Lincoln's Illinois Years

Patrick Jenkins
Ingersoll Middle School, Canton

Could the profound and eloquent Gettysburg Address have been written by a former frontier man? The answer is yes. Abraham Lincoln, a backwoods pioneer, got his start in politics and law on the rolling prairies of Illinois.

In 1831 the twenty-two-year-old Lincoln moved from Indiana to the vast prairie of Illinois. His new home was New Salem, a little village on the Sangamon River in central Illinois. Abe had been hired to build and float a flatboat down the Mississippi River. After it was built, the flatboat, with its small crew, made its way down the Sangamon River, into the Illinois, and eventually into the mighty Mississippi. From there the barge traveled to New Orleans. When the boat carrying pork, corn, and hogs arrived in New Orleans, Lincoln was astonished to see how many African Americans were enslaved. From that time on, Lincoln was against the cruel practice of slavery. Abraham Lincoln had started a new chapter in his life.

After his trip down the Mississippi, Lincoln's opportunities began to flourish. When Lincoln returned to New Salem he became the clerk at the general store. His monthly wage was fifteen dollars, and he was provided a bed in the back room. Lincoln made lots of friends by working at the store, partly because of his ability to tell stories. In 1832 the store went out of business, and Lincoln had to find other means of work. The young pioneer then began earning money by clearing the prairie and splitting logs. Being a lumberjack was fine with Abe, but a few friends thought that he could do better. Lincoln was convinced that his friend was right, so he opened a frontier store that sold everything from muskets to candles. Not long after the store opened, it failed, leaving young Lincoln eleven hundred dollars in debt. The honest Illinoisan, now

This drawing of a slave auction appeared in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Abraham Lincoln, in 1843, stated that he was "naturally anti-slavery" and could "not remember when I did not so think, and feel."

ILLINOIS HISTORY / FEBRUARY 1998 37

twice a failure, began a new career, surveying. Determined to become a successful surveyor, Lincoln read every book on the subject, and in 1833 he became a surveyor. His new job took him to all ends of Sangamon County. While traveling, Lincoln's reputation as a very honest individual spread, and soon he developed the nickname Honest Abe. After a few years of surveying, Lincoln also took on the responsibility of being postmaster for New Salem and the surrounding area. Abraham Lincoln's many occupations built the base for all of his future endeavors.

The townfolk of New Salem were amazed at how smart Lincoln was when he had first moved there. Although the people thought him to be smart, Abraham thought his knowledge of English and grammar lacking. He took his problem to the local schoolmaster, who taught Lincoln the uses and meanings of proper English. To exercise his newly acquired grammar he joined a debate club. Lincoln's unique, high and reedy voice, and well-worded speeches were the talk of the town. New Salem had not experienced a person quite like Lincoln. Abe's honesty was also very rare; therefore, whenever someone was holding a cock fight, race, or other kind of competition they called on Abe to officiate. Off the job Lincoln was busy, improving himself and having fun.

During Abe Lincoln's New Salem years his most adventurous experience was soldiering during the Black Hawk War. Shortly after it began, the young and daring Lincoln enlisted for duty. He and about thirty other men from Sangamon County traveled to Springfield where Lincoln was unanimously elected captain. For three months Lincoln and his men marched around northern Illinois searching for a fight, but not once did they see Black Hawk's warriors. That proved a good thing, since the poorly trained volunteers had no idea how to defend themselves against the hit-and-run tactics of Indian warfare. After the war, Lincoln's days as a soldier were over. In 1837 Lincoln left New Salem for bigger and better things.

Lincoln's start in government began in the prairie state. In 1832, after his second store closed, Abraham Lincoln decided to run for a seat in the Illinois state legislature. Lincoln lost the election. Two years later Abe decided to run for the legislature again, and this time he emerged victorious. In 1834 the new legislator traveled to the capital in Vandalia, Illinois, to take his seat in the House of Representatives. Lincoln was reelected to the state legislature four times. During his time in Vandalia, Lincoln was appointed chairman of the Whig Party, later known as the Republican Party. After Lincoln left the legislature he was well known by people everywhere in Illinois.

Lincoln also got acquainted with government and the justice system by becoming a lawyer. Lincoln studied every book on law, and in 1837 he was admitted to practice law in the state of Illinois. Shortly after his admission to the bar, the twenty-eight-year-old Lincoln began trying cases on the Eighth Judicial Circuit, a territory that covered more than fourteen counties. Lincoln argued cases from farm issues to murder. He took great pleasure in traveling the circuit because he got to see other parts of the state and meet new people. Lincoln's public speaking skills were also finely tuned while arguing cases across the state. Practicing law was a major step to becoming a successful politician and person.

After a momentous and dramatic life and presidency during the Civil War, Lincoln returned to Illinois but on a funeral train. He was buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. Abraham Lincoln's experiences in the frontier prairie of Illinois helped shape him into the legend that he was and is.— [From Russell Freedman, Lincoln: A Photobiography; Benjamin Thomas, Abraham Lincoln; Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years.]

38 ILLINOIS HISTORY / FEBRUARY 1998