Bulletin. [Vol. 50, no. 1]

BULLETIN Of te c
J~Zon L c nonh

Bulletin No. 50

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS

December, 1937

Lincoln-Campaign Manager and
Orator in 1840
By HARRY E. PRATT

"W E HAVE full and entire confidence in the talents, patriotism and political integrity of
the two distinguished statesmen,
spoken of as candidates for the presidency, Henry Clay and William
Henry Harrison, both favorite Harries
of the WJest." As the last word of
the resolution was read, a roar of approval issued from the throats of
several hundred Whigs gathered in
Springfield, in the first Whig State
Convention held in Illinois. Conducted with great harmony and spirit,
this convention, on October 7-8, 1839,
was the direct result of a year of education of the electorate by the party
newspapers throughout the state.
The Whig party in Illinois had
lacked organization and purpose, and
this convention supplied both needs.
Four years before, the Illinois Democrats had taken up the convention system and disciplined the individual to
the party's requirements. Now the
Whigs were doing the same thing. To
direct the 1840 campaign, a state

Central Committee was chosen. The
five members, Abraham Lincoln,
Anson G. Henry, Richard F. Barrett,
Edward D. Baker and Joshua F.
Speed, were all of Springfield. Despite the polite words about Henry
Clay, it was the mention of Harrison
that provoked enthusiasm among the
Whigs. Well aware of this feeling
were the five delegates chosen to attend the National Convention to be
held at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The National Whig Convention,
which met early in December, adopted
no platform. Opposition to Van
Buren was the chief unifying factor.
The Democratic platform turned out
to be a series of negatives. The
logical issues in Illinois-internal improvements and the reduction of the
ten million dollar state debt-were
submerged in the national battle of
personalities between Harrison and
Van Buren.
In addition to choosing a state
Central Committee, the Springfield
convention named the party's five