Author: Evanston Historical Society

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-21

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9781331953258

Excerpt from Evanston Historical Society The purpose of this sketch is to describe the visit made by Abraham Lincoln to Evanston in 1860, including such particulars as appear to be worthy of permanent record. This visit, brief as it was, forms one of the most cherished episodes of our history. Many of the particulars have been obtained from those who were living in Evanston at the time, and who were present at the informal reception given to Mr. Lincoln on the evening of his one night's stay in our town. Some of these recollections have already appeared in print at different times, but with additions derived from recent interviews and correspondence with those who were participants in the events referred to, are here brought together and formed into a connected account. In order to provide a proper perspective and background to the incidents related in this account, it seems desirable to describe briefly the state of the country at the period in which they occurred and of Mr. Lincoln's connection with the events of that time, as well as some account of Evanston as it was in the year mentioned. Stirring Events of the Time During the early months of 1860, the Republican party, which some three years before had suffered defeat in its first presidential campaign under the leadership of John C. Fremont, was anxiously considering who should be selected as the standard bearer in the approaching campaign. It was generally thought that the convention to be held in the following May would name William H. Seward as the candidate. The famous Lincoln and Douglas debates had taken place in the summer and fall of 1858, and had given a national reputation to Lincoln, whose fame has heretofore been confined to his own state. The speech he made at Cooper Institute in New York, February 27, 1860, had caused his name to be frequently mentioned as a possible presidential candidate. Under Buchanan's weak and vacillating administration the arrogance and hostility of the southern states had become more pronounced, and the people of the north found in Mr. Lincoln's clear cut statements the best expression of the burning issues of the day. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.