illinois 173
election was the return of Joseph G. Cannon from the Fif-
teenth district. His Republican colleagues were Aldrich,
Hopkins, Hitt, Henderson, Childs, Wheeler, Post, Marsh,
Funk and Smith.
The factor which most greatly affected the general result
in Illinois was the defection of many German Republicans
in Chicago by reason of the compulsory school law.
The Thirty-eighth general assembly began its sessions
January 4, 1893. The senate was composed of 29 Dem-
ocrats and 22 Republicans. The house was composed of 78
Democrats and 75 Republicans. Clayton E. Crafts was
chosen speaker a second time over Edgar C. Hawley, of Kane
county. The political events of the session were the congres-
sional apportionment act of June 9, by which the state was
divided into twenty-two districts, and the senatorial appor-
tionment of June 15.
John P. Altgeld and the other state officers were inaugur-
ated January 10. Governor Altgeld was born at Selters,
Germany, December 1, 1847, and was the first governor of
Illinois of foreign birth. He came to America when quite
young and first resided in Ohio. He entered the union army
at sixteen years of age and after the war removed to Savannah,
Missouri. In 1875 he settled in Chicago and became one of
the judges of the superior court of Cook county.
The notable features of Governor Altgeld 's administration
were his pardon of the condemned Chicago anarchists and his
protest against President Cleveland's action in sending troops
to Chicago during the railroad strike of 1894. The course
of the president, however, was vital to the supremacy of
federal law over interstate commerce, and was approved by
his countrymen. Governor Altgeld's sincerity may not be
174 Republican Party in Illinois
questioned, but any extreme assertion of state's rights has
always been repudiated by the people of Illinois.
CHAPTER XVII
REVOLUTION OF 1894 MCKINLEY CAMPAIGN OF 1896
ILLINOIS A PIVOTAL STATE TANNER ELECTED GOVERN-
OR CULLOM RETURNED TO THE SENATE WILLIAM E.
MASON ELECTED SENATOR LYMAN J. GAGE IN MCKIN-
LEY'S CABINET.
HE absolute supremacy of the Democratic party in
Illinois was of short duration. From 1892 to 1894
T
"^ there occurred throughout the state and nation the
greatest revolution in political sentiment ever known in the
history of popular elections. Historians have not been able to
fully explain this sudden revulsion. Two factors, however,
may be briefly noted. The second inauguration of Mr.
Cleveland was followed by the severe financial stringency of
1893, which continued until 1897. The Wilson bill, a
Democratic tariff for revenue measure, became a law in the
summer of 1894, only about two months before the general
elections. President Cleveland not only refused to give his
signature to the bill, but he severely criticized the temporizing
policy by which the leaders in the house yielded to the senate
in all its contentions. The president's famous expression,
"party perfidy and party dishonor," was not without its moral
effect. Whatever the cause or causes, there was no mistaking
the fact that the country had quickly revolted against Demo-
cratic rule.
The campaign in Illinois opened in 1894 with the Demo-
crats on the defensive. They held their convention in Spring-
field in June. Bernard J. Claggett was nominated for state
175
176 Republican Party in Illinois
treasurer, and Henry Raab for superintendent of public in-
struction. Franklin MacVeagh was endorsed as a candidate
for United States senator.
The Republicans held their state convention at Springfield,
July 25. Henry Wulff was named for treasurer, and Samuel
M. Inglis for superintendent.
The People's party named John F. Randolph for treasurer,
and Lavina E. Roberts for superintendent. The Prohibition
candidates, named by petition, were: For treasurer, Howell
J. Puterbaugh ; for superintendent, N. T. Edwards.
The principal issue of the campaign was the tariff, as it
had been in 1892. The People's party devoted much attention
to the silver question and the government ownership of rail-
roads.
Henry Wulff, the Republican candidate for treasurer, had
a plurality of 133,427 votes over Claggett; while Inglis had a
plurality of 123,592 over Raab. In spite of the Democratic
apportionment, the Republicans regained control of both
branches of the legislature, and elected the entire delegation
to congress, except the members from the Third and Sixteenth
districts. Illinois was represented in the Fifty-fourth congress
as follows : First district, J. Frank Aldrich ; Second, William
Lorimer ; Third, Lawrence E. McGann ; Fourth, Charles W.
Woodman; Fifth, George E. White; Sixth, Edward D.
Cooke ; Seventh, George E. Foss ; Eighth, Albert J. Hopkins ;
Ninth, Robert R. Hitt; Tenth, Philip Sidney Post; Eleventh,
Walter Reeves; Twelfth, Joseph G. Cannon; Thirteenth,
Vespasian Warner; Fourteenth, Joseph V. Graff; Fifteenth,
Benjamin F. Marsh; Sixteenth, Finis E. Downing; Seven-
teenth, James A. Connolly ; Eighteenth, Frederick Remann ;
Nineteenth, Benson Wood ; Twentieth, Orlando Burrell ;
Twenty-first, Everet J. Murphy ; Twenty-second, George W.
Republican Party in Illinois 177
Smith. McGann and Downing were Democrats. McGann's
seat was contested and given to Hugh R. Belknap, a Repub-
lican. Philip Sidney Post died in office and was succeeded by
George W. Prince. Downing's seat was contested and given
to John I. Rinaker. Thus before the congress expired, Illinois
had a solid Republican delegation. Remann died July 14,
1895, and was succeeded by W. F. L. Hadley.
Mr. Cullom's second term as United States senator was
about to expire, and he was a candidate for re-election.
Having been repeatedly honored by the Republicans of the
state, he felt in honor bound to make an active canvass, al-
though he had very little hope of personal success. When it
became known that a Republican legislature had been re-
elected, opposition to Mr. Cullom developed within his own
party. George E. Adams and George R. Davis were aspirants,
but only twenty-one votes were cast against Cullom in the
Republican caucus. Mr. Cullom's campaign was managed by
John R. Tanner, who was then chairman of the state central
committee. Joseph Medill, of the Chicago Tribune, aspired
to a seat in the senate. He advised with Mr. Tanner and
asked him if he thought he could be elected if he could secure
the solid support of the Cook county delegation. Tanner
replied that Cullom could not be beaten; whereupon Medill
gave up the fight. Franklin MacVeagh, whom Cullom de-
feated, is now secretary of the treasury in the cabinet of a
Republican president.
The Republican party had made a good beginning in 1894
in wresting the legislative and executive departments of the
government from the control of its foes. It required only
another two years for the American people to re-learn the
lesson that all the prosperity they had enjoyed had come under
the reign of the protective principle; and that all the hard
13
178 Republican Party in Illinois
times suffered by them during the same period had been pre-
ceded either by a heavy reduction of duties on imports, or by
insufficient protection. Thus the campaign of 1896 was a
notable turning point in the political history of the nation.
The rank and file of the Republican party instinctively
looked to William McKinley as the most available candidate
for president. Influential party leaders in the east, however,
were determined to accomplish his defeat, and nominate
Speaker Thomas B. Reed. Their policy was to have several
states send delegations instructed for their "favorite sons,"
and thus make a break in the McKinley phalanx.
Illinois was regarded as the pivotal state. Leaders believed
that upon its action depended the fate of McKinley. The
people were for him, while a majority of the old party leaders
wanted a state delegation instructed for Cullom. The sen-
ator entered the presidential race in good faith, while Senator
Allison was the "favorite son" of Iowa. Mr. Cullom believed
at the time that if he could have received the support of Illinois,
as Allison had been supported by Iowa, that the McKinley
boom would have collapsed, and that either Cullom or Allison
would have been nominated. After the smoke of battle had
cleared away, Senator Cullom saw that he had been used in
the interest of Reed ; but he drew some comfort from the fact
that no combination could have defeated McKinley.
Mark Hanna may be called the "original McKinley man,"
so far as the work of organization is concerned. He began
his work in Illinois a year before the national convention.
There was a group of rising party leaders who were loyal to
McKinley, because they believed he was the choice of the
people. Mr. Hanna co-operated with these workers. Charles
E. Dawes was the recognized leader of the McKinley cam-
paign in Illinois. Mr. Dawes became comptroller of the
Republican Party in Illinois 179
currency, and is now president of the Central Trust bank in
Chicago. Among Mr. Dawes' associates were W. J. Calhoun,
now minister to China ; Howard O. Hilton, at present post-
master of Rockford ; William L. Diston, then of Quincy, now
surveyor-general of Alaska; Charles Page Bryan, now in the
diplomatic service, and Charles W. Raymond. This was the
situation when the campaign opened early in the spring.
The Republican state convention assembled at Spring-
field, April 29. State Senator Orville F. Berry was the per-
manent presiding officer. John R. Tanner, of Clay county,
then temporarily residing in Chicago, was nominated for
governor on the first ballot. He received 1,081 votes to 185
cast for Congressman A. J. Hopkins, of Kane, and 69 for
Dr. John W. Robbins, of Adams.
William A. Northcott, of Bond county, was nominated
for lieutenant-governor on the second ballot. Other nomina-
tions were: James A. Rose, secretary of state ;Henry L.
Hertz, treasurer; James McCullough, auditor; Edwin C.
Akin, attorney-general.
After these nominations had been made the convention
considered the matter of instructing the delegates to the
national convention. The oratorical honors were about evenly
divided between Charles E. Fuller, who is now representing
the Twelfth district in congress, and W. J. Calhoun. Mr.
Fuller argued that in view of Mr. Cullom's long and honor-
able career, and as a matter of state pride, Illinois should
instruct for her senior senator. Mr. Calhoun urged the
claims of McKinley. The result, however, had been predes-
tined from the first. McKinley received 832 votes, and Cul-
lom, 503. A resolution instructing for McKinley was then
adopted by acclamation. In view of the abolition of the "unit
rule" in 1880, this action only had the effect of re-affirming
180 Republican Party in Illinois
the action of the congressional districts, and McKinley received
all but two of the votes of the delegation at St. Louis.
The Democrats, in their state convention held at Peoria,
June 23, made the following nominations: Governor, John
P. Altgeld ; lieutenant-governor, Monroe C. Crawford ; secre-
tary of state, Finis E. Downing ; auditor, W. F. Beck ; treas-
urer, Edward C. Pace; attorney- general, George S. Trude.
The name of Andrew L. Maxwell was subsequently substi-
tuted for that of W. F. Beck for auditor.
The Independent Gold Democrats, Prohibitionists, Na-
tional party and Socialist Labor party also placed full state
tickets in the field.
The national Republican convention assembled at St.
Louis, June 16. Charles W. Fairbanks was temporary chair-
man, and John W. Thurston, of Nebraska, was permanent
presiding officer. William McKinley was nominated for
president on the first ballot. He received 6611/2 votes; Reed,
841/2; Allison, 35y 2 ; Morton, 58; Quay, 61l/ 2 . Garret A.
Hobart, of New Jersey, was nominated for vice-president on
the first ballot.
The currency plank was objectionable to a minority.
Twenty delegates filed a protest and seceded from the conven-
tion. Among these were Teller, of Colorado; Dubois, of
Idaho ; Cannon, of Utah, and Pettigrew, of South Dakota.
The Democrats assembled in national convention in
Chicago, July 7. The delegates were hopelessly divided on
the currency question, but the "sixteen to one" silver element
prevailed and the report of the committee on resolutions em-
bodied that principle. This convention was made memorable
by the spectacular appearance of William Jennings Bryan.
Although he had served one term in congress he was "to
fortune and to fame unknown" when the convention assem-
Republican Party in Illinois 181
bled ; when that body adjourned he was its nominee for pres-
ident. It was a remarkable scene, and was without precedent.
The "boy orator of the Platte," only thirty-six years of age,
electrified the vast assemblage by his famous "cross of gold"
speech and literally turned the heads and and won the hearts
of the delegates. A stampede followed, and Mr. Bryan was
nominated on the fifth ballot. Arthur Sewell, of Maine, was
nominated for vice-president on the fifth ballot.
The Gold wing of the Democratic party revolted from
the action of the Chicago convention, and nominated John M.
Palmer, of Illinois, for president. The Silver National party
met at St. Louis and endorsed the nominees and platform of
the Democrats. The People's party nominated Bryan for
president and Thomas E. Watson, of Georgia, for vice- pres-
ident. The Socialist-Labor party and the Prohibitionists also
placed tickets in the field.
At the outset the Republicans attempted to make the
tariff the sole issue, and in a sense it remained one of the most
important. The platform upon which Bryan had been nom-
inated declared for "free and unlimited coinage of both silver
and gold at the present legal ratio of sixteen to one," and
"that the standard silver dollar shall be a full legal tender
equally with gold for all debts, public and private." The
Republicans were therefore compelled to accept silver as an
issue. It was a comparatively new question; the people did
not understand it, but they took a lively interest in this cam-
paign of education and correctly settled the fate of silver.
An interesting feature of the campaign in Illinois was a
tour of the state by the "flying squadron" made by a special
train. The "squadron" comprised all living former governors,
Oglesby, Beveridge, Hamilton, Fifer and Cullom. The im-
portance of Illinois in the canvass was emphasized by the fact
182 Republican Party in Illinois
that the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic
national committees were located in Chicago.
William McKinley was elected president by 271 electoral
votes over Bryan, who received 176 votes. Notwithstanding
the number of tickets in the field, McKinley's plurality in
Illinois was 142,607, the largest ever given any presidential
or state ticket up to that time. His majority over all candi-
dates was 123,391. The banner Republican counties were
Cook, Kane and Winnebago.
Mr. Tanner's plurality for governor was 113,381. The
Republicans not only elected their entire state ticket, but they
secured majorities in both branches of the legislature, and
eighteen of the twenty-two congressmen. Illinois was repre-
sented in the Fifty-fifth congress as follows: First district,
James R. Mann ; Second, William Lorimer ; Third, Hugh R.
Belknap ; Fourth, Daniel W. Mills ; Fifth, George E. White ;
Sixth, Edward D. Cooke; Seventh, George E. Foss; Eighth,
Albert J. Hopkins ; Ninth, Robert R. Hitt ; Tenth, George
W. Prince; Eleventh, Walter Reeves; Twelfth, Joseph G.
Cannon ; Thirteenth, Vespasian Warner ; Fourteenth, Joseph
V. Graff; Fifteenth, Benjamin F. Marsh; Sixteenth, William
H. Hinrichsen ; Seventeenth, James A. Connolly ; Eighteenth,
Thomas M. Jett; Nineteenth, Andrew J. Hunter ; Twentieth,
James R. Campbell ; Twenty-first, Jehu Baker ; Twenty-sec-
ond, George W. -Smith. Messrs. Hinrichsen, Jett, Hunter,
and Campbell were Democrats. Edward D. Cooke died in
office and was succeeded by Henry Sherman Boutell.
An incident of 1896 was the death of Lyman Trumbull.
He died in Chicago June 25. Mr. Trumbull was a grand-
nephew of Governor Jonathan Trumbull, of Connecticut,
from whom the name "Brother Jonathan" was derived as an
appellation for Americans.
Republican Party in Illinois 183
The legislature convened in regular session January 6,
1897. There were 38 Republicans, 12 Democrats and one
member of the People's party in the senate. This branch was
organized by the election of Hendrick V. Fisher, president pro
tempore, and James H. Paddock, secretary. Edward C. Cur-
tis was elected speaker of the house, which consisted of 88
Republicans, 63 Democrats and two members of the People's
party.
John R. Tanner was inaugurated governor January 11
with "pomp and circumstance" far surpassing any similar
event in the history of the state. Governor Tanner was born
in Warwick county, Indiana, April 4, 1844. The family
removed to Illinois and John R. grew to manhood on a farm
in the vicinity of Carbondale. At the age of nineteen he
enlisted in the Ninety-eighth Illinois regiment. His father
and three brothers also served their country as soldiers. The
father died in a southern prison and is buried in an unknown
grave. Governor Tanner's public career began in 1870, when
he was elected sheriff of Clay county. From that time his
rise was rapid. He became clerk of the circuit court ; served
four years in the state senate; in 1883 he was appointed
United States marshal for the southern district of Illinois;
elected state treasurer in 1886; appointed a member of the
railroad and warehouse commission in 1891 ; later served as
United States sub-treasurer at Chicago, and in 1894 he was
chairman of the Republican state central committee.
The life and service of John R. Tanner have not always
been fairly estimated. He was a man of grievous faults ; but
he had his virtues, too. His convivial habits obtained the
mastery over him, and he was thus shorn of much of his
native strength. He became the leader of a political machine,
which was for a time a source of great influence, but which
184 Republican Party in Illinois
resulted in his final undoing. His approval of the famous
"Allen bill" undermined public confidence in him, although
there is no evidence that he personally profited by his official
action. But the ledger must be balanced. John R. Tanner
feared no man, and he always had the courage of his con-
victions. Throughout his public career he displayed executive
ability of a high order. He made friends and held them with
"hoops of steel." His mausoleum in Springfield, the finest at
the capital, with the single exception of the Lincoln monument,
is a perpetual witness to the devotion of those who knew him
best. Governor Tanner died in Springfield May 23, 1901.
After the organization of the two houses and the inaugura-
tion of the state officers, the legislature considered the election
of a United States senator to succeed General Palmer, whose
term would expire March 4. William E. Mason had been
a candidate since 1895, when he was defeated by Senator
Cullom. The other candidates were Robert R. Hitt, Martin
B. Madden, Clark E. Carr and Albert J. Hopkins. At the
formal caucus, held January 19, Mason triumphed over all
opposition, was nominated by acclamation, and elected the
following day. Former Governor Altgeld was the Democratic
nominee.
William E. Mason was born July 7, 1850, in Cattaraugus
county, New York. He graduated from Birmingham college,
in Iowa. Mr. Mason's residence in Illinois began in 1872,
when he engaged in the practice of law in Chicago. In 1878
he was elected a member of the legislature. Four years later
he was elected a member of the state senate. In 1886 he was
elected member of congress from the Third Chicago district
and re-elected in 1888. Mr. Mason is given the credit of
doing more than any other member of congress in securing the
great Columbian exposition for Chicago. He was the central
Republican Party in Illinois 185
figure during the decisive discussion, and the speaker of the
house declared Mason made the best speech of five minutes
he had ever heard. Mr. Mason enjoys a wide reputation as
a campaigner, and as a story-teller he has not been surpassed
since the days of Lincoln. He is the author of a book, "John,
the Unafraid," which was published anonymously and has
had a large sale.
The legislature, at this session, reduced the number of
judicial grand divisions of the supreme court from three to
one, and all the sessions of the court were required to be held
at Springfield in October, December, February, April and
June of each year. Since 1847, as provided by the constitution
adopted that year, the court had held its sessions "on wheels,"
convening alternately in Springfield, Mt. Vernon and Ottawa.
For the first time since the act of July 1, 1877, a judicial
apportionment act was passed, dividing the state into seven-
teen circuits, outside of Cook county. The judicial elections
of 1897 were held under this law.
A special session was convened December 7, 1897. The
political event of the session was the passage of a primary
election law. The legislature adjourned February 24, 1898.
Illinois was honored in 1897 by President McKinley, who
appointed Lyman J. Gage secretary of the treasury. Previous
to this time only three citizens of Illinois had held positions
in the president's cabinet. O. H. Browning was appointed
secretary of the interior in 1866, by President Johnson. John
A. Rawlins was chosen secretary of war by President Grant
in 1869, and Robert T. Lincoln entered Garfield's cabinet in
1881 as secretary of war. This brief list may be supplemented
by E. B. Washburne, who was secretary of state under Grant
for ten days; General Schofield, appointed temporarily to the
war department; and Judge Gresham, who was given the
186 Republican Party in Illinois
state portfolio from Illinois by President Cleveland. Judge
Gresham, however, was only domiciled in Illinois, and should
be credited to Indiana.
Mr. Gage had achieved a wide reputation as a financier,
in the capacity of president of the First National bank of
Chicago. He gave a successful administration of the treasury
department.
President McKinley had purposed to appoint Colonel
Thomas G. Lawler, of Rockford, commissioner of pensions;
but Mark Hanna had made a promise to H. Clay Evans,
of Kentucky. President McKinley appointed Abraham E.
Smith, formerly postmaster of Rockford, consul at Victoria,
British Columbia, where he has remained fourteen years.
CHAPTER XVIII
REPEAL OF THE "ALLEN BILL" JOHN HAY SECRETARY OF
STATE RICHARD YATES ELECTED GOVERNOR RE-ELEC-
TION OF MCKINLEY CULLOM RETURNED TO SENATE
HOPKINS CHOSEN SENATOR CANNON SPEAKER OF THE
HOUSE.
THE splendid victories achieved by the Republicans of
Illinois in 1894 and 1896 were continued in 1898.
The previous year a Republican congress had passed
the Dingley tariff act, a protective measure which stimulated
trade and manufacturing, and gave the party an extended
lease of power. The elections followed closely the termination
of the Spanish-American war, which had been successfully
prosecuted by President McKinley and a congress which sup-
ported him with remarkable unanimity. The American people
believed the sword had been drawn in a holy cause and this
fact was not without its influence upon the state elections
all along the line.
The Republican state convention assembled at Springfield,
June 14. Charles A. Works, of Winnebago county, was
temporary chairman and H. J. Hamlin, of Shelby county,
was permanent presiding officer. Floyd J. Whittemore, of
Sangamon county, was nominated for state treasurer by accla-
mation, and Alfred Bayliss, of La Salle, was named for super-
intendent of public instruction on the second ballot.
There was a long and spirited fight in the committee on
resolutions over the "Allen bill." Judge Carter, of Chicago,
led in the attack against this unpopular measure. A majority
187
188 Republican Party in Illinois
of the committee was friendly to Governor Tanner and
desired to have the matter ignored in the platform. Judge
Carter threatened to present a minority report and continue
the fight on the floor of the convention. The question was
referred to a sub-committee, which reported the following
resolution : "The Republican party will uphold the interests
of the people. To that end, if any legislative enactment is in
any way injurious to any part of the people of Illinois and
proves objectionable, a Republican legislature can be depended
upon to correct the same, in the interests of the people." The
resolution became a part of the platform.
This action averted the embarrassment to which Governor
Tanner would have been subjected had his championship of
the act been openly condemned. The platform endorsed the
war policy of President McKinley, the administration of
Governor Tanner and the course of Senators Cullom and
Mason in congress.
The Democratic state convention was held in Springfield,
July 12. Willard E. Dunlap, of Jacksonville, was nominated
for state treasurer, and Perry O. Stiver, of Freeport, for super-
intendent of public instruction. The Populists and Prohi-
bitionists also nominated full state tickets.
The campaign was without special incident. The Repub-
licans elected their state ticket, fourteen members of congress
and a majority in both branches of the legislature. Whitte-
more received 448,940 votes over 405,490 for Dunlap, Dem-
ocrat, for treasurer. Whittemore's plurality over all candi-
dates was 43,450.
Illinois was represented in the Fifty-sixth congress as
follows: First district, James R. Mann; Second, William
Lorimer ; Third, George P. Foster ; Fourth, Thomas Cusack ;
Fifth, Edward T. Noonan ; Sixth, Henry S. Boutell ; Seventh,
Republican Party in Illinois 189
George E. Foss; Eighth, Albert J. Hopkins; Ninth, Robert
R. Hitt; Tenth, George W. Prince; Eleventh, Walter
Reeves ; Twelfth, Joseph G. Cannon ; Thirteenth, Vespasian
Warner; Fourteenth, Joseph V. Graff; Fifteenth, Benjamin
F. Marsh; Sixteenth, William Elza Williams; Seventeenth,
Benjamin F. Caldwell; Eighteenth, Thomas M. Jett; Nine-
teenth, Joseph B. Crowley; Twentieth, James R. Williams;
Twenty-first, William A. Rodenberg ; Twenty-second, George
W. Smith. Messrs. Foster, Cusack, Noonan, W. E. Williams,
Caldwell, Jett, Crowley and J. R. Williams were Democrats.
In 1898 President McKinley appointed John Hay secre-
tary of state. He was born in Salem, Indiana, October 8,
1838. Although his earlier and last years were not spent in
the state, he was essentially a son of Illinois. Hay read law
in the office of Shelby M. Cullom and Milton Hay in Spring-
field. It was from this office that President Lincoln called
him to become one of his private secretaries. President Me
Kinley appointed Mr. Hay ambassador to England in 1897.
Upon Mr. Day's retirement from the state department the
following year, Mr. Hay was appointed his successor, and
continued to act as secretary of state in President Roosevelt's
cabinet until his death in 1905. Mr. Cullom says John Hay
was the most accomplished diplomat who ever occupied the
high position of secretary of state. Mr. Cullom's position as
chairman of the senate committee on foreign relations gives
significance to this estimate of his friend. Mr. Hay achieved
great distinction in carrying to triumphant conclusion his far
eastern diplomacy. He also negotiated the Hay-Pauncefote
treaty which made it possible to construct the Panama canal ;
and settled the Alaska boundary dispute with Great Britain.
Mr. Hay's great literary achievement was his Life of Lincoln
which he collaborated with John G. Nicolay.
190 Republican Party in Illinois
The legislature convened January 4, 1899. The senate
was composed of 34 Republicans, 16 Democrats and one
Populist. Walter Warder, of Alexander county, was chosen
president pro tempore. In the house there were 81 Repub-
licans, 71 Democrats and one Prohibitionist, Frank S. Regan,
of Winnebago. Lawrence Y. Sherman, of McDonough
county, was chosen speaker.
The legislature continued in session one hundred and one
days. This was the shortest regular session with the single
exception of 1875, since the adoption of the constitution in
1870. There was no political legislation. The "Allen bill"
was repealed; and although the law had been in force two
years, not a single street railway franchise was granted under
its provisions.
Two of Illinois' most famous orators passed away in 1899.
General Oglesby died at his home in Elkhart, April 24, at the
age of nearly seventy-five years. Senator Cullom in his vol-
ume of reminiscences says of him: "Governor Oglesby was
a remarkable man in many respects. Judged by the standards
of Lincoln and Grant, he was not a great man. In some
respects he was a man of far more than ordinary ability. He
was a wonderfully eloquent speaker and I have heard him on
occasions move audiences to a greater extent than almost any
orator, aside from the late Robert G. Ingersoll."
Colonel Ingersoll died July 21, only a few days before
his sixty-sixth birthday. His later years were not spent in the
state ; still he may be regarded as an Illinois man.
The gubernatorial contest opened in Illinois with Elbridge
Hanecy, Orrin H. Carter, Walter Reeves and Richard Yates
as avowed candidates. The state Republican convention as-
sembled in Peoria, May 8, 1900. Charles G. Dawes was
Republican Party in Illinois 191
temporary chairman, and former Governor Fifer was perma-
nent presiding officer.
The several candidates for governor had conducted aggres-
sive campaigns, and the outcome was decidedly uncertain when
the convention was called to order. There were 1,537 dele-
gates. Judge Hanecy led on the first ballot with 5731/2
votes. Carter followed with 359y 2 ; Reeves, 33 1 1 /^; Yates
272!/2. Two ballots followed without a choice. The decisive
break came on the fourth ballot, when the Hanecy forces
threw their strength to Yates. He received 971 votes and
was nominated. Carter's following went to Reeves, who
received 566 votes.
W. A. Northcott was nominated for lieutenant-governor ;
James A. Rose, secretary of state ; James S. McCullough,
auditor; M. O. Williamson, treasurer; H. J. Hamlin, attor-
ney-general.
Governor Tanner had announced that he would not be
a candidate for re-election, but aspired to succeed Cullom in
the senate. The principle of the popular election of senators
was recognized to the extent that both Cullom and Tanner
sought endorsement by the convention. In this rivalry Cul-
lom was an easy winner.
Congressman Hopkins was chairman of the committee on
resolutions. The platform declared that every pledge made
by the Republican party in 1896 had been fulfilled.
The Democratic state convention was held at Springfield
June 27. The following ticket was nominated : For govern-
or, Samuel Alschuler ; lieutenant-governor, Elmer E. Terry ;
secretary of state, James F. O'Donnell; auditor, George B.
Parsons; treasurer, M. F. Dunlap; attorney-general, James
Todd.
192 Republican Party in Illinois
Full state tickets were also nominated by the Prohibition-
ists, People's party, Socialist- Labor party, Socialist Democrats,
United Christian and Union Reform parties. All of these
parties nominated national tickets.
President McKinley's renomination in 1900 was a fore-
gone conclusion. The Dingley tariff bill had been endorsed
at the elections in 1898, and the president had prosecuted the
Spanish-American war to a quick and decisive issue. More-
over, McKinley was probably the most popular president who
ever occupied the White House.
The national Republican convention assembled at Phila-
delphia, June 19. President McKinley was renominated by
acclamation. Theodore Roosevelt, then governor of New
York, received every vote except his own for vice-president
on the first ballot. Roosevelt accepted the honor much against
his will, and in little more than a year became president.
Senator Platt, of New York, who prevailed upon Roosevelt
to go on the ticket, regretted his course to the day of his death.
Such is the irony of fate.
The Democratic national convention met at Kansas City,
July 4. William Jennings Bryan was renominated for pres-
ident, and Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, for vice-president.
Imperialism was the dominant issue of the campaign. By
the unforeseen fortunes of war, the United States had come
into possession of Porto Rico and the Philippines. This fact
meant abandonment of the traditional policy of isolation,
and assuming the position of a world power. The Democratic
party raised the issue of imperialism. Early in the year the
following resolution was introduced in congress: "Be it
resolved by the senate and house of representatives of the
United States of America in congress assembled, that the
Philippine Islands are territory belonging to the United
Republican Party in Illinois 193
States; that it is the intention of the United States to retain
them as such, and to establish and maintain such governmental
control throughout the archipelago as the situation may de-
mand." Congress adopted this resolution and thus the issue
was clearly defined.
The Democrats would have abandoned the silver issue,
but Bryan, who was master of the situation, would not allow
them to do so. Many gold Democrats voted for McKinley.
The tariff was scarcely discussed.
The Republicans elected their entire state ticket in Illinois
and a majority in both branches of the legislature. The con-
gressional delegation was evenly divided, eleven Republicans
and eleven Democrats. McKinley 's vote in the state was
597,985 ; Bryan's, 503,061 ; while Rev. H. M. Bannen, of
Rockford, who led the Prohibitionist candidates for electors,
received 17,626. McKinley 's plurality was 94,924, and his
majority 64,073.
Richard Yates received 580,199 votes for governor, to
518,966 for Samuel Alschuler, and 15,643 for Barnes. Yates'
plurality was 61,073 and his majority 33,570.
Illinois was represented in the Fifty-seventh congress as
follows: First district, James R. Mann; Second, John J.
Feeley; Third, George P. Foster; Fourth, James McAn-
drews ; Fifth, William F. Mahoney ; Sixth, Henry S. Boutell ;
Seventh, George E. Foss ; Eighth, Albert J. Hopkins ; Ninth,
Robert R. Hitt ; Tenth, George W. Prince ; Eleventh, Walter
Reeves; Twelfth, Joseph G. Cannon; Thirteenth, Vespasian
Warner; Fourteenth, Joseph V. Graff; Fifteenth, J. Ross
Mickey; Sixteenth, Thomas Jefferson Selby; Seventeenth,
Benjamin F. Caldwell; Eighteenth, Thomas M. Jett; Nine-
teenth, Joseph B. Crowley ; Twentieth, James R. Williams ;
Twenty-first, Frederick J. Kern ; Twenty-second, George W.
14
194 Republican Party in Illinois
Smith. Messrs. Mann, Boutell, Foss, Hopkins, Hitt, Prince,
Reeves, Cannon, Warner, Graff and Smith were Republicans.
The Forty-second general assembly convened January 9,
1901. The senate was composed of 32 Republicans and 19
Democrats. John J. Brenholdt, of Madison, was elected
president pro tempore. In the house there were 81 Repub-
licans and 72 Democrats. Lawrence Y. Sherman was re-
elected speaker.
Richard Yates was inaugurated governor of Illinois,
January 14. He is a son of Richard Yates, the famous war
governor. The Yates family affords the only instance in the
history of the state of the chief executive office being filled by
father and son. The younger Yates was nominated for gov-
ernor on the fortieth anniversary of his father's nomination
for the same office. He was born in Jacksonville, Illinois,
December 12, 1860. He was graduated from Illinois college
in 1880, from the law school of the University of Michigan
in 1884, and was admitted to the bar the same year. Mr.
Yates was city attorney of Jacksonville from 1887 to 1891,
and in 1894 he was elected county judge of Morgan county.
He was nominated for congressman-at-large in 1892, but was
defeated in the general Democratic landslide which swept over
the state. In 1897 he was appointed by President McKinley
collector of internal revenue for the central Illinois district,
which comprised forty counties. Mr. Yates has been active
in state politics since 1881. He has a winning personality
and is a good campaigner; he is true to his friends, and they
are loyal to him in return. Mr. Yates' administration was
creditable, but not eventful.
Mr. Cullom's fourth term as a United States senator was
about to expire and he was a candidate for re-election. Cul-
lom's endorsement by the state convention did not settle the
Republican Party in Illinois 195
contest, which was continued until he was nominated by the
legislative caucus. Senator Cullom had obtained a sufficient
number of written pledges from members of the legislature to
secure his election. This fact, however, was not known to
Congressmen Hitt, Cannon and Prince, all of whom were
candidates. The most aggressive aspirant was former Govern-
or Tanner. Senator Cullom, in his recent book, charges that
Tanner attempted to undo him by means of a secret ballot in
the caucus. This alleged plan was a failure. Hitt and
Cannon would not unite on Tanner against Cullom. The
result was the withdrawal of all other candidates from the
race. Senator Cullom's name was the only one presented to
the caucus, and he was re-elected. Cullom ventures the
opinion that if Tanner had remained loyal to him he would
have been renominated governor.
By the act of May 13, 1901, Illinois was divided into
twenty-five congressional districts. The first election under
this law was held in November, 1902. A new senatorial
apportionment was made by the act of May 10.
Six parties nominated state tickets for the off year 1902.
These were Republican, Democratic, Prohibitionist, Socialist,
Socialist-Labor and People's. At the Republican state con-
vention Fred A. Busse was nominated for state treasurer, and
Alfred Bayliss for superintendent of public instruction. The
Democrats nominated George Duddleston for treasurer, and
Anson L. Bliss for superintendent.
A light vote was polled at the November election, but it
resulted in largely increased Republican pluralities over 1900.
Busse received 450,695 votes for treasurer; Duddleston,
360,925 ; Truesburg, Prohibitionist, 18,434. Busse's plurality
was 89,770. The vote for superintendent was: Bayliss,
196 Republican Party in Illinois
442,505; Bliss, 359,430; Blanchard, Prohibitionist, 18,517.
Bayliss' plurality was 83,075.
The Republicans retained control of both branches of the
legislature and elected seventeen of the twenty-five congress-
men. Illinois was represented in the Fifty-eighth congress as
follows: First district, Martin Emerich; Second, James R.
Mann ; Third, William Warfield Wilson ; Fourth, George P.
Foster ; Fifth, James McAndrews ; Sixth, William Lorimer ;
Seventh, Philip Knopf; Eighth, William F. Mahoney; Ninth,
Henry S. Boutell; Tenth, George Edmund Foss; Eleventh,
Howard M. Snapp ; Twelfth, Charles E. Fuller ; Thirteenth,
Robert R. Hitt; Fourteenth, Benjamin F. Marsh; Fifteenth,
George W. Prince; Sixteenth, Joseph V. Graff; Seventeenth,
John A. Sterling; Eighteenth, Joseph G. Cannon ; Nineteenth,
Vespasian Warner ; Twentieth, Henry T. Rainey ; Twenty-
first, Benjamin F. Caldwell; Twenty-second, William A.
Rodenberg; Twenty-third, Joseph B. Crowley; Twenty-
fourth, James R. Williams; Twenty-fifth, George W. Smith.
Messrs. Emerich, Foster, McAndrews, Mahoney, Rainey,
Caldwell, Crowley and Williams were Democrats.
The legislature convened January 7, 1903. There were
36 Republicans and 15 Democrats in the senate. John C.
McKenzie, of Jo Daviess, was chosen president pro tempore.
The house was composed of 88 Republicans, 62 Democrats,
two Public Ownership, and one Prohibitionist.
The political event of the session was the election of
Albert J. Hopkins to succeed William E. Mason in the United
States senate. Mr. Hopkins was born in DeKalb county,
August 15, 1846. He was graduated from Hillsdale college
in 1870 and began the practice of law in Aurora, Illinois.
Mr. Hopkins was state's attorney of Kane county from 1872
to 1876. He was a candidate for the congressional nomina-
JOSEPH G. CANNON
Republican Party in Illinois 197
tion in 1882 in what was then the Fifth district. He was
defeated by Reuben Eliwood, of Sycamore. The writer
recalls the dejected spirit in which Mr. Hopkins addressed
the Elgin convention after the nomination of his rival. Mr.
Eliwood was re-elected in 1884, but died the following year.
Mr. Hopkins was elected to fill the vacancy, and remained in
the house eighteen years, until he was chosen senator. Mr.
Hopkins made an honorable record in the senate. He ren-
dered conspicuous service to Chicago in maintaining her right
to use water from Lake Michigan for the drainage canal.
It was not until 1903 that Illinois was given the privilege
of furnishing the speaker of the lower house of congress. This
honor was conferred upon Joseph G. Cannon, who was then
representing the Eighteenth district. Mr. Cannon is one of
the most unique characters in American public life, the last
of the frontier type of statesmen, of which Abraham Lincoln
was first. A few years ago Mr. Cannon dictated an auto-
biography to a Washington correspondent. He told his life
story in two sentences: "Cannon was born of God-fearing
and man-loving parents. He made himself and did a damn
poor job of it."
The historian cannot dismiss Mr. Cannon with such brief
mention. He was born in Guilford, North Carolina, May 7,
1836. He came to Illinois when a young man and began the
practice of law. He was state's attorney of Vermillion county
from 1861 to 1868. He entered congress in 1872 from the
Danville district and has continued in that office from that
day to this, a period of forty years, with the single exception
of one term, when he was defeated in the Democratic land-
slide of 1890.
Mr. Cannon, when he completes his present term, will
have served Illinois and the nation as a member of congress
198 Republican Party in Illinois
thirty-eight years. No other man in the history of the gov-
ernment has made such a remarkable record. A few years
ago the statement was made that of the twelve thousand con-
gressmen, only thirty-four had served twenty years or more.
The longest service was that of John H. Ketcham, of New
York, who served thirty-four years.
Mr. Cannon's career as speaker is also without precedent.
He has served four consecutive terms in the most influential
position under the government, with the single exception of
the president. No other speaker has served so many consecu-
tive terms. Henry Clay was speaker ten years, but his service
was divided into three periods.
Mr. Cannon possesses splendid ability. He is a strong,
courageous man, and like the typical Englishman, he does not
know when he is whipped. He has had a stormy career in
the speaker's chair, but he has always been masterful and in
full control of the situation.
CHAPTER XIX
PROLONGED GUBERNATORIAL DEADLOCK OF 1904 NOMINA-
TION OF DENEEN STRUGGLE TO SECURE DIRECT PRI-
MARY ELECTION LAW DEATH OF CONGRESSMAN HITT
CULLOM RE-ELECTED SENATOR.
THE gubernatorial contest in 1904 was the most mem-
orable and spectacular in the history of the state.
It began months before the state convention, and
ended in a deadlock which continued thirteen days. Governor
Yates had conducted one of his "whirlwind campaigns"
throughout the state, and was in the lead when the Republican
state convention assembled at Springfield, May 12. His most
formidable rivals were Charles S. Deneen and Frank O.
Lowden. Howland J. Hamlin, Vespasian Warner, Lawrence
Y. Sherman and John Pierce also had a small number of loyal
supporters. Speaker Cannon was chosen temporary chairman,
and Luman T. Hoy, of Woodstock, was permanent presiding
officer.
The first ballot, taken on Friday, May 13, resulted as
follows: Yates, 507; Lowden, 354; Deneen, 386; Hamlin,
121 ; Warner, 45 ; Sherman, 87.
The balloting continued daily for one week, with no
material change in the result. Yates maintained his lead,
and the other candidates continued in the same relative
position. At this juncture Congressman Fuller tried to cut
the Gordian knot by a plan to nominate first the candidates for
other state offices and leave the governorship until the close
of the convention. The proposition did not meet with favor.
199
200 Republican Party in Illinois
On May 20 the fifty-eighth ballot was taken, with the
following result: Yates, 483%; Lowden, 392%; Deneen,
385%; Hamlin, 113; Warner, 53; Sherman, 46; Pierce, 29.
With no prospect of a break of the deadlock in sight, the
convention adjourned until May 31.
The delegates reassembled in the hope that the recess
would afford the candidates an opportunity to effect a com-
promise and conclude the wearisome business. But it required
another four days to accomplish the work they were summoned
to perform.
The fifty-ninth ballot was taken on the day the conven-
tion reassembled, with the following result: Yates, 487;
Lowden, 396%; Deneen, 383%; Hamlin, 116; Warner,
41 ; Sherman, 50 ; Pierce, 28.
It was not until June 3 that the deadlock was broken.
On that day Governor Yates formally withdrew. He was
followed by Hamlin and Sherman, all of whom threw their
strength to Deneen, and he was nominated on the seventy-
ninth ballot. Deneen received 957% votes; Lowden, 522%;
Warner, 1; Pierce, 1.
The loyalty of the delegates to their respective candidates
was remarkable. Yates' ability to hold his friends until he
released them, on his own initiative, gave evidence of his force-
ful personality.
Lawrence Y. Sherman was nominated for lieutenant-gov-
ernor; James A. Rose, secretary of state; James S. Me
Cullough, auditor ; Len Small, treasurer ; William H. Stead,
attorney-general.
The platform re-affirmed adherence to the gold standard
and protective tariff, endorsed the administrations of President
Roosevelt and Governor Yates, commended the course of
Senators Cullom and Hopkins and the members of congress,
Republican Party in Illinois 201
paid a tribute to the diplomatic achievements of Secretary of
State John Hay, and urged the delegates to the national con-
vention to use all means to secure the nomination of Congress-
man Hitt for vice-president.
The Democratic state convention assembled at Springfield,
June 15, and nominated the following ticket: Governor,
Lawrence B. Stringer ; lieutenant-governor, Thomas F. Ferns ;
secretary of state, Frank E. Dooling; auditor, Reuben E.
Spangler; treasurer, Charles B. Thomas; attorney-general,
Albert Watson.
The thirteenth national Republican convention assembled
in Chicago, June 21, 1904, and continued in session three days.
Elihu Root, of New York, was chosen temporary chairman,
and delivered a speech of great power on the achievements of
the party. Joseph G. Cannon, speaker of the house, was
selected permanent chairman.
The nomination of a candidate for president was a mere
formality, yet it was performed amid great enthusiasm.
There were 994 delegates, and Theodore Roosevelt received
994 votes.
Charles Warren Fairbanks, of Indiana, was nominated
for vice-president by a unanimous viva voce vote. Before
this action was taken Senator Cullom withdrew the name of
Congressman Hitt, of Illinois, in response to instructions
received from that gentleman.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts, was chair-
man of the committee on resolutions. The platform was
adopted by a unanimous vote, without discussion.
At the Democratic national convention, held in St. Louis,
July 6, Judge Alton B. Parker was nominated for president
on the first ballot, and Henry Gassoway Davis, of West
Virginia, for vice-president by acclamation.
202 Republican Party in Illinois
The Republicans elected their state ticket by tremendous
majorities. Roosevelt received 632,645 votes, and Parker,
327,606. The socialist presidential electors polled 69,225
and the Prohibitionists, 34,770. Roosevelt's plurality was
305,039. The vote for governor was as follows: Deneen,
634,029; Stringer, Democrat, 334,880; Patton, Prohibition-
ist, 35,440; Collins, Socialist, 59,062. Deneen's plurality
was 299,149.
The Republicans retained control of both branches of the
legislature and elected a solid congressional delegation, with
the exception of Henry T. Rainey, in the Twentieth district.
Illinois was represented in the Fifty-ninth congress as follows :
First district, Martin B. Madden ; Second, James R. Mann ;
Third, William Warfield Wilson ; Fourth, Charles S. Whar-
ton; Fifth, Anthony Michalek; Sixth, William Lorimer;
Seventh, Philip Nnopf; Eighth, Charles McGavin; Ninth,
Henry S. Boutell; Tenth, George Edmund Foss; Eleventh,
Howard M. Snapp; Twelfth, Charles E. Fuller; Thirteenth,
Robert R. Hitt ; Fourteenth, Benjamin F. Marsh ; Fifteenth,
George W. Prince ; Sixteenth, Joseph V. Graff ; Seventeenth,
John A. Sterling; Eighteenth, Joseph G. Cannon; Nine-
teenth, William B. McKinley ; Twentieth, Henry T. Rainey ;
Twenty-first, Zeno S. Rives; Twenty-second, William A.
Rodenberg; Twenty-third, Frank L. Dickson; Twenty-
fourth, Pleasant T. Chapman ; Twenty-fifth, George W.
Smith. Congressman Hitt died in office and was succeeded
by Frank O. Lowden. Benjamin F. Marsh also died during
his term of office, and was succeeded by James McKinney.
The legislature convened in regular session January 4,
1905. The house was composed of 91 Republicans, 57 Dem-
ocrats, three Prohibitionists and two Socialists. Edward D.
Shurtleff, of McHenry county, was elected speaker. There
Republican Party in Illinois 203
were 42 Republicans and only nine Democrats in the senate.
Leon A. Townsend, of Knox county, was elected president
pro tempore.
Charles S. Deneen was inaugurated January 9, 1905.
All the other state officers took the oath at the same time.
Mr. Deneen was born at Edwardsville, Illinois, May 4, 1863.
He received his education in the public schools of the state,
at McKendree college, Lebanon, and in the Union College
of Law, Chicago. He taught school several years in Chicago,
until he was established in his profession as a lawyer. At an
early age he took an active interest in politics, local, state and
national. He represented his ward in the city and county
committees of his party for many years, and for ten years was
a member of the state central committee. In 1892 he was
elected a member of the general assembly from the Second
senatorial district in Chicago. In 1895 he was appointed
attorney for the Chicago sanitary board. The following year
he was elected state's attorney of Cook county ; was re-elected
in 1900 by a flattering majority and served until he was
elected to his present office.
Governor Deneen possesses executive ability of a high
order, and has given Illinois two administrations distinguished
by many notable achievements. The affairs of the state have
been conducted on business principles, as never before. One
of his most notable victories was the passage of a civil service
law in 1905, which was amended in 1911. It now embraces
4,700 out of a total of 5,500 state employes, or eighty per
cent of the entire public service.
Lawrence Y. Sherman, the lieutenant-governor, was born
in Miami county, Ohio, November 8, 1858. He was gradu-
ated from McKendree college, and after teaching school sev-
eral years began the practice of law at Macomb, in Me
204 Republican Party in Illinois
Donough county, in 1882. He has served the people as city
attorney of Macomb, county judge of McDonough county,
and as representative in the general assembly four consecutive
terms. He was speaker of the house during the Forty-first
and Forty-second general assemblies.
Mr. Sherman is one of the keenest intellects in the public
service of Illinois today. He is a commoner of the old school ;
he has kept in touch with the people, and believes in them, in
their sense of justice and the accuracy of their judgment. He
is an able debater and a constructive statesman. Mr. Sher-
man now holds the responsible position of president of the
state board of administration.
It is only within recent years that attempts have been made
in this state to control primary elections by law. Formerly
all nominations of candidates for office were made by volun-
tary caucuses, or by primary elections held solely under the
direction of the committees or managers of the several parties.
In theory, no person not affiliated with a party could vote in
its caucuses. As a matter of fact, however, such primary
elections were often dominated in whole or in part by voters
not in actual sympathy with such party. Delegates often
found themselves unable to carry out in convention the pledges
given the voters at the primaries, by the dictation of party
leaders. The abuse became notorious before corrective meas-
ures were devised.
Governor Deneen is entitled to great credit for his per-
sistent efforts to secure a primary election law. Each one of
the four laws enacted during Deneen's administrations was
passed by Republican votes ; hence the present statute, which
is the outcome of previous experiments, may be regarded as
a distincively Republican measure.
Republican Party in Illinois 205
The first sentence in Governor Deneen's first inaugural
message declared: "Our state needs a compulsory primary
election law." Before referring to the several direct primary
laws enacted after Deneen became governor, previous legis-
lation on the subject may be briefly reviewed.
The first attempt to regulate the holding of party caucuses
was made in 1885. In the city election law of that year,
parties were recognized in the selection of the board of elec-
tion commissioners in Chicago and in the appointment of
judges and clerks. A separate law was enacted the same
year, which made it unlawful for any one to vote at a primary
election or caucus unless he was at the time a qualified voter
under the general election laws of the state.
In 1889 an effort was made to regulate the entire pro-
cedure of nominating candidates for office ; but this law was
not compulsory upon political parties. Its use was made
optional by the committees. When the Australian ballot
system was adopted in 1891, the law for the first time assumed
control of many details of elections. It regulated in a general
way the nomination of candidates for elective offices. Excep-
tions were made in the case of certain school officers, and road
officers not under township organization.
The first compulsory primary law was enacted in 1898.
It directly applied only to Cook county, although it author-
ized any county, city or incorporated town to adopt it by vote.
It was so adopted in some cities and counties. In 1899 a law
was passed regulating primary elections; but it applied only
to counties having less than 125,000 population, which meant
the entire state outside of Cook county. It was to be in force
only when adopted by popular vote. It was thus adopted in
several counties. In 1901 an act was passed amending the
law of 1898 and extending its provisions.
206 Republican Party in Illinois
None of these laws were intended to secure a direct vote
of a party upon the nomination of its candidates for office.
The law's control was applied to the selection of party dele-
gates and their action in conventions.
Agitation for direct primaries began prior to the act of
1901. In 1904 the question whether such a law should be
passed was submitted to the people, who voted in favor of
such a law. Drafts of law T s were prepared, and one was
introduced in the legislature in 1905 ; but it was not adopted,
nor was the principle of direct nominations recognized in the
primary election law of that year.
The primary law of May 18, 1905, was the first which
applied to and was compulsory upon, the entire state. A
separate system was created by this law, which applied directly
to elections in Cook county. The vote in the general assembly
was as follows: House of representatives, for the bill:
Republicans, 84 ; Democrats, 28 ; against the bill : Democrats,
18; Prohibitionists, 1; Socialists, 1. In the senate, for the
bill : Republicans, 40 ; Democrats, 1 ; against the bill : Repub-
licans, 1 ; Democrats, 3.
This law was declared unconstitutional by the supreme
court, April 5, 1906, on four essential points, as follows:
That it contained provisions by which the legislature attempt-
ed to delegate part of its legislative functions to political
organizations in that it allowed county managing committees
outside of Chicago to decide whether nominations under the
law should be by pluralities or majorities; that it required the
payment of a fee from the man desiring to be a candidate for
the office, thus discriminating between the man who has money
to pay and the man who has not ; that it made a new qualifica-
tion necessary for candidates for the state legislature, in the
provision that but one candidate might be nominated from
CHARLES S. DEN HEX
Republican Party in Illinois 207
any one county in a senatorial district, thus setting up a
geographical qualification not recognized by the constitution ;
that it made one set of requirements for one part of the state,
and another for another, and that it was in reality two laws
in one. No state election was ever held under this law. The
supreme court declared the primary act of 1901 to be still in
force.
Within six hours after the supreme court had rendered its
decision, Governor Deneen issued a call for a special session
of the general assembly to convene April 10. Another pri-
mary election bill passed the house by a vote of 77 to 61. All
the affirmative votes were cast by Republicans, except one,
a Prohibitionist. The negative votes were given by 56 Dem-
ocrats and 5 Republicans. There was no opposition in the
senate. The law was approved May 23, and went into effect
July 1, 1906. Under this law the primaries of all parties
were held on the same day in all parts of the state. Two
ballots were used. One contained the names of all candidates
for nomination ; the other contained the names of the delegates
to the convention. The vote on the official ballot served as
instructions to the delegations, but they were binding only
for one roll call. Primary elections were held under this law
in August, 1906. A direct vote was also taken at that time
for candidates for a United States senator, to fill the vacancy
arising March 4, 1907.
This law was also declared unconstitutional by the
supreme court October 2, 1907. Six of the seven justices
concurred in the opinion. Justice Carter dissented. The
main contention against the law was that it invested county
central committees with power to create delegate districts,
which is the exclusive function of a duly organized legislative
body.
208 Republican Party in Illinois
October 8, 1907, Governor Deneen addressed to the gen-
eral assembly, then in special session, a message urging the
enactment of a third primary law. During a legislative recess,
Governor Deneen made a personal campaign in fifty-three
counties. The legislature enacted a law which was approved
February 21, 1908. The primaries of that year were held
under this law. June 16, 1909, the supreme court declared
this law unconstitutional. A fatal objection to the law was
that it invested senatorial committees with power to determine
the number of representatives to be nominated in a district.
Governor Deneen was persistent. December 11, 1909,
he re-convened the legislature in special session. A fourth
direct primary law was passed, which has been upheld by the
supreme court. This in brief is the story of the struggle for
a compulsory, state-wide primary election law in Illinois.
The campaign of 1906 was anomalous. It marked the
passing of the old convention system, which had prevailed
since the organization of political parties in Illinois. It was
also during this year that the first imperfect experiment was
made in direct primary elections.
These primaries were held throughout the state August 4.
They included an advisory vote on United States senator.
Shelby M. Cullom and Richard Yates were candidates, and
the venerable senator proved an easy winner, although Mr.
Yates made a vigorous canvass.
The Republican state convention assembled at Springfield
August 21. Senator O. F. Berry was temporary chairman,
and Speaker Shurtleff permanent presiding officer. The pri-
mary law released the delegates from their instructions after
the first ballot; so this convention actually nominated the
state ticket. John F. Smulski was nominated for state treas-
urer on the second ballot over Andrew J. Russel. Francis
Republican Party in Illinois 209
Blair was nominated for superintendent on the second ballot.
The Democrats, in state convention at Peoria, August 22,
nominated Nicholas L. Piotrowski for treasurer, and Caroline
Grote for superintendent. The Prohibitionist, Socialist and
Socialist-Labor parties also nominated state tickets.
During the campaign the state suffered a great loss in the
death of Congressman Hitt. This distinguished statesman
died at his summer home in Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island,
September 20. Mr. Hitt's congressional career was long and
honorable. He was first elected to succeed Robert M. A.
Hawk, who died suddenly in 1882, and he was returned at
every election until his death, a period of 24 years. Mr. Hitt
was a native of Ohio, and came with his parents to Ogle
county, Illinois, at an early age. His first public service was
as official stenographer for the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Mr.
Hitt had a varied diplomatic experience. He was secretary
of the United States legation in Paris in 1874. He remained
there until 1881, when he became assistant secretary of state.
He was chairman of the committee on foreign relations in the
Fifty-sixth congress. In 1898 President McKinley appointed
him a member of the commission to establish the government
of Hawaii on its annexation to the United States. Mr. Hitt
was Secretary Elaine's most intimate friend, and there is a
tradition that Elaine never decided a diplomatic question
without consulting the Illinois congressman.
The November elections resulted in a victory for the
Republicans on state, congressional and legislative tickets.
Smulski had a plurality of 145,960 over Piotrowski.
Illinois was represented in the Sixtieth congress as follows :
First district, Martin B. Madden ; Second, James R. Mann ;
Third, William W. Wilson ; Fourth, James T. McDermott :
Fifth, Adolph J. Sabath; Sixth, William Lorimer; Seventh,
15
210 Republican Party in Illinois
Philip Knopf; Eighth, Charles McGavin; Ninth, Henry S.
Boutell; Tenth, George Edmund Foss; Eleventh, Howard
M. Snapp; Twelfth, Charles E. Fuller; Thirteenth, Frank
O. Lowden; Fourteenth, James McKinney; Fifteenth, George
W. Prince; Sixteenth, Joseph V. Graff; Seventeenth, John
A. Sterling; Eighteenth, Joseph G. Cannon; Nineteenth,
William B. McKinley ; Twentieth, Henry T. Rainey ; Twen-
ty-first, Benjamin F. Caldwell ; Twenty-second, William A.
Rodenberg; Twenty-third, Martin D. Foster; Twenty-
fourth, Pleasant T. Chapman; Twenty-fifth, George W.
Smith. Messrs. McDermott, Sabath, Rainey, Caldwell and
Foster were Democrats. Congressman Smith died in office
and was succeeded by N. B. Thistlewood.
The legislature convened January 9, 1907. There were
89 Republicans in the house, 61 Democrats and three Prohi-
bitionists. Edward D. Shurtleff was re-elected speaker. The
senate was composed of 44 Republicans and 7 Democrats.
Stanton C. Pemberton was chosen president pro tempore.
The political event of the session was the re-election of
Shelby M. Cullom United States senator. He was the unan-
imous choice of the Republican caucus, and received every vote
in his party on joint ballot.
CHAPTER XX
CAMPAIGN OF 1908 WILLIAM LORIMER ELECTED SENATOR
CORRUPTION SCANDAL MEMBERS OF LEGISLATURE
CONFESS ACCEPTING BRIBES LORIMER EXPELLED FROM
THE UNITED STATES SENATE.
THE first notable event in the campaign of 1908 in
Illinois was the national Republican convention,
which assembled in Chicago, June 16. President
Roosevelt had repeatedly declared that he would not be a
candidate for re-election. In spite of his persistent declara-
tions, he was the first choice of the convention and would have
been nominated had he given the slightest encouragement.
The president, on the contrary, had chosen William Howard
Taft, of Ohio, as his political heir, and such was his influence
with his party that his choice was promptly ratified. Mr.
Taft was nominated for president on the first ballot. James
Schoolcraft Sherman, a member of congress from the Twenty-
seventh New York district, was nominated for vice-president.
Senator Albert J. Hopkins, of Illinois, was chairman of the
committee on resolutions.
The national Democratic convention was held in Denver,
July 7. William Jennings Bryan was nominated for president
for a third time on the first ballot, and John W. Kern, of
Indiana, was named for vice-president. The Prohibitionist,
Socialist, Socialist-Labor, Independent, United Christian and
People's parties also nominated presidential tickets.
The first primary election in Illinois for the nomination
of a full state ticket was held August 8, 1908. It was the
211
212 Republican Party in Illinois
only state-wide primary ever held under this law, which was
declared unconstitutional the following year. The candidates
for governor were Charles S. Deneen and Richard Yates.
There were five aspirants for lieutenant-governor: John G.
Oglesby, George Shumway, Thomas D. Knight, Samuel J.
Drew and Frank L. Smith. The office of secretary of state
was sought by James A. Rose, Fred E. Sterling, John J.
Brown, Bert H. McCann and William F. Lynch. The two
candidates for auditor were James S. McCullough and J. W.
Templeton. Andrew Russel was the only candidate for treas-
urer, and W. H. Stead for attorney-general. The vote for
clerk of the supreme court was divided among seven candi-
dates: Christopher Mamer, J. McCan Davis, Edgar T.
Davies, Albert D. Calwalader, James Kinney, George W.
Fisher and George R. S. Hoffman.
Mr. Deneen's plurality over Yates for governor was
1 1 ,949. John G. Oglesby, a son of the late Governor Richard
J. Oglesby, received the highest vote for lieutenant-governor ;
James A. Rose for secretary of state; James S. McCullough
for auditor ; Andrew Russel received the full vote of the party
for treasurer, and William H. Stead for attorney-general.
Albert J. Hopkins received a plurality of the advisory popular
vote for United States senator over William E. Mason,
George Edmund Foss and W. G. Webster. J. McCan Davis
received the highest vote for clerk of the supreme court.
The Democratic primaries resulted in the choice of Adlai
E. Stevenson for governor; Elmer A. Perry, lieutenant-gov-
ernor ; X. F. Beidler, secretary of state ; Ralph Jeffris, auditor ;
John B. Mount, treasurer; Ross C. Hall, attorney-general;
John L. Pickering, clerk of the supreme court.
The Republican state convention assembled at Springfield,
September 9, to nominate four trustees for the University of
Republican Party in Illinois 213
Illinois, select presidential electors and adopt a platform.
Speaker Cannon presided and made a speech, in which he said
this republic was not worth three hurrahs in Hades if it has
privileged classes, rich or poor, wise or otherwise.
The platform approved the administrations of President
Roosevelt and Governor Deneen, commended Senator Hop-
kins and approved the plan for lakes-to-the-gulf waterway.
At the November elections the Taft electors received
629,932 votes in Illinois; Bryan, 450,810. Taft's plurality
was 179,122. Deneen's plurality over Stevenson for governor
was 23,164. Both branches of the legislature were Repub-
lican, and the party elected nineteen of the twenty-five con-
gressmen. Illinois was represented in the Sixty-first congress
as follows : First district, Martin B. Madden ; Second, James
R. Mann; Third, William W. Wilson; Fourth, James T.
McDermott ; Fifth, Adolph J. Sabath ; Sixth, William Lor-
imer; Seventh, Fred Lundin; Eighth, Thomas Gallagher;
Ninth, Henry S. Boutell; Tenth, George Edmund Foss;
Eleventh, Howard M. Snapp; Twelfth, Charles E. Fuller;
Thirteenth, Frank O. Lowden ; Fourteenth, James McKin-
ney; Fifteenth, George W. Prince; Sixteenth, Joseph V.
Graff: Seventeenth, John A. Sterling; Eighteenth, Joseph
G. Cannon ; Nineteenth, William B. McKinley ; Twentieth,
Henry T. Rainey ; Twenty-first, James M. Graham ; Twen-
ty-second, William A. Rodenberg; Twenty-third, Martin
D. Foster; Twenty- fourth, Pleasant T. Chapman; Twenty-
fifth, N. B. Thistlewood. Messrs. McDermott, Gallagher,
Rainey, Graham, Foster and Sabath were Democrats.
A referendum vote was taken on the proposition to amend
the constitution to permit an issue of bonds not to exceed
$20,000,000 for the construction of a deep waterway between
Lockport and Utica, and for the equipment and maintenance
214 Republican Party in Illinois
of dams, locks, bridges and power plants. The amendment
was carried by a vote of 692,822 to 195,177. A proposition
to amend the general banking law was adopted by a vote of
473,755 to 108,553.
The legislature convened January 6, 1909. There were
38 Republicans and 11 Democrats in the senate, and 89
Republicans and 64 Democrats in the house. E. D. Shurtleff
was a candidate for re-election as speaker, but he had broken
with Governor Deneen and could not secure full Republican
support. His friends formed a bi-partisan alliance with the
Democrats, struck a bargain for committeeships, and Shurtleff
was elected.
January 19 the legislature began the task of electing a
United States senator. Mr. Hopkins' term would expire
March 4. He had been endorsed at the primaries the preced-
ing August, and this fact gave him a moral claim to another
term. But he could not command the votes. A deadlock
continued until May 26, when William Lorimer was elected
senator on the ninety-fifth ballot by a second bi-partisan
alliance. He received 108 votes, 55 Republican and 53
Democratic. Mr. Lorimer had represented a Chicago district
in congress continuously since 1895, with the exception of two
years, from 1891 to 1893. He was the son of a Presbyterian
clergyman, and was born in Manchester, England. His
father came to America and died a few years later. The son
began life as a bootblack and newsboy and later he became a
street car conductor.
April 30, 1910, the Chicago Tribune published a confes-
sion of Charles A. White, a Democratic representative from
the Forty-ninth district, that he had received $1,000 from
Lee O'Neil Browne for his vote for Mr. Lorimer. May 5,
H. J. C. Beckemeyer, a Democrat, representing the Forty-
Republican Party in Illinois 215
second district, made a similar confession. Two days later,
Michael S. Link, a Democratic representative from the Forty-
seventh district, also confessed that he had received the same
amount. Lee O'Neil Browne resided at Ottawa, and repre-
sented the Thirty-ninth district as a Democrat. He was
promptly indicted for bribery by the Cook county grand jury.
The first trial ended in a disagreement of the jury, and the
second trial resulted September 9 in his acquittal. Mean-
while, May 28, 1910, State Senator Holstlaw confessed be-
fore the grand jury in Sangamon county that he had received
$2,500 for his vote for Lorimer.
These charges demanded the attention of the United
States senate, which has exclusive authority to determine the
rights of claimants to their seats. A dramatic incident
occurred September 8, when Theodore Roosevelt, who was
then at Freeport, Illinois, sent a message to the Hamilton
club in Chicago, declining to attend its banquet in the evening
if Senator Lorimer was to be a guest of honor. The com-
mittee promptly recalled the invitation extended to Senator
Lorimer, and Colonel Roosevelt attended the function. The
investigating committee, which had been announced in June,
began its inquiry September 20, in Chicago, and finished
October 8. Senator Burrows, of Michigan, was chairman.
December 12 a sub-committee submitted a report which
exonerated Mr. Lorimer. His title to his seat was vindicated
on the ground that, while there was bribery, there was not
sufficient bribery proved to destroy his majority of fourteen
votes. A minority of the committee, headed by Senator
Beveridge, reported January 9, 1911, that Mr. Lorimer was
not legally elected.
February 22 Senator Lorimer made a remarkable speech
in the senate. He met the issue squarely and said it was not
216 Republican Party in Illinois
a matter of sympathy, but of right or wrong. The speech was
a masterpiece of human interest, and several of his colleagues
were moved to tears.
March 1, 1911, the senate, by a vote of forty-six to forty,
declared that Mr. Lorimer had been duly elected a member
of the United States senate. Senator Cullom upheld his
colleague's right to his seat.
While the senatorial inquiry was in progress, the people
of Illinois were determined to know the truth of the scandal.
January 4, 1911, the Illinois state senate appointed a com-
mittee, under the leadership of Senator Helm, to investigate
charges of corruption in the election of Mr. Lorimer. On the
following day D. W. Holstlaw resigned as a member of the
senate. The most sensational feature of the Helm inquiry
developed April 6, when C. S. Funk testified before the
committee that Edward Hines asked the International Har-
vester Company to contribute $10,000 toward a fund of
$100,000 that had been spsnt in electing Lorimer. May 17
the Helm committee unanimously reported its conclusion that
Lorimer would not have been elected except by bribery and
corruption. On the following day, the senate, by a vote of
thirty-nine to ten, declared its belief that Lorimer had been
elected by corruption.
The incoming of a new congress, with changes in the
senate, made it possible to reopen the inquiry. Senator Lor-
imer's friends pressed the technical point of "res adjudicata."
This means that a case, having been adjudicated, is not subject
to re-hearing. But the senate would not apply the principle
in this case. April 6, Senator La Follette introduced a resolu-
tion to reopen the Lorimer case; and June 1 the senate
unanimously voted for another investigation, to be conducted
by the committee on privileges and elections. This committee,
Republican Party in Illinois 217
with Senator Dillingham as chairman, began its inquiry June
20, in Washington, continued it in Chicago in the autumn,
and finished the inquiry in Washington February 9, 1912.
Two reports were presented. The majority, signed by five
members, decided that Senator Lorimer was entitled to his
seat. The minority report was signed by three members.
Chairman Dillingham's colleagues on the investigating com-
mittee were Senators Gamble, Jones, Kenyon, Johnson,
Fletcher, Kern and Lee.
The final battle on the floor of the senate was delayed
until after the presidential and other primaries had been held
in the states. June 4 Senator Kern, of Indiana, opened the
fight for Mr. Lorimer's expulsion. The debate continued
at intervals until July 13, when the senate, by a vote of fifty-
five to twenty-eight, adopted the following resolution:
"Resolved, That corrupt methods and practices were employed
in the election of William Lorimer to the senate of the
United States from the state of Illinois, and that his election,
therefore, was invalid." Eight other senators were paired,
and two did not vote. Senator Cullom voted to unseat his
colleague.
During the agitation of the Lorimer case, which con-
vulsed the country more than two years, Mr. Lorimer's
private life was conceded, even by his enemies, to be above
reproach. Thus there came to be two facts in the public
mind: Lorimer and "Lorimerism." This distinction was
admirably made in the final paragraph of Senator Kern's
speech. He said: "Mr. President, it is not to William
Lorimer, the self-made man, the devoted head of an interest-
ing family, that objection is made. That William Lorimer
will have the approval of every man of generous impulses ; but
the system of which William Lorimer is a part, the
218 Republican Party in Illinois
system which undertakes by corrupt methods to thwart
the popular will, must be condemned. It is the William
Lorimer who represents these methods, who carries them
out through the Lee O'Neil Brownes and the Brodericks,
that is on trial here, and who must stand or fall, not because
of his personal or domestic qualities, but by the record he has
made in this senatorial contest and the acts of his accredited
agents. We may regard the man with admiration because of
good personal qualities; but the vicious system of politics,
which stifles patriotic sentiment, belittles popular rights,
and corrupts the very fountain-head of American liberty, must
receive condemnation at the hands of the American senate."
William Lorimer is the only man who has ever been
actually expelled from the United States senate because of
an election secured through corruption. On the day that
Mr. Lorimer was expelled former Senator Hopkins sent a
message to the Chicago Tribune, claiming that he was still
the logical candidate of his party for senator. If there was
no election of a senator May 26, 1909, there has never been
a vacancy, under a strict construction of the law, and Govern-
or Deneen has no power to name a successor. Attorney-gen-
eral Stead has given an opinion to this effect.
CHAPTER XXI
CAMPAIGN OF 1910 SPECIAL ELECTION SUBMITTING QUES-
TIONS OF REFERENDUM AND RECALL STATE-WIDE
CIVIL SERVICE LAW AND CORRUPT PRACTICE ACT.
THE primary election law now in force in Illinois pro-
vides that primaries for the nomination of officers to
be elected in November shall be held on the second
Tuesday in April. The law, however, was not approved until
March 9, 1910, and it was therefore necessary to make an
exception for that year. .The primaries were held September
15. Edward E. Mitchell, Republican, was nominated over
James W. Templeton, and Francis G. Blair was nominated
for superintendent of public instruction. At the Democratic
primaries Alphaus K. Hartley was nominated for state treas-
urer, and Conrad M. Bardwell for superintendent.
Three insurgent candidates for congress were nominated
over standpatters. F. H. Gansbergen defeated Henry S.
Boutell in the Ninth district, but was defeated in November.
Colonel Ira C. Copley, the first man to announce himself as
an insurgent candidate, defeated George W. Conn. Con-
gressman Lowden had declined to be a candidate for renom-
ination, and J. C. McKenzie, a Progressive, was nominated
in the Thirteenth district.
The Republican state convention for 1910 was held at
Springfield, September 23. Mrs. Mary A. Busey, O. W.
Hoyt and W. L. Abbott were nominated for trustees of the
state university. The platform favored the appointment of
a permanent tariff commission, commended the state-wide
219
220 Republican Party in Illinois
civil service law for Illinois, the abrogation of minority repre-
sentation, simplifying the process of securing commission form
of government, favored the initiative and referendum, direct
vote for United States senator, and denounced recent legis-
lative scandals. Speeches were made by Governor Deneen,
Speaker Cannon and Congressman Prince.
Edward E. Mitchell was elected treasurer over Hartley,
Democrat, by a plurality of 60,438. Francis G. Blair was
elected superintendent over Bardwell, Democrat, by 59,462
plurality. The Republicans secured a majority in both
branches of the legislature and elected fourteen congressmen.
Illinois is represented in the present congress by the following :
First district, Martin B. Madden ; Second, James R. Mann ;
Third, William W. Wilson ; Fourth, James T. McDermott ;
Fifth, Adolph J. Sabath; Sixth, Edmund J. Stack; Seventh,
Frank Buchanan; Eighth, Thomas Gallagher; Ninth, Lyn-
den Evans; Tenth, George Edmund Foss; Eleventh, Ira C.
Copley; Twelfth, Charles E. Fuller; Thirteenth, John C.
McKenzie ; Fourteenth, James McKinney ; Fifteenth, George
W. Prince; Sixteenth, Claude U. Stone; Seventeenth, John
A. Sterling; Eighteenth, Joseph G. Cannon; Nineteenth,
William B. McKinley ; Twentieth, Henry T. Rainey ; Twen-
ty-first, James M. Graham; Twenty-second, William A.
Rodenberg; Twenty-third, Martin D. Foster; Twenty-
fourth, H. Robert Fowler; Twenty-fifth, N. B. Thistlewood.
McDermott, Sabath, Stack, Buchanan, Gallagher, Stone,
Rainey, Graham, Foster, Fowler and Evans are Democrats.
A feature of the election was the large plurality of Con-
gressman Fuller in the Twelfth district. He led J. W.
Rausch, his Democratic rival, by a plurality of 11,480. This
was the largest plurality received by any congressman in
Illinois and possibly in the United States. Mr. Fuller enjoys
Republican Party in Illinois 221
the distinction of never having been defeated for any office by
a vote of the people. He was in the state senate eight years,
in the house six years, and judge in the Seventeenth circuit six
years. He has been in congress ten years. His public life
covers thirty years, practically without a break, besides offices
of a local nature. At the primaries in 1912 Mr. Fuller re-
ceived 21,290 votes. This is the largest vote received by any
candidate of any party for congressman.
A special election was held November 8, at which the
people voted on the proposition that the legislature should
submit an amendment to the state constitution providing for
the initiative and referendum; for a state civil service law,
and a corrupt practices act limiting- the expenditures of a
candidate for office. All of these measures were carried by
large majorities.
The assembly convened January 4, 1911. Charles Adkins,
of Piatt, was chosen speaker.
CHAPTER XXII
CAMPAIGN OF 1912 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ROOSE-
VELT WINS DENEEN RENOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR
SHERMAN DEFEATS CULLOM FOR SENATOR DEATH OF
SECRETARY ROSE C. J. DOYLE APPOINTED.
THE campaign of 1912 began in the closing months of
the preceding year. There were several features
which made it one of the most remarkable contests
in the history of the state. Some of these may be briefly noted.
The April primary was the most successful test of a state-
wide law that had been made. Lorimerism was an issue, and
the primary was the first opportunity that had been afforded
the people for expressing their belief that money had been
corruptly used in Mr. Lorimer's election to the United States
senate. The presidential primary was an innovation, and
proved a popular measure. The personal touch was given by
the unusually large number of aspirants for the various state
offices.
There were eight candidates for governor on the Repub-
lican ticket, four on the Democratic, one on the Prohibitionist
and one on the Socialist. The Republican candidates were
Charles S. Deneen, Len Small, John E. W. Wayman, Charles
F. Hurburgh, John J. Brown, Walter C. Jones, J. McCan
Davis, Richard Yates. All these gentlemen, except Mr.
Davis, made active personal campaigns of the entire state.
Governor Deneen established a precedent in asking for a third
consecutive term. He made his fight on his record as governor,
and presented a convincing appeal to the conservative voters
222
Republican Party in Illinois 223
of the state. Mr. Jones, a state senator from the Fifth district,
conducted his campaign as a progressive, and made able
speeches in defense of the five planks of his platform, which
were a direct primary law, popular election of United States
senators, the initiative, referendum and recall. Len Small
opposed the last three measurers espoused by Mr. Jones. He
was accompanied by Senator Lorimer, who presented argu-
ments against these innovations that commanded a respectful
hearing. Mr. Hurburgh, a senator from the Forty-third dis-
trict, conducted his campaign on the issue of greater economy
in state administration.
John G. Oglesby sought renomination for lieutenant-gov-
ernor and was opposed by Kinnie A. Ostewig. James A. Rose
asked a fifth term as secretary of state. His opponent was
Chester W. Church. James S. McCullough desired another
term as auditor. John K. Ball and George A. Smith were
also candidates. There were four candidates for treasurer:
Andrew Russel, Louis L. Emmerson, William E. Rothermel
and Herman R. Heimberger. The office of attorney-general
was sought by William H. Stead, Frank R. Reid and John
B. Weaver.
There were four candidates for United States senator:
Lawrence Y. Sherman, Shelby M. Cullom, Hugh S. Magill
and William Grant Webster. Senator Cullom made no
canvass. Mr. Sherman conducted a vigorous campaign and
inspired confidence among the people. Mr. Magill repre-
sented the Progressive wing of the party and strengthened his
reputation as a vigorous speaker.
Under the last congressional apportionment, based on the
census of 1910, Illinois is entitled to twenty-seven congress-
men. The legislature failed to make a re-apportionment, and
224 Republican Party in Illinois
the state will therefore elect two congressmen from the state
at large. There were ten candidates.
The spectacular feature of the closing days of the cam-
paign was Theodore Roosevelt's tour through the state.
Illinois was regarded as a pivotal state, whose action would
determine that of other states. Colonel Roosevelt was the
choice of the people, but there can be no doubt that he greatly
added to his plurality by his brief visit on the eve of election,
which in turn had its moral effect upon other sections of the
country.
March 25 Governor Deneen called the legislature in
special session to pass a presidential preferential primary act.
The senate promptly passed a bill, which on March 30 was
accepted without change by the house by a unanimous vote,
and was immediately approved by the governor. Illinois
was the eighth state to pass a presidential primary law.
Oregon was the first and was followed by New Jersey,
Wisconsin, Nebraska, California, North Dakota and Mass-
achusetts.
The primary election was held April 9. Theodore Roose-
velt carried the state for president by a large plurality over
President Taft and Robert M. La Follette. Roosevelt carried
ninety-seven counties and received 266,917 votes. Taft
carried five counties and received 127,481. Roosevelt's
plurality was 139,436. La Follette received 42,692 votes.
Governor Deneen carried fifty-four counties, and his vote
was 152,997. He had a plurality over Len Small of 64,168.
Wayman was third in the race, and Yates fourth.
Lawrence Y. Sherman received 178,063 votes for United
States senator. He carried sixty-four counties. This gave
him a plurality of 48,688 over Senator Cullom, who carried
thirty-two counties.
Republican Party in Illinois 225
James A. Rose carried every county in the state for sec-
retary of state. John G. Oglesby was nominated lieutenant-
governor; James S. McCullough, auditor; Andrew Russel,
treasurer ; W. H. Stead, attorney-general.
William E. Mason and B. M. Chiperfield were nom-
inated congressmen-at-large. Mason carried ninety-seven
counties, and Chiperfield seventy-nine. Other congressmen
in the order of their districts were nominated, as follows:
M. B. Madden, James R. Mann, W. W. Wilson, C. J.
Tomkiewicz, J. Gartenstein, Arthur W. Fulton, Niels Juul,
W. G. Hermann, Fred A. Britten, George E. Foss, Ira C.
Copley, Charles E. Fuller, J. C. McKenzie, Charles J. Searle,
G. W. Prince, F. H. Smith, J. A. Sterling, Joseph G. Cannon,
W. B. McKinley, no candidate in Twentieth district, H.
Clay Wilson, W. A. Rodenberg, R. B. Clark, J. B. Blackman,
N. B. Thistlewood. Congressman Prince, if he finishes
another term, will have served twenty years. Members of
the state central committee were elected as follows : Chauncey
Dewey, Roy O. West, Charles W. Vail, Thomas J. Healy,
Max Levitan, George E. Nye, Kai P. Hammer, John F.
Devine, Francis A. Becker, Henry D. Capitian, Richard J.
Barr, Charles E. Hook, Delos W. Baxter, Walter A. Rosen-
field, Charles H. Williamson, Garrett De F. Kinney, Frank
L. Smith, John H. Harrison, Charles G. Eckhart, Homer J.
Tice, Lewis H. Miner, W. C. Hadley, Alfred H. Jones, W.
S. Phillips, James A. White. Roy O. West was chosen chair-
man, and is also serving as a member of the national committee
for Illinois. C. J. Doyle, at this writing, is secretary of the
state committee. Mr. Dewey tendered his resignation as a
member after the Chicago convention.
An incident of the primaries is the retirement of Shelby
M. Cullom from the United States senate after a service of
16
226 Republican Party in Illinois
thirty consecutive years. This is twelve years longer than
the time served by his nearest Illinois rival, Lyman Trumbull.
Scarcely a half dozen men in the history of the government
have had such a career in the senate. Mr. Cullom was first
elected in 1883 to succeed David Davis.
Mr. Cullom's senatorial career is only one of his achieve-
ments as an office-holder. He has served eight years in the
lower house of the Illinois legislature, being elected in 1856,
1860,1872 and 1874. From 1865 to 1871, six years, he
represented the Eighth Illinois district in congress, and from
1877 to 1883 he was governor of the state.
This is a total of an even half century of public life. But
this is not all. He has been city attorney of Springfield. He
was speaker of the Illinois house four years, from 1861 to
1863, and from 1873 to 1875. He was a Fillmore presidential
elector in 1856; chairman of the Illinois delegation at the
national Republican convention in 1872 and nominated Gen-
eral Grant for president; was a delegate to the national
convention in 1884; and a member of a commission appointed
by President McKinley to prepare a system of government
for the Hawaiian islands. Mr. Cullom cannot say from the
heart that republics are ungrateful.
This remarkable career is admirably summarized by
Colonel Clark E. Carr in his "Illini" as follows: "He
entered public life when Lincoln and Douglas were at the
zenith of their fame and has served cotemporaneously with
Yates, Trumbull, Palmer, Logan, Oglesby, Davis and other
distinguished Illinoisans. He is a plain, practical, sincere,
earnest man, and while his friends can point to nothing bril-
liant in his utterances, neither malice nor envy can find any-
thing foolish or frivolous upon the innumerable pages of the
Congressional Record where his speeches are printed. Scarcely
SHELBY M. CULLOM
Republican Party in Illinois 227
any man in congress is so richly endowed with the genius of
common sense. Senator Cullom is not so brilliant as was
Yates ; he is not so logical and incisive as was Trumbull ; he
is not so aggressive as was Logan ; he has none of the magnetic
power of Oglesby ; Davis, Browning and Palmer all excelled
him as lawyers; yet still it may be doubted whether, outside
the military service, and always excepting Lincoln and
Douglas, any other Illinoisan has accomplished more for his
state and country."
The Democratic primaries resulted in the nomination of
Edward F. Dunne for governor. The Prohibitionists nom-
inated Edwin R. Worrell, and the Socialists, John C.
Kennedy.
The Republican state convention met at Springfield, April
19. It was one of the shortest on record, and, in view of the
long and spirited campaign, it was one of general good feeling.
Party chiefs buried the hatchet and smoked the pipe of peace.
Presidential electors were chosen as follows: George Postel,
Solon W. Crowell, George W. Dixon, Axel Chytraus, Wil-
liam Chalmers Covert, James Rosenthal, Harry B. Staver,
Edward R. Litzinger, Isaac Shapiro, Ninian H. Welch,
Irwin R. Hazen, John F. Haas, John R. Philip, Benjamin
H. Miller, William Grote, Samuel D. Holderman, Delos
W. Baxter, John Y. Whiteman, John C. Work, William J.
Conzelman, John Y. Chisholm, Thomas G. Vennum, Charles
D. Thomas, Theodore S. Chapman, Frank R. Milnor, Louis
F. Lumaghi, John J. Brown, Noah C. Bainum, George E.
Martin. Messrs. Covert, Counselman, Chrisholm and Thom-
as resigned, and their places were filled by the state central
committee.
The platform endorsed the administration of President
Taft, eulogized at length the achievements of Theodore
228 Republican Party in Illinois
Roosevelt, and instructed the delegates-at-large to vote for
his nomination. The state administration was endorsed, de-
mands were made for changes in the primary law, and jackpot
methods were condemned.
Early in 1912 President Taft appointed Miss Julia C.
Lathrop, of Rockford, to the newly created office of chief of
the children's bureau at Washington. Miss Lathrop is the
first woman to be appointed head of a government department.
She is a daughter of the late William Lathrop, who repre-
sented the Rockford district in congress from 1877 to 1879.
Miss Lathrop has served several years as a member of the
state board of charities, and has been associated with Miss
Jane Addams, of Hull House.
James A. Rose, secretary of state of Illinois since 1897,
died suddenly in Springfield, May 29. Death followed hem-
orhage of the stomach, with which the secretary had been
attacked the previous evening. The funeral was held May
31 at Golconda, Pope county, the former home of Mr. Rose.
Services were held in the First Presbyterian church, of which
the secretary had been an elder. The obsequies were attended
by Governor Deneen, other state officers, members of the
general assembly and detachments of the national guard.
Mr. Rose was born in Golconda, October 13, 1850. He
was elected superintendent of schools of Pope county in 1873,
and state's attorney in 1881. During Governor Fifer's ad-
ministration he was trustee of the reformatory at Pontiac and
commissioner of the penitentiary at Chester. He was elected
secretary of state in 1896, and re-elected in 1900, 1904 and
1908. He had thus served more than fifteen years, the longest
term of service in the history of the state. Mr. Rose began
in 1903 the biennial publication of the "Blue Book," an
invaluable manual of information concerning the political
Republican Party in Illinois 229
history of the state. Illinois lost a capable public servant
of the old school in the death of Mr. Rose.
The importance of the secretary's office required that a
successor to Mr. Rose be chosen without delay. June 1 Gov-
ernor Deneen appointed Cornelius J. Doyle to fill the unex-
pired term. The same day Mr. Doyle was selected as the
candidate for the office by the state central committee.
Mr. Doyle's rise has been rapid. He was born in Carlin-
ville, Illinois, December 6, 1871. His first office was that of
parole agent for the Chester penitentiary, to which he was
appointed by Governor Yates. He was subsequently appointed
secretary of the state board of arbitration by the same execu-
tive, and held the office during Governor Deneen's first term.
He resigned this office to become general attorney for the state
insurance department. His next office was that of state fire
marshal, to which he was appointed by Governor Deneen.
Mr. Doyle is a lawyer of ability. He was one of the attorneys
for Caleb Powers, and argued the petition before Governor
Willson, of Kentucky, which resulted in his pardon.
Chester W. Church, a member of the house from the
Eleventh district in Chicago, who had been a candidate for
secretary of state at the primaries in April, attempted to have
his name placed on the Republican ticket. He introduced a
bill providing that in the event the high man dies or becomes
ineligible between the time for closing nominating petitions
and the time the official vote is canvassed, the second man
in the race shall be declared the nominee. Mr. Church was
the only contestant against Mr. Rose at the primaries, and
his bill would therefore apply to his own case. The bill was
laid on the table by a ruling of Speaker Adkins. Mr. Church
also attempted to secure a writ of mandamus to compel the
state board of canvassers to certify his name to the secretary
230 Republican Party in Illinois
of state as the Republican candidate. He contended that in
view of Mr. Rose's death, his own name should be certified.
The supreme court held that the duties of the canvassers
are purely ministerial, and that they cannot inquire whether
any of the candidates have died since the primary election was
held.
CHAPTER XXIII
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION AT CHICAGO RENOM-
INATION OF TAFT AND SHERMAN PROGRESSIVES BOLT
AND NOMINATE ROOSEVELT AND MARSHALL A FINAL
WORD.
THE fifteenth national Republican convention assem-
bled in Chicago, June 18, 1912. There were 1,078
delegates. Illinois was represented by fifty-eight
delegates, as follows: From the state at large, Charles
S. Deneen, Roy O. West, B. A. Eckhart, Chauncey
Dewey, L. Y. Sherman, Robert D. Clark, L. L. Em-
merson, W. A. Rosenfield; from the twenty-five con-
gressional districts, Francis P. Brady, M. B. Madden,
John J. Hanberg, Isaac N. Powell, William H. Weber,
Charles W. Vail, Thomas J. Healy, Albert C. Heiser, Charles
J. Happel, William J. Cooke, Homer K. Galpin, Allen S.
Ray, Abel Davis, D. A. Campbell, John F. Devine, Isadore
H. Hines, Fred W. Upham, R. R. McCormick, James Pease,
John E. Wilder, Ira C. Copley, John Lambert, Fred E.
Sterling, H. W. Johnson, James A. Cowley, J. T. William,
Frank G. Allen, William J. Graham, Harry E. Brown,
Clarence E. Snively, Edward N. Woodruff, Cairo A. Trimble,
G. J. Johnson, Frank B. Stitt, John L. Hamilton, Len Small,
W. L. Shellabarger, Elim J. Hawbaker, J. A. Glenn, W. W.
Watson, Logan Hay, William H. Provine, Edward E. Miller,
Henry J. Schmidt, William F. Bundy, Aden Knoph, Randolph
Smith, James B. Barker, P. H. Eisenmayer, Walter Wood.
These delegates, with the exception of Happel and Cooke, in
231
232 Republican Party in Illinois
the Fifth district, were instructed for Colonel Roosevelt.
June 1 the Illinois delegates were the guests of Colonel
Roosevelt at his home at Oyster Bay. He had invited them
to visit him and discuss his candidacy before the convention
at Chicago.
The convention was held in the Coliseum. The details of
that stormy and epoch-making assemblage belong to the polit-
ical history of the nation. In so far, however, as Illinois had
a part in the convention, the record has a place in this volume.
The preliminary contest was before the national committee.
There were 252 delegates whose seats were contested. Of
this number, 238 Taft delegates were seated, while Roosevelt
was given fourteen. Among those whose seats were contested
were seventy-four delegates-at-large from the fourteen states
of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas,
Virginia and Washington.
The next contest was over the temporary chairman. In
the presence of nearly twelve thousand persons, constituting
the most distinguished assemblage ever in attendance at a
national convention, the oratorical battle over the temporary
organization was fought. The stormy petrels of the party
were there. James Watson, of Indiana, nominated Elihu
Root, of New York, for temporary chairman. Governor
McGovern, of Wisconsin, was the Progressive candidate.
He was nominated by Henry J. Cochems, of Wisconsin.
This nomination was repudiated by the friends of Mr. La
Follette, and the vote of Wisconsin was divided. Seven
Illinois delegates voted for Mr. Root, as follows : Robert D.
Clark, of Peoria ; Dan Campbell, Chicago ; Fred W. Upham,
Chicago; Harry E. Brown, Geneseo; C. E. Snively, Canton;
jLen Small, Kankakee; Edward E. Miller, East St. Louis.
Republican Party in Illinois 233
Mr. Root was elected chairman. He received 558 votes;
McGovern, 502; scattering, 18.
The seating of contested delegates was next in order.
Colonel Roosevelt contended that contested and provisionally
seated delegates ought not to vote on any question before the
convention, and least of all on one another's cases. The ruling
of the chair was that contested delegates might vote on all
cases except their own. "The principle," said Mr. Root,
"that no man should sit as a judge in his own case does not
disqualify any delegate on the temporary roll of the conven-
tion from voting on another man's right to a seat or from par-
ticipating in any other regular business of the convention."
Senator Root quoted precedents not only of national conven-
tions, but of congress in support of his position, and argued,
moreover, that the Roosevelt theory would enable minorities
to capture conventions by contesting as many seats as might
suit their purpose. Indeed, conventions could be tied up and
prevented from transacting any business whatever by means
of flimsy and insincere contests.
It is plain to the fair-minded bystander that neither con-
tention is free from fallacy, weakness and practical danger.
This, as Senator Borah has said, proves the need of vital
changes in the organization and government of parties. It
may, as he suggests, be found necessary and expedient to give
the states "home rule" in the matter and set up some high
local authority to pass on contests and give delegates their
credentials.
After six hours of intense conflict, the session closed with
the friends of Mr. Taft in control of the temporary organiza-
tion. Saturday evening, June 23, William H. Taft was
renominated for president on the first ballot. He received 561
votes; Roosevelt, 107; La Follette, 41 ; Cummins, 17. More
234 Republican Party in Illinois
than three hundred delegates refused to vote. These were
the supporters of Colonel Roosevelt. The vote of the^Illinois
delegation was as follows : Taf t, 2 ; Roosevelt, 53 ; not voting,
2; absent, 1. Mr. Roosevelt insisted that the Illinois dele-
gation should not vote on the decisive ballot, but they had
previously decided in caucus that they would not bolt.
James Schoolcraft Sherman was renominated for vice-
president.
Scarcely had the cheers which greeted the renomination
of President Taft died away in the Coliseum, when the friends
of Mr. Roosevelt met in Orchestra hall and nominated him for
president. A provisional campaign committee was appointed.
July 7 Senator Joseph W. Dixon, of Montana, Colonel Roose-
velt's campaign manager, issued a call for a national Progres-
sive convention.. The call was signed in behalf of Illinois by
Medill McCormick, Chauncey Dewey and La Verne W.
Noyes.
The convention was held in Chicago, August 5. Theodore
Roosevelt was nominated for president, and Hiram W. John-
son, governor of California, for vice-president. Colonel
Roosevelt coined the only battle cry of the campaign thus far.
In his speech at Chicago, while the first convention was in
progress, he said: "We are at Armageddon, and the battle
is the Lord's." The phrase is suggested by a passage in the
Apocalypse of St. John, which refers to the final conflict of
world forces.
Previous to the assembling of the Progressive convention
Colonel Roosevelt had assumed a dictatorial attitude toward
Governor Deneen, and demanded that he should give a pledge
of support to the Progressive ticket. Governor Deneen had
discharged his obligation to Roosevelt at the first convention,
Republican Party in Illinois 235
and refused to break away from the party which had nom-
inated him for governor.
A call was issued for a state Progressive convention to be
held at Chicago, August 3. The following ticket was nom-
inated: Governor, Frank H. Funk; lieutenant-governor,
Dean Franklin; attorney-general, Fletcher Dobbyns; secre-
tary of state, E. O. Peterson ; treasurer, Philip Decker ;
auditor, Edward Winter.
On July 2, at the national Democratic convention, which
had assembled at Baltimore, Woodrow Wilson, governor of
New Jersey, was nominated for president on the forty-sixth
ballot. Thomas R. Marshall, governor of Indiana, was nom-
inated for vice-president.
Mr. Roosevelt's platform may be expressed in the words
of the old French monarch, "I am the state." His declaration
of principles, so far as Illinois is concerned, has no significance.
The present state administration is fully committed to pro-
gressive measures, in theory and in fact. Evidence of this
truth is shown in Governor Deneen's calling the legislature in
special session to pass a presidential primary law, by which it
was made possible for Colonel Roosevelt to appeal to the
people in this state. Certain planks in Roosevelt's platform
will not commend themselves to the sober second thought of
the American people. Among these is the proposed recall of
the judiciary. The legal profession of the country owes a
debt of gratitude to President Taft for his uncompromising
attitude against this dangerous experiment. The indepen-
dence of the judiciary is fundamental. The corrupt judge
may be impeached under existing law.
The Republican party is progressive. From the beginning
it has stood for the highest ideals in representative government.
Its leaders have been constructive statesmen who incarnated
236 Republican Party\in Illinois
these ideals in institutions and laws. So continuously has the
party been in power that the story of its achievements consti-
tutes the political history of the state and nation for more
than half a century. There are in nature centripetal and
centrifugal forces, which proceed toward or fly from a given
center. The Republican party supplies an analogy, and the
evolution of its principles has resulted in the anomalous fact
of both the centralization and the distribution of power.
The old Federal party was founded upon the political
philosophy of Alexander Hamilton, the greatest statesman of
his day. The Republican party, as its legitimate successor,
has upheld the principle of centralized power strong enough
to maintain its efficiency and integrity against every domestic
or foreign foe. The doctrine of Jefferson, who represented
the other pole of political thought,, as opposed to Hamilton,
has had its day. The present demand is not more rights for
the single state, but a larger opportunity for the individual.
The Republican party was baptised in the spirit of freedom.
It was the crystalization of public sentiment against the nation-
alization of slavery which in 1854 seemed all but consum-
mated. In 1861, when the conflict between two civilizations
reached its crisis, it was the Republican party, assisted by
many loyal Democrats, that preserved the integrity of the
union. After the civil war, it grappled with the gigantic
problem of reconstruction, by which the seceding states could
resume their former status in the union. The Republican
party has given the country the best currency system known
to the world; it has established the revenues of the nation
upon the basis of a protective tariff. When the fortunes of
war resulted in the acquisition of colonial possessions, the
party was called to meet a new situation. Under the leader-
ship of President McKinley, a colonial policy was inaugurated.
Republican Party in Illinois 237
America had become too great to continue her isolation, for
the time had come for her to take her place as a recognized
world power.
High civic virtues are developed in the times that try
men's souls. They are the product of the whirlwind and the
storm. These occasions are usually followed by periods of
moral declension, when party leaders seem to lose sight of the
original ideals, and engage in politics merely for the spoils of
office. The Republican party has been no exception to this
rule. There has been more than one campaign in which there
was no clearly defined issue, in which abusive personalities
held high carnival, and in which party spirit was seen at its
worst. But amidst all the strife there was manifestly at work
a "power not in ourselves that makes for righteousness." An
observer with no prophetic sense might be in camp or on a
battlefield and see only guns, swords and bayonets, soldiers on
guard or dying in the trenches. But when Julia Ward Howe
visited the Army of the Potomac, there came to her a spiritual
vision as real as that which assured the prophet of Israel at
Dotham that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire round about Elisha. On that night the inspired author
of the Battle Hymn of the Republic saw more than the terrible
swift sword and the burnished rows of steel, and she exclaimed
in rapture, "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of
the Lord!" Thus, amid all the tumult of the hour, men,
parties and nations may sometimes build wiser than they know.
The Republican party cannot live upon the achievements
of the past. Mere momentum soon becomes a spent force.
"New occasions teach new duties." The problems of today
and of the immediate future are not political, but economic
and industrial. The party must meet them. This is an age
of individualism, and the common man must have his day in
238 Republican Party x in Illinois
court. In the ultimate analysis, however, the common man,
in the rank and file of his party, must work out his own salva-
tion. It is not the function of government to furnish him
bread, but to give him a fair chance, a "square deal." The
citizen must not eliminate the moral element from the account.
Washington, in his farewell address, says religion and morality
are indispensable supports of political prosperity; and that
"in proportion as the structure of a government gives force to
public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be
enlightened." A nation is composed of units, and the admoni-
tion of Washington applies to the unit, the individual man.
Thus the church and the school house, the preacher and the
teacher, will fill a larger place than ever before in the new
social order.
America is the "melting pot" of the nations. To her shores
are coming from the old world all sorts and conditions of men,
whose faces tell of toil and sorrow, to be fused into a new
Americanism. Zangwell, in the closing words of his great
drama, gives a glimpse of the crucible in its purifying work:
"Yes, east and west, north and south, the palm and the pine,
the pole and the equator, the crescent and the cross how the
great Alchemist melts and fuses them in his purging flame!
Here shall they all unite to build the republic of man and the
kingdom of God. Ah, Vera, what is the glory of Rome and
Jerusalem, where all nations come to worship and look back,
compared with the glory of America, where all races and
nations come to labor and look forward!" This modern
Hebrew dramatist has outlined the duty and the privilege of
the party of Abraham Lincoln : to make this a government of,
by and for the people in fact as well as in theory, so that its
humblest citizen may say, in all honesty and pride, Above us
there is nothing but the nation; above the nation there is
nothing but God.
Errata
Page 77 the name "Emory Storrs" should read "Emery A.
Storrs."
Page 92 the date of the Republican state convention should
read "May 25, 1864."
Page 101 the name "Jesse L. Phillips" should read "Jesse J.
Phillips."
Page 107 the date of the Republican state convention should
read "September 1, 1870."
Page 108 the name "Charles Ridgley" should read "Charles
Ridgely."
Page 109 the name "William R. Snyder" should be "William
H. Snyder."
Page 126 the name "H. L. Baker" should read "Henry S.
Baker."
Page 123 the name "Scot Wike" should read "Scott Wike."
Page 170 the name "Isaac N. Pierson" should be spelled "Isaac
N. Pearson."
239
Index of Names
Names which appear only as Presidential Electors, Delegates to National
Conventions, or members of the State Central Committee for 1912 are not
indexed individually; but are given iu the lists of Electors, Delegates and
Committeemen for the respective years.
Abbott, W. L 219
Adair, A. M 140
Adams, Charles Francis 12
Adams, George E., 148, 149, 155,
161, 165, 177.
Adams, John Quincy 116
Addams, Jane 228
Adkins, Charles 221, 229
Akers, Rev. Peter 26
Akin, Edwin C 179
Aldrich, J. F., 172, 173, 176, 180
Aldrich, William, 129, 133, 142
Alger, Russell A 164
Allen, G. T 28
Allen, James C., 27, 77, 89, 93,
113.
Allen, J. M 122
Allen, William J 89, 99
Allison, William B., 164, 178, 180
Alschuler, Samuel 191, 193
Altgeld, John P., 170, 172, 173,
180, 184.
Amberg, Franz 168
Anderson, G. A 161
Anderson, William B., 108, 123
Andrews, Francis 171
Anthony, Elliott 88
Arnold, Isaac N 80, 81, 89
Arntzen, Bernard 78
Arthur, Chester A 141, 153
Ashmum, George 79
Aspern, Henry T 126
Ashton, Andrew 130, 131
Atkins, Smith D 80
Austin, Henry W 160, 161
Babcock, A. C 74
Bagby, John C 123
Baker, Henry S., 28, 33, 93, 125,
126.
Baker, Jehu ....95, 100, 161, 182
Baldwin, H. E 153
Ball, John K 223
Bannen, Rev. H. M 193
Barber, Hiram 133
Bardwell, Conrad M 219, 220
Barlow, New York Elector, 128
Barnes, V. V 193
Barrett, Nathan M 171
Barrierre, Granville 117
Bateman, Newton, 44, 70, 75, 89,
92, 99, 107, 113.
Bates, Edward 78, 79
Bates, Erastus 102, 107, 132
Bayliss, Alfred 187, 195, 196
Beardsley, J. M 137
Beck, W. F 180
Becker, Charles 163
Beckemeyer, H. J. C 214
Beidler, X. F 212
Belknap, Hugh R 177, 182
Belknap, Secretary 124
Bell, Andrew J 164
Bell, John 80
Belmont, New York Elector, 128
Bergren, August W 161
Berry, Orville F 179, 208
Beveridge, A. J 215
Beveridge, James H 92
Beveridge, General John L., 109,
114, 120, 125, 137, 181.
Bidwell, John 171
Birney, James G 7, 9, 12
Bissell, William H., 32, 33, 34,
71, 82.
Black, General John C., 92, 99,
113, 134, 170, 172.
Blackburn, Henry S 78
Blackman, J. B 225
Blain, James G., 47, 58, 79, 88,
106, 125, 126, 127, 135, 136,
137, 141, 153, 154, 171, 209.
Blair, Francis G., 209, 219, 220
Blair, F. P 104
Blaisdell, E. W 30
Blanchard, Charles A 196
Bliss, Anson L 195, 196
Blood, Frederick G 171
Borah, Senator 233
Boutell, Henry S., 182, 188, 193,
194, 196, 202, 210, 213, 219.
Bovay, Alvin E 19
Boyd, Thomas A 129, 133
Brand, Rudolph 154
Braucher, Daniel L 160, 161
Breckenridge, John C 36, 80
Brenholdt, John J 194
Brentano, Lorenz, 93, 102, 129
Bridges, Frank M 157
Bristow, Benjamin H 127
Britten, Fred A 225
Broderick, Senator ....218
Bromwell, H. P. H., 76, 95, 99,
100.
Brooks, John P 89, 93
Brooks, Preston S., 42, 116, 117
Bross, William 92, 97, 113
Brown, B. Gratz 112, 113
Brown, Elizabeth 148
Brown, John J 212, 222
Brown, Harry E 232
Browne, Lee O'Neil, 214, 215,
218.
Browning, O. H., 32, 34, 75, 78,
86, 87, 90, 185, 227.
Bryan, Charles Page 179
Bryan, William J., 180, 181, 182,
192, 193, 211, 213, 241.
Bryant, John H 33
Buchanan, Frank . 220
Index
241
Buchanan, James, 36, 38, 42, 43,
44, 45, 52, 65, 66, 163.
Buckmaster, Samuel A 90
Budlong, John 160, 161
Bunn, John 74
Burchard, Dr 153
Burchard, H. C., 106, 108, 117,
123, 129, 162.
Burr, Albert G 100, 104
Burrell, Orlando 176
Burrows, Senator 215
Busey, Mrs. Mary A 219
Busey, Samuel T 169
Bushnell, Washington, 33, 93,
102.
Busse, Fred A 195
Butler, Benjamin F 153, 154
Butler, William 74, 75, 89
Butterworth, Thomas 140
Cable, Ben T. . ....169
Caldwell, Benjamin F., 189, 193,
196, 210.
Calhoun, John 76
Calhoun, John C 8, 9, 10
Calhoun, William F 161, 163
Calhoun, W. J 149, 179
Calwalader, A. D 212
Cameron, J. Donald 135, 146
Cameron, Simon 78, 79
Campbell, Alexander 123
Campbell, Dan 232
Campbell, G. H 77
Campbell, James II 182
Campbell, William J., 139, 147,
150, 155.
Cannon, Congressman, Utah, 180
Cannon, Joseph G., 80, 117, 118,
123, 129, 133, 142, 149, 155,
161, 162, 165, 169, 172, 173,
176, 182, 189, 193, 194, 195,
196, 197, 198, 199, 201, 202,
210, 213, 220, 225.
Carlin, Walter E 152
Carr, Clark E., 81, 93, 94, 95,
107, 139, 151, 162, 163, 184,
226.
Carroll, Charles 122
Carter, Judge O. H., 187, 188,
190, 191, 207.
Carter, Ohio Delegate 79
Cary, Samuel F 128
Casey, Newton R 121
Casey, Samuel K 35
Cass, Lewis 12, 47, 65
Caulfield, B. G 123
Chambers, E. J 141
Chapman, Pleasant T., 202, 210,
213.
Chase, Salmon P., 15, 27, 72, 78,
79, 84.
Chapman, Theodore 165
Chetlain, General A. L., 107,
142, 143, 144, 145, 146.
Childs, Robert A 172, 173
Chiperfield, B. M 225
Church, Chester W 223, 229
Church, Lawrence S 82
Church, Selden M 31, 90
Claggett, Bernard J 175, 176
Clark, John 33
Clark, R. B 225
Clark, Robert D 232
Clay, Cassius M 27
Clay, Henry, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 46,
48, 56, 65, 72, 76, 171.
Clements, Isaac ....118, 126, 137
Cleveland, Grover, 87, 153, 154,
163, 164, 172, 173, 175, 186,
Cochems, Henry J 232
Cochran, William G 167
Cochrane, John 94
Cockrell, James 170
Codding, Ichabod 20
Colfax, Schuyler, 103, 106, 115
Collamer, Jacob 78, 79
Collins, John 202
Collins, Loren C., Jr 149, 151
Conger, Senator 140
Conkling, Roscoe, 127, 135, 139,
141, 153.
Conn, George W 219
Coon, A. B 114, 138
Cook, Burton C., 28, 75, 82, 93,
95, 100, 104, 108, 151.
Cooke, Edward D 176, 182
Connolly, James A., 151, 163,
176, 182.
Coolbaugh, W. F 119
Cooper, Peter 128, 129
Copley, Ira C., 219, 220, 225, 231
Copp, Uriah 152
Corwin, Franklin, 100, 101, 105,
117, 126.
Cox, Jesse 171
Coy, Winfleld S : 126
Crafts, Wilbur F., 165, 169, 173
Cranfleld, James B 171
Crawford, Monroe C., 152, 180
Crebs, Colonel John M., 99, 104,
108.
Creighton, Jacob R 164
Cronkrite, Edward L 132, 155
Crowley, Joseph B., 189, 193, 196
Cullom, Shelby M., 80, 82, 85,
95, 99, 100, 104, 114, 115, 121,
122, 124, 125, 129, 139, 142,
144, 147, 149, 151, 153, 160,
166, 177, 178, 179, 181, 184,
188, 189, 190, 191, 194, 195,
200, 201, 208, 210, 216, 217,
223, 224, 225, 226, 227,
Cummins, Senator 233
Curtis, Benjamin R 39
Curtis, Edward C 183
Curtis, William Eleroy 24
Cusack, Thomas 188, 189
Dane, Nathan , , 3
Daniel, William 153
Daugherty, E. C 30
Davies, Edgar T 212
242
Index
Davis, David, 75, 78, 112, 113,
116, 118, 130, 131, 133, 149,
162, 226, 227.
Davis, George R., 133, 142, 148,
151, 177.
Davis, Henry Gassoway 201
Davis, Jefferson 33, 34, 125
Davis, J. McCann, 157, 212, 222
Dawes, Charles E., 178, 179, 190
Day, W. R 189
Dayton, William L., 35, 78, 79
Decker, Philip 235
Delegates national convention,
1860, 75; 1864, 93; 1868, 102;
1872, 114; 1876, 125-126; 1880,
137, 139; 1884, 151-152; 1912,
231.
Dement, Henry D 139, 151
Deneen, Charles S., 199, 200, 202,
203, 204, 205, 207, 208, 212,
213, 214, 218, 220, 222, 224,
228, 229, 231, 234, 235.
Depew, Chauncey M 164
Dewey, Chauncey, 225, 231, 234
Dickey, Colonel T. Lyle 99
Dickson, Frank L 202
Dillingham, Senator 217
Dixon, Archibald 16, 17, 18
Dixon, Charles G 171
Dixon, Joseph W 234
Diston, W. L 179
Dobbyns, Fletcher 235
Dodge, Augustus C 16
Donelson, Andrew J 35
Dooling, Frank E 201
Dougherty, John, 70, 102, 105,
115.
Dougherty, Michael J 152
Douglas, Stephen A., 16, 17, 18,
24, 26, 27, 35, 37, 39, 41, 42,
43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50,
51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58,
59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66,
67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 79,
80, 82, 83, 85, 86, 90, 159,
171, 226, 227.
Doyle, C. J 225, 229
Downing, Finis E., 176, 177, 180
Drew, Samuel J 212
Dubois, Jesse K., 34, 74, 75, 92,
101, 102, 113.
Du Bois, Senator 180
Duddleston, George 195
Dudley, Edward A 31
Dunham, R. W 148, 155, 161
Dunlap, M. F 191
Dunlap, Willard E 188
Dunne, Edward P 227
Durborow, A. C., Jr., 168, 172
Durfee, Bradford K 147
Early, John 121, 124
Eastman, Zebina 23
Eden, John R., 89, 101, 118, 123,
129, 155.
Edmunds, George F., 136, 141,
153.
Edsall, James K., 114, 125, 139
Edwards, N. T 176
Edwards, Richard, 160, 161, 168
Ellwood, Reuben 148, 197
Emerich, Martin 196
Emerson, Dr 38
Emerson, Ralph Waldo 71
Emmerson, Louis L 223, 231
English, W. H 43, 142
Enos, C. W 152
Etter, Samuel M., 122, 123, 132,
133
Evans, H. Clay 186
Evans, Dr. John 31
Evans, J. W 140
Evans, Lyndon 220
Evarts, William M 78
Everett, Edward 80
Fairbanks, Charles W., 180, 201
Farnsworth, John F., 32, 71, 80,
89, 95, 100, 104, 108, 120, 123
Farwell, Charles B., 108, 117,
123, 124, 125, 136, 142, 162,
169,
Farwell, John V 93, 162
Faxon, Charles 30
Feeley, John J 193
Feinz, Charles 108
Fell, Jesse 130
Felter, James S. 171
Fenton, Reuben E 103
Ferry E. P 23, 93
Ferns, Thomas F 201
Fessenden, W. P 14
Field, James G 171
Fifer, Joseph W., 152, 163, 164,
166, 167, 170, 172, 181, 191,
228.
Fillmore, Millard, 13, 16, 35, "56
Finerty, John F 148
Fisher, George W 212
Fisher, Hendrick V 183
Fisk, Clinton B 164
Fithian, George W., 165, 169, 172
Fletcher, Senator 217
Flint, C. C 25
Foote, Rev. Hiram 95
Foote, Rev. Horatio 95
Fondy, William 70
Ford, A. N 30
Forman, William S., 165, 169,
172.
Forsythe, A. P 133
Fort, Greenbury L., 117, 123,
129, 133, 139.
Foss, George Edmund, 176, 182,
189, 193, 194, 196, 202, 210,
212, 213, 220, 225.
Foster, George P., 188, 189, 193,
196.
Foster, Martin D., 210, 213, 220
Fouke, Philip B 81
Fowler, Dr. Edwin 99
Index
243
Fowler, H. Robert 220
Franklin, Dean 235
Fremont, John C 35, 36, 94
French A. C 71
Fuller, General Allen C., 76, 81,
92, 97, 105, 106, 109, 126, 128
Fuller, Charles E.. 151, 155, 157,
161, 179, 196, 199, 202, 210,
213, 220, 221, 225.
Fuller, Melville W 87
Fulton, Arthur W 225
Funk, B. F 172, 173
Funk, C. S 216
Funk, Frank H 235
Gage, Lyman J 185, 186
Gallagher, Thomas 213, 220
Gamble, Senator 217
Gansbergen, F. H 219
Garfield, James A., 1, 141, 142,
145, 148, 185.
Garrison, William Lloyd, 7, 84
Gartenstein, J 225
Gest, William G 161, 165
Giddings, Joshua R 27
Gill, Joseph B 170
Gillespie, Joseph 31, 75
Gilmer, Ulrich Z 160, 161
Glenn, Archibald A 124, 126
Goldzier, Julius 172
Goodhue, Benjamin W 153
Gore, David 122, 170
Gorin, J. A 132
Graff, Joseph V., 176, 182, 189,
193, 194, 196, 202, 210, 213
Graham, James M 213, 220
Grant, Ulysses S., 81, 84, 94, 99,
102, 103, 104, 106, 109, 112,
113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 124,
135, 136, 137, 140, 141, 142,
143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 185,
190, 226.
Greeley, Horace, 43, 78, 112, 113,
116, 117.
Gresham, Walter Q., 163, 164,
185, 186.
Grimshaw, Jackson 74
Gross, Jacob 151
Grote, Caroline 209
Gundlack, George 126
Gwin, John N 153
Hacker, William A 87, 93
Hadley, W. F. L 177
Haines, E. M 124, 155, 156
Hall, Frank H 132, 133, 148
Hall, Ross C 212
Hall, William 16
Hamilton, Alexander, 1, 46, 47,
236.
Hamilton, John M., 139, 149,
150, 151, 154, 162, 181.
Hamilton, Richard Jones 35
Hamlin, Hannibal 79
Hamlin, H. J., 187, 191, 199, 200
Hancock, Winfleld Scott, 141,
142.
Hanecy, Elbridge 190, 191
Hanks, John 77
Hanna, B. J. F 33
Hanna, Mark 178, 186
Hardin, John J 76
Harding, Abner C 33, 95, 100
Harlow, George H 114, 125
Harmon, Lawrence 140
Harper, Jesse, 152, 171
Harris, Charles M 89
Harris, Thomas L 27, 71, 76
Harrison, Benjamin, 164, 165,
166, 171.
Harrison, Carter, 123, 129, 152,
154, 155, 164.
Hartley, Alphaus K 219, 220
Hartranft, John A 127
Harts, David H 164
Hartzell, William 123, 129
Hatch, Ozias M., 34, 73, 75, 113
Hay, John 189, 201
Hay, John B 104, 108
Hay, Milton 189
Hayes, Philip C 129, 133
Hayes, Rutherford B., 127, 128,
129, 131.
Hayes, Samuel Snowden 108
Hawes, Kirk 136, 137
Hawk, R. M. A., 133, 142, 209
Hawley, Edgar C 173
Hawley, John B., 104, 108, 117,
126, 139.
Hayne, Senator 46
Heimberger, Herman R 223
Helm, Senator 216
Henderson, Thomas J., 32, 80,
102, 123, 129, 133, 142, 148,
149, 155, 161, 162, 165, 169,
172, 173.
Hendricks, Thomas A., 128, 153
Herman, W. G 225
Herndon, William H., 24, 26, 31,
34.
Herrington, James 133
Hertz, Henry L 170, 179
Hildrup, Jesse S 102, 109
Hill, Benjamin H 125, 126
Hill, Charles A 165
Hill, S. C 171
Hilton, Howard 179
Hines, Edward 216
Hinrichsen, William H., 170, 182
Hise, John 93, 126
Hitchcock, Charles 107
Hitt, Robert R., 148, 155, 161,
165, 168, 172, 173, 176, 182,
184, 189, 193, 194, 195, 196,
201, 202, 209.
Hobart, Garret A 40
Hobbs, J. B 152
Hoffman, Francis A., 34, 35, 75,
93 113
Hoffman, George R. S 212
Holstlaw, Senator 215, 216
Hooton, M. M 126
Hope, T. M 78
244
Index
Hopkins, Albert J., 162, 155, 161,
165, 168, 170, 172, 173, 176,
179, 182, 184, 189, 191, 193,
194, 196, 197, 200, 211, 212,
213, 214, 218.
Hopkins, Kate 133
Howe, Julia Ward 237
Hoy, Luman T 199
Hoyt, O. W 219
Hunt, George 136, 151, 103
Hunter, Andrew J., 170, 172, 182
Hunter, David 169
Hurburgh, Charles F 222, 223
Hurlbut, Stephen A., 21, 22, 32,
80, 82, 83, 102, 106, 117, 123,
127, 128, 132, 135, 136, 139,
148.
Ingersoll, Eben C., 89, 95, 100,
104.
Ingersoll, Robert G., 77, 80, 81,
94, 95, 101, 102, 125, 127, 148,
190.
Inglis, Samuel M 176
Ingram, W. T 140
Irwin, A. B 152
Irwin, John G 148
Jackson, Andrew 46
James, William A 133
Jayne, Dr. William 77, 152
Jefferson, Thomas, 1, 46, 47, 51,
236.
Jeffris, Ralph 212
Jett, Thomas M., 182, 189, 193
Jewell, Marshall 127
Johnson, Andrew, 28, 94, 99, 103,
110, 111, 185.
Johnson, Hale 152
Johnson, Herschel V 80
Johnson, Hiram W 234
Johnson, Senator, 217
Jones, Senator 217
Jones, Walter C 222, 223
Jones, Willis J 164
Joy, James F 141
Judd, Norman B., 28, 74, 75, 78,
100, 104.
Judd, S. Corning 93
Juul, Niels 225
Kellogg, William 71, 80, 81
Kellogg, William Pitt, 32, 76, 80
Kennedy, John C 227
Kenyon, Senator 217
Kern, Frederick J 193
Kern, John W 211, 217
Ketcham, John H 198
Killam, John T 171
King, Tuthill 25
Kinney, James 212
Knapp, Anthony L 89
Knapp, Robert M., 117, 118, 129
Knight, Thomas D 212
Knox, James 27
Knopf, Philip 196, 202, 210
Koerner, Gustavus, 31, 32, 75,
102, 109, 113, 117.
Kuykendall, A. J 92, 95
La Follette, R. M., 216, 224, 232,
233
Lamon, Ward H 74, 83
Lamont, James 161, 171
Lamphier, C. H 113
Landes, Silas Z 155, 161
Lane, Edward, 161, 165, 169, 172
Lane, Joseph, 80
Lathrop, Julia C 228
Lathrop, William 129, 228
Lawler, Frank, 155, 161, 165
Lawler, Thomas G 186
Lawrence, Judge C. B 122
Lawrence, Luther W 87, 90
Lee, Robert E 99, 103
Lee, Senator 217
Leeper, Arthur 157
Leman, Henry W 154
Le Moyne, John V 124, 162
Lewis, John H 142
Lincoln, Abraham, 20, 24, 25,
26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35,
43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50,
51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59,
60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68,
69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76,
77, 78, 79, 80, 83, 84, 85, 88,
90, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98, 105,
110, 130, 185, 189, 190, 197,
226, 227, 238.
Lincoln, Robert T., 140, 148,
171, 185.
Lindly, Cicero J 152
Link, Michael S 215
Link, Robert R 171
Lippincott, Charles E., 100, 102,
114, 132.
Littler, David T 137, 161
Lodge, Henry Cabot 201
Logan, Dr. John 158
Logan, John A., 26, 80, 81, 86,
90, 99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 107,
108, 109, 120, 130, 131, 132,
133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 145,
151, 153, 154, 156, 158, 159,
160, 162, 226, 227.
Logan, Robert E., 139, 140, 157
Logan, Stephen T. 26, 75, 82,
113, 114.
Loop, James L 21, 22
Lorimer, William, 176, 182, 188,
196, 202, 209, 213, 214, 215,
216, 217, 218, 222, 223.
Lovejoy, Owen, 25, 26, 32, 34,
71, 77, 80, 81, 89, 95.
Lowden, Frank O., 199, 200, 202,
210, 213, 219.
Lowell, James Russell 84
Lundin, Fred 213
Lynch, Edmund 126
Lynch, William F 212
Index
245
McAndrews, James 193, 196
McCann. Bert H 212
McCartney, James 140
McClellan, George B 95
McClernand, John A., 80, 81, 99,
128
McClun, John E 25
McCormick, Medill 234
McCullough, James S., 179, 191,
200, 212, 223, 225.
McDannold, John J 172
McDermott, James T., 209, 210,
213 220.
McDonough, Michael 171
McElroy, John 171
McGann, L. E., 168, 172, 176,
177.
McGavin, Charles 202, 210
McGovern, Governor, 232, 233
McKenzie, John C., 196, 219, 220,
225
McKinlay, Robert L 152
McKinley, William, 171, 178,
179, 180, 182, 185, 186, 187,
188, 189, 192, 193, 209, 226,
236.
McKinley, William B., 202, 210,
213, 220, 225.
McKinney, James, 202, 210, 213,
220
McLaughlin, Daniel 148
McLean, John 79
McMillan, Thomas C 1G3
McMurty, William 77
McNeely, T. W 104, 108
McNeil, Major Quincy 87
McNulta, John, 117, 137, 163,
168.
Mac Veagh, Franklin, 176, 177
Madden, Martin B. 184, 202,
209, 213, 220, 225, 231.
Madison, James 51
Magill, Hugh S 223
Maher, Hugh 78
Mahoney, William F., 193, 196
Mamer, Christopher 212
Mann, James R., 182, 188, 193,
194, 196, 202, 209, 213, 220,
225
Marsh, Benjamin F., 129, 133,
142, 172, 173, 176, 182, 189,
196, 202.
Marsh, C. W 137, 138, 139
Marshall, J. H 33
Marshall, Samuel S., 27, 71, 82,
95, 100, 104, 108, 118.
Marshall, Thomas R 235
Marshall Thomas S 171
Mason, William E., 161, 165,
184, 185, 188, 196, 212, 225
Martin, James S 118
Matteson, Joel A 28
Matthews, Asa C., 165, 166, 167
Matthews, Milton W. 169
Maxwell, A. L, 180
Mazzini 45
Meacham, U. D 22
Medill, Joseph, 32, 107, 135, 177
Mesick, Joseph B 161
Metcalf, A. W 137
Michalek, Anthony 202
Mickey, J. Ross 193
Miller, Edward E 232
Miller, James 34, 44, 70
Miller, James H 167
Miller, Stephen 9
Mills, Daniel W 182
Miner, Orlin H 92
Mitchell, Edward E 219, 220
Mitchell, Thomas F 133
Moloney, Maurice T 170
Monroe, James 15
Moore, Hosea H 169, 170
Moore, Jesse H 104, 108
Moore, John 35
Morris, Isaac N 71
Morrison, Isaac L 133
Morrison, William R., 80, 89
118, 123, 129, 133, 142, 149
155, 156, 158, 162.
Morton, Levi P., 163, 164. 165,
180.
Morton, Oliver P 127
Moses, John ....29, 34, il4, 136
Moulton, Samuel W., 92, 95
101, 102, 142, 149.
Mount, John B 212
Murphy, Everet J 176
Napoleon, 1 72, 103
Nast, Thomas 116
Neece, William H 149, 155
Needles, Thomas B 125
Newberry, Walter C 168
Noe, Samuel D 171
Nicolay, John G., 30, 94, 189
Noonan, Edward T 188, 189
Northcott, William A., 179, 191
Norton, Jesse 23, 27, 89
Noyes, LaVerne W 234
Oberly, John H. .
O'Brien, William
O'Conor, Charles
O'Donnell, James
Ogden, W. B
Oglesby, Richard
80, 92, 96, 97,
104, 105, 109,
117, 119, 120,
149, 151, 154,
181, 190, 212,
Oglesby, John G.
O'Hara, Daniel .
Oldt, Franklin T.
Ostewig, Kinnie
Orendorf, Alfred
F.
140
101
116
191
31
J., 31, 32, 77,
98, 100, 101,
114, 115, 116,
132, 133, 134,
155, 159, 170,
226, 227.
, 212, 223, 225
113
160, 161
A 223
148, 152
Pace, Edward C 180
Paddock, James H 183
Palmer, John M., 26, 28, 32, 33,
34, 76, 80, 82, 92, 100, 101,
246
Index
102, 104, 105, 106, 113, 118,
130, 131, 149, 159, 164, 166,
168, 170, 181, 184, 226, 227
Parks, G. D. A 31, 33
Parker, Alton B 201, 202
Parker, Theodore 7, 14, 60
Parsons, George B 191
Parsons, Lewis B 140
Patton, Robert H 202
Pavey, Charles W., 137, 163, 170
Payson, Lewis E., 142, 149, 155,
161, 162, 165.
Pearson, I. N 163, 170
Peck, Ebenezer 74
Pemberton, Stanton C 210
Pendleton, George H 101
Perry, Elmer A 212
Ferryman, James L 152
Peterson, E. 235
Pettigrew, Senator 180
Petigru, James L ....83
Petit, Senator 67
Phillips, D. L 31, 33
Phillips, General Jesse J., 99,
101.
Phillips, Wendell 7, 84
Pickering, John L 212
Pickett, Thomas J., 30, 31, 32, 73
Pierce, Franklin, 15, 17, 41, 45,
52.
Pierce, John 199, 200
Piotrowski, Nicholas L 209
Platt, Thomas C 192
Plumb, Ralph 155, 161
Polk, James K 9, 10
Post, Philip Sidney, 161, 165,
169, 172, 173, 176, 177.
Powell, William H., 34, 122, 123
Powers, Caleb 229
Presidential electors, 1860, 76;
1864, 93; 1868, 102; 1872, 114-
115; 1876, 126; 1880, 140;
1884, 152; 1912, 227.
Prince, George W., 170, 177,
182, 189, 193, 194, 195, 196,
202, 210, 213, 220, 225.
Pugh, I. C 31
Puterbaugh, Howell J 176
Quay, Matthew S 180
Rabb, Henry, 148, 168, 169, 176
Rainey, Henry T., 196, 202, 210,
213, 220.
Ralston, V. Y 30
Ramsey, Rufus N 170
Randolph, John F 176
Raum, Green B., 80, 99, 100, 125,
136, 137, 139, 149, 162.
Rausch, J. W 220
Rawlins, John A., 80 81, 107,
185.
Ray, Dr. Charles H 30
Ray, Lyman B., 163, 166, 170
Ray, William H 117
Raymond, Charles W 179
Reece, Jasper N 163
Reeder, Andrew 40, 41
Reed, Thomas B., 171, 178, 180
Regan, Frank S 190
Reid, Frank R 223
Reid, Whitelaw 171
Remann, Frederick 176, 177
Reeves, E. F 153
Reeves, Walter, 176, 182, 189,
190, 191, 193, 194.
Reynolds, John ....71
Rice, Edward Y 108
Rice, John B 117
Richardson, William A., 27, 35,
80, 81, 91, 97.
Ricker, Henry Francis J., 160,
161.
Ricks, N. Douglas 164
Ridgely, Charles 108
Ridgway, Thomas S., 102, 122,
123, 125, 139, 152.
Riggs, James M 149, 155
Rinaker, John I., 115, 126, 139,
152, 163, 177.
Rives, Zeno S 202
Roberts, Lavina E 176
Roberts, Ralph 22
Robbins, J. W 136, 179
Robinson, Charles 41
Robinson, James C., 81, 89, 93,
108, 117, 118.
Rodenberg, William A., 189,
196, 202, 210, 213, 220, 225.
Roe, E. R 78
Rogers, J. M 91
Rose, James A., 179, 191, 200,
212, 223, 225, 228, 229. 230
Ross, L. W., 77, 89, 95, 100.
Ross, William 33, 75
Roosevelt, Theodore, 19, 189,
192, 200, 201, 202, 211, 213,
215, 224, 228, 232, 233, 234,
235
Root/Elihu 201, 232, 233
Root, James P 99, 101, 105
Rothermel, William E 223
Rowell, J. H., 149, 155, 161, 165
Rowett, Richard 137
Rowley, General 145
Ruggles, James M 33
Rummel, Edward 102, 113
Russel, Andrew J., 208, 212, 223,
225.
Rutz, Edward 114, 125, 140
Sabath, Adolph J., 209, 210, 213,
220.
Sanford, John F. A 38
Schneider, George 30, 75, 140
Schofield, General 185
Schurz, Carl 112
Scott, Dred 38
Scott, Owen 169
Searle, Charles J 225
Seiter, Henry 152
Selby, Paul 29, 30
Index
247
Selby, Thomas Jefferson ....193
Seward, W. H. ( 14, 72, 78, 79,
84, 171.
Sewell, Arthur 181
Sexton, Austin 149
Seymour, Horatio 104
Shannon, Governor 41
Shannon, John R 101
Shaw, Aaron 71, 149
Shaw, B. F 30
Shaw, James 114, 130, 133
Shaw, J. Henry 157
Sheldon, C. W 21
Sheldon, Porter 87, 88
Shepard, Daniel, 132, 157
Sheridan General P. H 84
Sherman, James S 211, 234
Sherman, John, 136, 141, 151,
153, 164.
Sherman, Lawrence Y., 190, 194,
199, 200, 203, 204, 223, 224,
231
Sherman, General W. T 84
Sherwin, John C 133, 142
Shields, James 28, 48, 113
Shuman, Andrew, 125, 130, 152
Shumway, George 212
Shurtleff, Edward D., 202, 208,
210, 214.
Sims, fugitive slave 14
Singleton, James W., 133, 142
Slade, James P 132
Small, Len, 200, 222, 223, 224,
231, 232.
Smith, Abraham E ....186
Smith, Dietrich C. ... ....142
Smith, Garret 115
Smith, F. H 225
Smith, Frank L 212
Smith, George A 223
Smith, General George W 99
Smith, George W., 165, 169, 172,
173, 176, 177, 182, 189, 194,
196, 202, 210.
Smith, General John C., 114,
132, 139, 148, 151, 156, 163
Smith, Robert 71
Smulski, John F 208, 209
Snapp, Howard M., 196, 202, 210,
213
Snell, Thomas .. ....78
Snively, C. E 232
Snow, Herman W 169
Snyder, William H 35, 109
Spangler, Reuben E 201
Sparks, William A. J., 123, 129,
133, 142.
Springer, William M., 87, 123,
129, 133, 142, 149, 155, 161,
165, 169, 172.
St. John, John P 153, 154
St. Matthew, J. H 35
Stack, Edmund J 220
Stanton, Edwin M 92
Starkel, Lewis C 140
Starne, Alexander 89, 93
State central committee, 1912,
225.
Stead, William H., 200, 212, 218,
223 225
Sterling, Fred E 212, 231
Sterling, John A., 196, 202, 210,
213, 220, 225.
Stevens, Brad N 108
Stevenson, A. E., 123, 133, 172,
192, 212, 213.
Steward, Lewis, 126, 129, 168,
169.
Stiver, Perry 188
Stone, Claude U 220
Storrs, Emery A., 77, 102, 114,
132, 136, 137.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher 84
Stratton, Charles T 148
Streeter, A. J 140, 164, 170
Stringer, Lawrence B., 201, 202
Stuart, John T 78, 89
Sumner, Charles, 7, 15, 39, 41,
42, 72, 84, 116, 117.
Sweet, Martin P 21
Swett, Leonard, 74, 75, 76, 78,
93, 113.
Swigert, Charles P 140, 151
Taft, William H., 211, 213, 224,
227, 228, 232, 233, 234, 235
Tallmadge, James, Jr 5
Taney, Chief Justice, 39, 45, 52,
83.
Tanner, John R., 160, 161, 177,
179, 182, 183, 184, 188, 191,
195.
Taylor, Abner 165, 168.
Taylor, Zachary, 11, 12, 13, 34
Teller, Senator 180
Templeton, J. W., 212, 213, 219
Terry, Elmer E 191
Thistlewood, N. B., 210, 213, 220,
225
Thomas, Charles 137
Thomas, Charles B 201
Thomas, Horace H 147
Thomas, Jesse B 6
Thomas, John R., 133, 142, 149,
155, 161.
Thompson, J. M 140
Thornton, Anthony 95, 101
Thornton, S. Y 126
Throop, A. C 25
Thurman, Allen G 164
Thurston, John W 180
Tillson, John 33
Tilden, Samuel J 128, 131
Tipton, Thomas F 129, 133
Todd, James 191
Tomkiewicz, C. J 225
Townsend, Leon A 203
Townshend, R. W., 129, 133, 142,
149, 155, 161, 165.
Travis, John 21
Tree, Lambert 158
248
Index
Trimble, Commander-in-Chief,
160.
Trude, George S 180
Truesburg, Charles II 195
Trumbull, Jonathan 182
Trumbull, Lyman, 23, 26, 27, 28,
32, 48, 50, 80, 82, 98, 100, 112,
113, 118, 119, 120, 140, 142,
182, 226, 227.
Turner, Thomas J., 21, 82, 109
Turney, William A 93
Tyler, John 8, 10
Tyndale, Sharon 92
Upham, Fred W. 232
Upsher, Abel P 8
Usrey, W. J 30
Van Buren, Martin ... ....8, 9, 12
Van Bpps, William H 101
Vanderwater, A. C 153
Van Hornebecke, Gustavus ..101
Waker, Charles H 164
Wade, B. F 14, 97, 103
Ward, James H 155
Ward, Jasper D 117
Warder, Walter 190
Wasburne, B. B., 21, 22, 26, 27,
42, 71, 81, 89, 95, 100, 104, 106,
136, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145,
146, 147, 185.
Washington, George, 1, 51, 238
Watson, James 232
Watson, Thomas B 181
Wayman, John E. W., 222, 224
Warner, Vespasian, 176, 182,
189, 193, 194, 196, 199, 200
Weaver, James B 141, 171
Weaver, John B 223
Weaver, William H 158
Webster, Daniel, 8, 13, 46, 47,
60, 76, 171.
Webster, W. G 212, 223
Weed, Thurlow 78
Welch, Andrew 164
Weldon, Lawrence, 74, 76, 113
Wentworth, John, 32, 80, 87, 88,
95, 113, 137.
West, A. M 153
West, Roy 225, 231
Wharton, Charles S 202
Wharton, O. P 30
Wheeler, Hamilton K., 172, 173
Wheeler, Jacob 157-
Wheeler, William A 128, 131
White, Charles A 214
White, George B 176, 182
White, Horace 113, 116
Whitfleld, Kansas territorial
delegate 40
Whitlock, H. G 140
Whiting, Richard H 123
Whitney, Eli 5
Whittier, John G 7, 42, 84
Whittemore, Floyd J., 187, 188
Wike, Scott 123, 165, 169
Williams, Ira 31
Williams, James R., 165, 169,
172, 189, 193, 196.
Williamson, M. 191
Williams, William Elza 189
Willits, George S 171
Willson, Governor 229
Wilmot, David 11, 79
Winter, Edward 235
Wilson, Charles L 33
Wilson, Henry, 2, 19, 103, 115
Wilson, H. Clay 225
Wilson, Richard S 168, 169
Wilson, William W., 196, 202,
209, 213, 220, 225.
Wilson, Woodrow 235
Windom, William 136, 141
Wood, Benson 176
Wood, John 34, 82
Woodman, Charles W 176
Woodworth, James H 23, 27
Works, Charles A 187
Worrell, Edwin R 227
Worthington, N. E 149, 155
Wright, Alonzo P 171
Wright, Francis M 163
Wulff, Jacob 176
Yates, Henry 76
Yates, Richard (Elder), 26, 29,
32, 33, 75, 76, 77, 80, 81, 82, 85,
86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 96, 97, 98,
103, 104, 105, 109, 159, 194,
226, 227.
Yates, Richard (Younger), 171,
190, 191, 193, 194, 199, 200,
208, 212, 222, 224, 229.
Zangwell, Israel 238
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA
HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN ILLIN
