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an acknowledgment that when the spirit of liberty is strong enough in a people, it has a "right" to burst its old bonds.

The House was impressed by the speaker's earnestness and ability; but, as by this time, the war was over, and peace about to be made, the President had no difficulty in ignoring the resolutions which thus failed to produce their desired political effect. They expressed, however, the detestation of Lincoln and many others for Polk's unscrupulous policy; and this moral condemnation, which was widespread, was a factor in the Democratic defeat at the next election.

But in Illinois the resolutions were unpopular, being regarded by the militant Whigs as unpatriotic. They had no desire to be dragged back to the troublesome moral question behind a war which had added, at but little expense, so splendid a territory to the United States. This, however, was just the kind of question which, popular or unpopular, Lincoln, with his keen ethical sense, could not but raise. As he said to Herndon, in justifying his action against home criticism, the situation in Congress rendered silence impossible. He could not skulk even if he wished to, and it was not in him to lie.1

1 The following passages occur in letters written to W. H. Herndon, by Lincoln on 1st and 2nd February 1848:

"DEAR WILLIAM,-Your letter of the 19th ultimo was received last night, and for which I am much obliged. The only thing in it that I wish to talk to you at once about is, that because of my vote for Ashmun's amendment, you fear that you and I disagree about the war. I regret this, not because of any fear we shall remain disagreed after you have read this letter, but because if you misunderstand I fear other good friends may also. That vote affirms that the war was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally commenced by the President; and I will stake my life that if you had been in my place you would have voted just as I did. Would you have voted

The other events of the Session in which the member from Illinois took a conspicuous part were the Presidential campaign and the attempt to extinguish slavery in the Federal district of Columbia around the National Capital. Clay's defeat in 1844 had determined the Whig party managers against re-nominating him. In spite of his own obvious desire for the favour and his great claims on the party, men like Lincoln saw clearly that he had no prospect of election. They therefore rallied around the colourless but available General Taylor, whose nomination took the Democrats "on the blind side" and cleverly turned "the war thunder against them," as Lincoln said.

Lincoln's enthusiastic support of Taylor's candidature illustrates what I have already said about his strong party feeling. To all appearance, Taylor-who was popularly known as "Old Rough and Ready "--had Ready"--had no political principles, being held up to Southern admiration as a successful soldier and himself a slaveholding Southerner whose interests would prevent any attack being made by him upon the institution of the South. Lincoln's ardent and effective speeches for what you felt and knew to be a lie? I know you would not. Would you have gone out of the House-skulked the vote? I expect not. If you had skulked one vote, you would have had to skulk many more before the end of the session. Richardson's resolutions, introduced before I made any move or gave any vote upon the subject, make the direct question of the justice of the war; so that no man can be silent if he would. You are compelled to speak; and your only alternative is to tell the truth or a lie. I cannot doubt which you would do. . . .”

"DEAR WILLIAM,—I just take my pen to say that Mr Stephens, of Georgia, a little, slim, pale-faced, consumptive man, with a voice like Logan's, has just concluded the very best speech of an hour's length I ever heard. My old withered dry eyes are full of tears yet.

"If he writes it out anything like he delivered it, our people shall see a good many copies of it. . .”

his candidature, are not the most edifying of his utterances. We must suppose that, beside his boyish personal admiration, dating from the Black Hawk War, he regarded Taylor as at least more opposed to slavery-extension than his opponent, the rich Northern Democrat, Cass. Taylor and Cass were the leaders chosen by their respective parties, and Lincoln, though he was probably growing weary of the sterility of the political parties of the day, was still a practical politician and still a Whig.

He made one of Taylor's earliest supporters in Washington, being associated in the formation of a club of so-called "young Indians" with Alexander Stephens, then a Whig, and afterwards vice-president of the Southern Confederacy, a man for whom he had the utmost regard and admiration. He wrote home also, urging upon Herndon the immediate organisation of all the political forces, especially the younger men, the gathering together for party purposes of all those shrewd, wild boys about town" whom he knew so well. Already at thirty-nine he thought of himself as one of the old men, and was familiarly known in Springfield as "Old Abe": but his sympathies were with the young, and even with the wilder ones among them.

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He was one of those who went to Philadelphia in June to nominate Taylor: and towards the end of July, he made one of the most effective of the election speeches then being intruded upon the time and patience of the House. In contrast with his speech of January, it was in his most abandoned style of stump oratory, and, as such, was thoroughly appreciated by his party. The House roared with laughter

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