Lincoln at Peoria : the turning point : getting right with the Declaration of Independence / [Lewis E. Lehrman].

To understand Abraham Lincoln, one must understand the extraordinary antislavery speech he delivered at Peoria on October 16, 1854. This three-hour address marked the turning point in Lincoln's political pilgrimage, dramatically altering his political career and, as a result, American history. Here, historian Levis E. Lehrman examines the seminal speech and its historical context, arguing that the divide between the statecraft of Lincoln's presidential years and his early legislative years originates with the speech at Peoria. Lincoln had substantially withdrawn from politics between 1849 and 1854, developing his Springfield law practice. Then in May 1854 Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, repealing the prohibition on slavery in that section of the Louisiana Territory--a restriction agreed by North and South in the Missouri Compromise of 1820. In response to this, Lincoln launched his antislavery campaign, delivering speeches in Springfield and Peoria, which catapulted him into national politics.--From publisher description.

1. ON THE ROAD TO THE SPRINGFIELD SPEECH. Lincoln and Douglas: the early years -- Helping Congressman Yates -- Preparation to fight Kansas-Nebraska -- Senator Douglas returns to Illinois -- Speeches and debates -- Campaigning for free-soil -- 2. SPRINGFIELD, PEORIA, AND BEYOND. On to Peoria -- Peoria speech -- The end of the 1854 debates -- The end of the campaign -- 3. THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT: THE CONTEXT. Douglas's motives -- Insertion of "inoperative and void" -- The Chase appeal -- The opposition -- The Whigs -- Pushing passage -- Protesting passage -- 4. THE PEORIA SPEECH: THE IDEAS AND ARGUMENTS. The Founders and the Declaration of Independence -- National expansion and compromise -- The Compromise of 1850 -- Popular sovereignty and slavery -- Race and prejudice -- Nationhood and Union -- Principle and policy -- 5. THE ROAD FROM PEORIA. Unintended consequences of Kansas-Nebraska -- Election results and realignment in Illinois -- The 1854-1855 Senate campaign -- Realignment and the Republican Party -- Bleeding Kansas -- The 1856 Bloomington Convention -- 6. CHALLENGING "DRED SCOTT", THE SUPREME COURT, AND DOUGLAS -- The Republican reaction -- The 1858 senate campaign -- The Lincoln-Douglas debates -- The Presidential campaign -- 7. PEORIA CHARACTERIZES THE LINCOLN PRESIDENCY. Declaration of Independence and the Constitution -- Preserving the Union -- Slavery and equality -- Union, morality, and reality -- The South -- Douglas and Lincoln -- The Bible and the world -- 8. CODA -- 9. THE PEORIA SPEECH AND THE HISTORIANS' RECORD -- Full text of speech at Peoria, Illinois -- Milestones in the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 352-395) and index.

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