Lincoln's First Political Speech

[David Lockmiller]

From Full text of "Abraham Lincoln in Decatur"


Lincoln was not unknown in the village, for in June or
July, 1830, he was called upon to make a speech at a political
gathering that was considered important enough to be in-
cluded in William D. Howells' 1860 campaign biography of
Lincoln. In the copy of that biography, which Lincoln per-
sonally corrected, he changed nothing in the report of the
speech as related by Howells:

"General W. L. D. Ewing, and a politician named Posey,
who afterward achieved notoriety in the Black Hawk war,
had addressed the freemen of Macon the year previous, 'on
the issues of the day.' Mr. Posey had, however, in violation
of venerable precedent and sacred etiquette, failed to invite
the sovereigns to drink something. They were justly indig-
nant, and persuaded Lincoln to reply, in the expectation
that he would possibly make himself offensive to Posey.
Lincoln, however, took the stump with characteristic mod-
esty, and begging his friends not to laugh if he broke down,
treated very courteously the two speakers who had preceded
him, discussed questions of Politics, and in his peroration
eloquently pictured the future of Illinois. There was sense
and reason in his arguments, and his imaginative flight
tickled the State pride of the Illinoians. It was declared that
Lincoln had made the best speech of the day; and he, to his
great astonishment, found himself a prophet among those of
his own household, while his titled fellow-orator cordially
complimented his performance."

John Hanks was there and gave this version:

"After Abe got to Decatur, or rather to Macon County,
a man by the name of Posey came into our neighborhood and
made a speech. It was a bad one, and I said Abe could beat
it. I turned down a box and Abe made his speech. The other
was a candidate — Abe wasn't. Abe beat him to death, his
subject being the navigation of the Sangamon River. The
man, after Abe's speech was through, took him aside and
asked him where he had learned so much and how he could
do so well. Abe replied, stating his manner and method of
reading, and what he had read. The man encouraged him to
persevere."

William Lee D. Ewing and John F. Posey of Fayette
County were two of the ten candidates seeking election as
state representatives to the Illinois Legislature from the dis-
trict composed of Bond, Fayette, Montgomery, Tazewell, and
Macon Counties. Ewing and Posey were elected August 2,
1830 — Posey receiving fifty-four votes, and Ewing eighty-
six, in Decatur.

When L. F. Muzzy, a Decatur city alderman, proposed in
1886 that the "old square" be called Lincoln Square, Captain
Joel S. Post approved, saying Abe Lincoln had made a speech
in North Main Street only a few feet from the square. Lin-
coln and some other young men had come to hear the Ewing
and Posey speeches, Post related, and after the politicians
had spoken, the crowd insisted that Lincoln talk, choosing
his own subject. Captain Post said the subject was "The
Propriety of having Slack Water in Navigation, or Improve-
ment of the Sangamon River."

Captain Post did not come to Decatur until 1839, nine
years after the speech was made, and if that was the correct
subject of the speech he must have obtained his information
from others. It would have been possible for him to have
learned of it directly from Lincoln, as Post started practicing
law in Decatur in 1841, continued until 1846, and then re-
sumed after the Mexican War. Not only did he meet Lincoln
in the courtroom in Decatur, but he was associated with him
in a number of cases and frequently was with him on the
circuit.

Lincoln perhaps had made other speeches in Decatur be-
fore this one, for the crowd evidently knew he could talk to
audiences. Probably he would not have been urged to speak
at the same meeting with Ewing and Posey unless his friends
knew he could make a good showing.

When Edwin T. Coleman wrote his History of Decatur
in 1929 for The Decatur Review, he included an account of
a Lincoln speech at a time when a General Whiteside was in
the village making a political roundup. Coleman said the
speech was made in front of Isaac C. Pugh's [name emphasis
for reference to last lines of this post] store on West
Main Street. Although Pugh came to Macon County in 1829,
his store in West Main Street was not licensed until April 2,
1831, after Lincoln left Macon County. [/b]

According to the legend repeated by Coleman, after
Whiteside had spoken, some of the younger members of
the crowd called for Lincoln. Lincoln spoke on the naviga-
tion of the Sangamon, after which Whiteside is reported to
have said to Pugh:

"Who is that young fellow?"

"His name is Abe Lincoln, but outside of that I don't
know anything about him," replied Pugh.

"He's nobody's d--d fool and some of these days that
fellow is going to be heard of."

This obviously is another version of the Sangamon navi-
gation speech made at the time of the Ewing-Posey visit.
Election records do not show any man by the name of White-
side as a candidate for office in or from Macon County at
that time. There was a James A. Whiteside elected in 1830
to represent Pope County in the State Legislature and a
John D. Whiteside was elected the same year to represent
Monroe County. One of these two men may have been in
Decatur in the interest of one of the candidates for governor
that year but it seems doubtful.

The Lincoln speech for the Ewing-Posey audience prob-
ably was given in front of the Renshaw store on North Main
Street just off the old square. The tavern was located there
and the loafing was done nearby. Legend has it that cards
were played on a log in front of the store. Since the election
was on August 2, 1830, the speech probably was made in
June or July.

Posey may have been impressed by the Lincoln speech as
was Mr. Ewing, for in January, 1831, Representative Posey
introduced a resolution in the Legislature "that the commit-
tee on internal improvements be instructed to inquire into-
the expediency of opening the navigation of the Sangamon
River as far as Decatur in Macon County."

Little known fact: My grade school was Pugh School in Decatur, Illinois.
The school was named after Colonel Isaac C. Pugh of Civil War fame.