The Union Collapses Lincoln s Campaign Even though the Dred Scott decision had validated the extreme southern position on the issue of slavery in the territories, those who held the opposite view were not about to concede. The Republicans had shown strength in the 1856 elections, and, if they could expand their northern base and nominate an exceptional candidate, victory was possible in the presidential race of 1860. Enter Abraham Lincoln. He burst upon the national political scene in 1858 when he ran against the incumbent Democrat Stephen Douglas for a seat in the U.S. Senate. At the beginning of that campaign, Lincoln challenged prevailing attitudes in his "House Divided" speech. Then, during a series of debates with Douglas, Lincoln proved to be sound on Republican principles and an adept campaigner. Even though he lost the race for the Senate, Lincoln was now poised to seek an even higher office. Video: Mr. Lincoln Abraham Lincoln's path to national attention begins with his early interest in politics and evolves into a commitment to freedom for all. Look for answers to these questions when watching the video: What was Abraham Lincoln's family background? How successful was he by 1858? What was Abraham Lincoln's political background? How had his political views been shaped? Why did he become a Republican in 1856? What were his political convictions by 1858, particularly in reference to slavery? Why is Lincoln's "House Divided" speech considered a turning point in his political career? Why did Lincoln and Douglas have a series of debates? What was the central issue of the debates? What was Lincoln trying to accomplish during these debates? What was important about the "Freeport Doctrine"? Why did Lincoln lose the Senate election to Douglas? What did he gain? Why was the Cooper Union speech an important one in Lincoln's political career?
Video script: Music introduction Actor, George Fisher, Philadelphia Lawyer and Diarist: He is uneducated, his manners are uncouth, he wants dignity and reserve befitting his station, and has a vile habit of telling dirty stories Narrator: Abraham Lincoln was a far cry from the typical politician of his day. Raised on a farm, Lincoln spent his twenties wandering and working at a series of odd jobs. But he took an early interest in politics. And in order to pursue a political career, he took up the law. After serving several terms in the Illinois state legislature, in 1846 Lincoln was elected to the U.S House of Representatives. Over the next few years, his views on slavery would take shape. Howard Jones, University of Alabama: He had developed early in his life the belief that when you work hard, you deserve what you get. So it s a fruit of your labor and kind of the feeling that this is a free labor society, that if you work hard, you get what you deserve. Narrator: Following a single term in Congress, Lincoln returned to Springfield, Illinois. There he pursued a successful career as a lawyer. But in 1854 he was drawn back into active politics by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Howard Jones: He was torn deeply by the passage of this law because to him it upset everything the founding fathers had brought together in Philadelphia back in the 1780s. He believed that these founding fathers had set forth a series of principles based upon natural rights to the point that somewhere down the line, slavery would come to an end. But the Kansas-Nebraska Act had opened the idea of popular sovereignty which meant theoretically slavery could go anywhere. And to him that was just, it was blasphemy. James McPherson, Princeton University: Because the Republican Party was now the vehicle for preventing the expansion of slavery into the territories, Lincoln in 1855 made the decision to become a Republican, and by 1856 had emerged as the leading Republican in the state of Illinois. Narrator: In 1858, Lincoln was nominated by the Illinois state Republican convention as the Republican candidate for the senate. His Democratic opponent was the incumbent Senator,
Stephen Douglas. The speech Lincoln gave upon his acceptance of the nomination was a watershed. He directly challenged the prevailing attitude of political moderates and conservatives that the country s division over slavery could go on indefinitely. Actor, Abraham Lincoln: A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently 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 that it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Michael Johnson, Johns Hopkins University: Stephen A. Douglas is perhaps the most important and famous politician in Illinois at the time and he has been responsible for the Kansas- Nebraska Act. So the house divided speech is a speech in which Lincoln kind of steps forward as the person who is going to be the point man for opposing Douglas position on slavery, which is the position of popular sovereignty. Narrator: To increase the visibility and momentum of his campaign, Lincoln called his opponent out. Howard Jones: Lincoln was known in certain areas, but certainly not that well-known, not as much as Douglas. And so what you do is you challenge a person like Douglas to a series of debates, and of course, the debates were focused on a number of issues, but in particular on slavery. Actor, Stephen Douglas: Those of you who believe that the Negro is your equal of course will vote for Mr. Lincoln. Actor, Abraham Lincoln: I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races but in the right to eat the bread which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man. Narrator: At Freeport, Illinois, Lincoln baited a trap for Douglas, arguing that his doctrine of popular sovereignty was illegal in light of the Dred Scott decision. Robert Johannsen, University of Illinois: In that decision in 1857 the Supreme Court said there was no power in the country that could keep slavery out of the territories, slavery was constitutional. It was in the Constitution and people had every right to take their slaves into the
territories wherever they might be. Well, that is a slap at Douglas popular sovereignty because Douglas is arguing the people who live there are the ones who should make the decision. So Lincoln had people urging him to catch Douglas up here, drive him into a corner. Actor, Abraham Lincoln: Judge Douglas, can the people of United States territory, in any lawful way exclude slavery from its limits prior to the formation of a state constitution? Douglas had been asked that before. He didn t hesitate whatsoever. He says it didn t matter what the Supreme Court might rule now or in the future. The people in the territories have the right and have the power to keep slavery out of their territories simply by passing unfriendly legislation with respect to slaveholding. They could tax it outrageously so that no slaveholder could afford to have slavery. There are a number of ways they could keep it out. Narrator: This answer became known as the Freeport Doctrine and in the South, as the Freeport heresy. Howard Jones: I think this was probably one of the most politically ingenious steps that Lincoln had carried out at this time because what it did was to force a deep split within the Democratic Party. It forced the southerners to leave Douglas, and the Northerners in the Democratic Party to stay with him, and opened the way to Lincoln s own election. Narrator: Stephen Douglas defeated Lincoln to win re-election to the senate that year. But in the long run, Lincoln had achieved something more important. James McPherson: And these debates, because Stephen Douglas was the number one Mr. Democrat in the North, catapulted Lincoln into the national press. And because he made such a good showing against Douglas, debated him on an equal plane, people in Massachusetts, in New York and elsewhere in the country began to ask, Who is this prairie lawyer, Abraham Lincoln, who is challenging Stephen Douglas and holding his own against him? Narrator: When several Midwestern papers suggested him as a candidate for the upcoming presidential election, Lincoln demurred. But his popularity was growing, as was his ambition. Michael Johnson: The turning point in Lincoln s interest in becoming president is when he is invited to give a speech at the Cooper Union in New York. What s the big deal about giving a speech in New York? The big deal is, the leading candidate to become president is William Seward, who is an important New York politician, former governor of New York, now a senator.
And so, in effect, Lincoln was invited to Seward s backyard to give a talk about the current crisis of the nation. And Lincoln labored over this speech and it was a huge hit and it put him on a national map as many people s second choice to be the Republican nominee. Actor, Abraham Lincoln: Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the government. Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. Narrator: The Cooper Union speech was reprinted in the New York papers the next day and received glowing praise from all quarters. Actor, Horace Greeley: Mr. Lincoln is one of nature s orators, using his rare powers to elucidate and to convince, though their inevitable effect is to delight and electrify as well. Narrator: Up to this point, Lincoln had been uncertain whether he would seek the Republican presidential nomination, and had little confidence that he could win it if he sought it. But after the reception he received in New York, and at other stops in New England, he was encouraged. Actor, Abraham Lincoln: I will be entirely frank. The taste is in my mouth a little. End of video. Video: Mathew Brady The photographer who made a famous portrait of Lincoln illustrates the ability of media to sway voters. Look for answers to these questions when watching the videos: What were daguerreotypes? What was important about Mathew Brady's famous photograph of Lincoln? Video script: Music introduction Narrator: On the day that Abraham Lincoln spoke at Cooper Union, he presented himself at a
photographer s studio to have what he called his shadow made. Mathew Brady was a fashionable portrait photographer of the era whose sitters included Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, William Seward, Stephen Douglas and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Using the latest technological developments in photography, Brady took striking photos that revealed his subjects in more detail and depth than the old-fashioned daguerreotypes. His photograph of Lincoln was the work of a master. Before taking the picture, Brady adjusted Lincoln s collar to conceal his long neck. Afterward, he retouched the negative, correcting Lincoln s left eye, which appeared to be roving upward, and softening the harsh lines in his face. In the final image, Lincoln looked statesmanlike, and almost handsome. It was a work of art which Lincoln would later credit with making him president. End of video. Activity: Check Your Understanding In the mid-1850s Abraham Lincoln's search for a political home was based on his opposition to the extension of slavery in the United States. Mr. Lincoln s position on slavery had evolved during his political career. He was a strong supporter of the free labor ideology and, by the mid-1850s, he came to believe that the expansion of slavery must be stopped. Containing slavery where it existed would be one way to allow free labor to expand. Abraham Lincoln's House Divided speech helped him emerge as a national opponent to Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln s clear statement on the need to stop the spread of slavery and his belief that slavery was wrong expressed the core beliefs of the Republican Party. He so impressed his fellow Republicans that they nominated him in 1858 to challenge Democrat Stephen Douglas, who was seeking re-election to the U.S. Senate. During the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858, Stephen A. Douglas depicted Abraham Lincoln as an abolitionist who loved blacks. In modern political parlance, Stephen Douglas played the race card against Lincoln. While Lincoln was opposed to slavery, he was not yet an abolitionist. Douglas won the Senate race, but Lincoln was now positioned to be a strong national candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1860.