Shoppers at Clark M. Smith's All-Purpose Store on the South Side of the public square seldom paid cash. Money was scarce; credit accounts were common. Smith's in-laws—-the Lincolns—-had an account. After her husband lost the Senate race to Stephen Douglas, Mary Lincoln launched herself into a therapeutic spending spree buying silk and fancy trimmings for a new dress. Routine purchases included boots and hats, chickens and eggs, pocket knives and wood, salt for making ice cream, cinnamon and sugar—-lots of sugar! At the time sugar was touted as the "Most nourishing substance in nature." Mary Lincoln certainly "nourished" her family. At one point she had charges for thirty-two pounds of regular sugar, six pounds of crushed sugar, and two gallons of syrup. Lincoln usually settled his store account several times a year. But others didn't. The year Lincoln ran for president, Smith announced he would no longer keep accounts for customers. Henceforth his store would be "an exclusively cash and produce business."

Photo
Clark M. Smith accompanied Mary to New York City in January 1861 to help her pick fashions that would be socially acceptable in Washington D.C.

As President-elect, Lincoln found it difficult to get away from the press of well-wishers and office-seekers. Desperate to find a place where he could work undisturbed on his important First Inaugural address, he received permission from his brother-in-law to use a back room on the third floor of the store. On the sloping front of a merchant;s desk, hidden away from Springfield's bustling public square, Lincoln drafted the first version of what, in its final form became a plea to our "better angels"—-applicable in all times and places"
Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people...We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection..."

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Show me all markers in:  Springfield, IL  |  Sangamon County  |  62701  |  Illinois  |  United States of America

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