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 As a young man, he left his father’s home and moved to New Salem.
After becoming a lawyer with a home and office in Springfield, he
rode the 8th judicial circuit and then it was on to Washington D.C.
as a one term congressman. He finally won the presidency and made
his last move to Washington.
Lincoln College history professor Ron Keller was the speaker at the
monthly meeting of the Mount Pulaski Historical Society on Monday,
and told of a journey and destination that Mr. Lincoln made that is
not well known, if at all.
Keller has finished a book on the history of Lincoln’s time in the
Illinois legislature in the state capitol. No, it was not in the
state capitol we all know. “The Illinois state capitol was in
Vandalia rather than Springfield during most of Mr. Lincoln’s time
in the legislature,” said Keller.
This time in Lincoln’s life has rarely been studied. Even Mr.
Lincoln’s four autobiographies make short shrift of his time as a
representative of Sangamon County in the state legislature in
Vandalia. “His time in the legislature has been mostly overshadowed
by other events in his life,” said Keller.
While Lincoln’s time in the legislature does not rise to the stellar
nature of his later accomplishments, he did introduce bills that had
a profound influence on the state.
Lincoln first ran for the state legislature in 1832 and lost, coming
in 8th. Lincoln was a follower of Henry Clay, a nationally known
politician from Kentucky, and an advocate of federal spending on
infrastructure improvements in the states. Clay was a bitter enemy
of President Andrew Jackson. Jackson fought for little federal
involvement in the affairs of the states.
Lincoln again ran in 1834 and won as one of seven representatives in
the legislature from Sangamon County. Each county in the state at
that time could send multiple representatives to the state house.
His main backing was from his friends in New Salem who made Lincoln
promise that he would work to divide Sangamon County into several
counties. And then the new state legislator was off to Vandalia.
During Mr. Lincoln’s time in Vandalia the state legislature was a
part time job, meeting three or four months a year. The members were
from all walks of life - lawyers, farmers, ferry men, local
politicians. They typically served just a few terms and moved on to
other endeavors. And most of them were born outside Illinois, and
like Mr. Lincoln, many were from Kentucky.
Lincoln had a lot in common with his fellow legislators. He was from
poor and humble beginnings, and self-taught. The legislators knew
one another and got along, even though they had differing political
views.
Vandalia was also a difficult place to live, having few amenities
that seem to be a requirement these days. The legislators roomed
together in any sort of accommodation they could find. The capitol
building was in very poor condition. Given all of these
difficulties, Lincoln reveled in his time in Vandalia. He said he
wanted to make a difference, and in later years he said that his
time in Vandalia was some of his most satisfying.
 Keller said that Lincoln was true to his constituents in New Salem
by introducing a bill in three of his terms in the Illinois
legislature to split Sangamon County into several counties. It
failed in his first attempt.
“Lincoln was true to his feeling that the federal government should
help build up the states with money for roads, bridges, and
railroads,” said Ron Keller. His four terms in the Illinois
legislature were hugely important to Mr. Lincoln’s future as a
politician.
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According to Keller, Lincoln was an ambitious politician and gained
respect from his peers in the legislature. Lincoln also achieved his
law license in 1836, which served to enhance his stature. He left
New Salem and moved to Springfield to join the law practice of his
mentor John Stuart.
The drum beat was beginning to move the Illinois state capitol from Vandalia to
Springfield in the late 1830’s. Lincoln’s win for another term in 1838 was the
last he served in Vandalia. Sangamon County had the votes and the population to
overwhelm any opposition against moving the capitol to Springfield. Lincoln was
reelected to his final term as a state legislator in 1840, serving in
Springfield.
Professor Keller’s book deals with Lincoln’s time in Vandalia and the important
legislation that Lincoln supported. Lincoln did introduce legislation to divide
Sangamon County during his time in Vandalia and was finally successful in 1839.
Logan County was one of the three new counties that were carved out of Sangamon.
Lincoln supported internal improvements in Illinois that were to be paid for by
the state, including a charter for the Illinois Central Railroad. Internal
improvements paid for with public funds proved controversial. Many believed that
internal improvements should be made with private funds. While some
infrastructure improvements were finally made with state money, because of the
small amount of money coming into the state coffers and an economic depression
in the late 1830’s, Illinois was saddled with debt for decades.
Lincoln made a speech that asserted his view that women should be granted the
right to vote.
In 1837, Lincoln wrote an entry in the house journal to protest the injustice of
slavery. He did it to protest the anti-abolition sentiment that he saw in the
Illinois legislature.
“In 1860, Lincoln stated that he was most proud of this bill,” said Keller. One
of Lincoln’s friends in Vandalia was Stephen Douglas. He and Douglas debated in
the Illinois legislature in Vandalia long before their historic debates of 1858
when both were candidates for the U.S. Senate from Illinois.
Ron Keller asserts in his new book that Lincoln grew to prominence during his
time in the Illinois legislature in Vandalia and gained the esteem of his fellow
legislators. He remained friends with them for the rest of his life. Lincoln
asserted that his eight years in the legislature were some of the most
satisfying of his life.
“The case could be made that Lincoln’s time in the Illinois legislature in
Vandalia was vital to his being elected President of the United States,”
asserted Keller. Keller’s history of Lincoln’s time in Vandalia is scheduled to
be published by Southern Illinois University Press in 2016.
The Mount Pulaski Historical Society meets the last Monday of the month at 6:30
p.m. at the museum on the square in Mount Pulaski. They have a speaker
quarterly. The public is always welcome.
[Curt Fox]
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