1858 Senate Race Here

1858 Senate Race Here (HM1336)

Location: Jacksonville, IL 62650 Morgan County
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Country: United States of America
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N 39° 44.059', W 90° 13.752'

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Inscription
Abraham Lincoln and incumbent Stephen A. Douglas spent ten weeks in 1858, contesting for the U.S. Senate.
During the grueling campaign, Lincoln made sixty-three speeches across the state; Douglas made 130. Both men spoke separately in Jacksonville. Lincoln arrived in Jacksonville by train from Springfield at 11 A.M. Monday, September 27. he was met by large delegations from Morgan, Cass, and Scott Counties. The Jacksonville Sentinel described the scene as the parade moved from the depot to the square, where Lincoln spoke for two and a half hours: "Mr. Lincoln, with two or three of his political friends, rode in an open carriage at the head of the procession. He is tall and lank in person, and we believe prefers no claim to personal good looks. He sat doubled up in his seat, his chin resting on the head of his cane, doubtless ruminating, amid the noise of the occasion, on the singular fact, that after a somewhat obscure political expensive of twenty-five years, his friends all at once imagined him a great man."

South and West sides of the Jacksonville Public Square from an 1861 lithograph by H. G. Haerting printed in St. Louis. These sections of the square were closest to the Morgan County Court House, which was then located in the interior of the park, at the southwest corner of the square. It was in this Court House building that Douglas received his nickname, "The Little Giant," while living in Jacksonville, just beginning his political career.

Three weeks before Mr. Lincoln's campaign appearance in Jacksonville, Douglas made an impressive stop here. At 10 A.M., Monday, September 6, he arrived by railroad, greeted at the depot by leading Democrats, bands, and semi-military companies which accompanied him to the Dunlap House Hotel on West State Street. According to the Jacksonville Sentinel, "The speaker's stand was erected on the east half of the Court House, and immediately over it, extending the entire length of the building, a canvass was stretched bearing the large letters, the inscription, 'Old Morgan for the Union and Down on Negro Equality.'" The banner exemplified the division then existing in Jacksonville. Nearly 10,000 people heard Douglas speaking about his 1834-1837 stat in Jacksonville and the "falsehoods" of Lincoln.

Details
HM NumberHM1336
Series This marker is part of the Illinois: Looking for Lincoln series
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Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, October 23rd, 2014 at 6:22pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)15S E 737445 N 4401941
Decimal Degrees39.73431667, -90.22920000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 44.059', W 90° 13.752'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 44' 3.54" N, 90° 13' 45.12" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)217
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 202 N Sandy St, Jacksonville IL 62650, US
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