Stephen A. Douglas: A Study in American Politics

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STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS:

A STUDY IN AMERICAN POLITICS


By ALLEN JOHNSON

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN BOWDOIN COLLEGE;
SOMETIME PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN IOWA COLLEGE

New York

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1908

_All rights reserved_

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COPYRIGHT 1908

By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

Set up and electrotyped. Published February 1908

THE MASON-HENRY PRESS SYRACUSE, N.Y.

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To

PROFESSOR JESSE MACY

whose wisdom and kindliness have inspired
a generation of students




PREFACE


To describe the career of a man who is now chiefly remembered as the
rival of Abraham Lincoln, must seem to many minds a superfluous, if
not invidious, undertaking. The present generation is prone to forget
that when the rivals met in joint debate fifty years ago, on the
prairies of Illinois, it was Senator Douglas, and not Mr. Lincoln, who
was the cynosure of all observing eyes. Time has steadily lessened the
prestige of the great Democratic leader, and just as steadily enhanced
the fame of his Republican opponent.

The following pages have been written, not as a vindication, but as an
interpretation of a personality whose life spans the controversial
epoch before the Civil War. It is due to the chance reader to state
that the writer was born in a New England home, and bred in an
anti-slavery atmosphere where the political creed of Douglas could not
thrive. If this book reveals a somewhat less sectional outlook than
this personal allusion suggests, the credit must be given to those
generous friends in the great Middle West, who have helped the writer
to interpret the spirit of that region which gave both Douglas and
Lincoln to the nation.

The material for this study has been brought together from many
sources. Through the kindness of Mrs. James W. Patton of Springfield,
Illinois, I have had access to a valuable collection of letters
written by Douglas to her father, Charles H. Lanphier, Esq., editor of
the Illinois _State Register_. Judge Robert M. Douglas of North
Carolina has permitted me to use an autobiographical sketch of his
father, as well as other papers in the possession of the family. Among
those who have lightened my labors, either by copies of letters penned
by Douglas or by personal recollections, I would mention with
particular gratitude the late Mrs. L.K. Lippincott ("Grace
Greenwood"); Mr. J.H. Roberts and Stephen A. Douglas, Esq. of Chicago;
Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller and the late Hon. Robert E. Hitt of
Washington. With his wonted generosity, Mr. James F. Rhodes has given
me the benefit of his wide acquaintance with the newspapers of the
period, which have been an invaluable aid in the interpretation of
Douglas's career. Finally, by personal acquaintance and conversation
with men who knew him, I have endeavored to catch the spirit of those
who made up the great mass of his constituents.

Brunswick, Maine,

November, 1907.




CONTENTS

    BOOK I. THE CALL OF THE WEST

    CHAPTER I
    FROM THE GREEN MOUNTAINS TO THE PRAIRIES       3

    CHAPTER II
    THE RISE OF THE POLITICIAN                    18

    CHAPTER III
    LAW AND POLITICS                              51

    CHAPTER IV
    UNDER THE AEGIS OF ANDREW JACKSON             68

    CHAPTER V
    MANIFEST DESTINY                              84

    CHAPTER VI
    WAR AND POLITICS                             109

    CHAPTER VII
    THE MEXICAN CESSION                          127


    BOOK II. THE DOCTRINE OF POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY

    CHAPTER VIII
    SENATOR AND CONSTITUENCY                     145

    CHAPTER IX
    MEASURES OF ADJUSTMENT                       166

    CHAPTER X
    YOUNG AMERICA                                191

    CHAPTER XI
    THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT                      220

    CHAPTER XII
    BLACK REPUBLICANISM                          260

    CHAPTER XIII
    THE TESTING OF POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY           281


    BOOK III. THE IMPENDING CRISIS

    CHAPTER XIV
    THE PERSONAL EQUATION                        309

    CHAPTER XV
    THE REVOLT OF DOUGLAS                        324

    CHAPTER XVI
    THE JOINT DEBATES WITH LINCOLN