USA > Illinois > Cook County > History of Cook County, Illinois : being a general survey of Cook County history, including a condensed history of Chicago and special account of districts outside the city limits : from the earliest settlement to the present time, volume I > Part 37
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Lincoln's great speeches in Connecticut in the spring of 1860 caused a sensation in all parts of the Union and were regarded with delight by the Republicans of Cook county. In March, 1860, it was decided to build a commodious temporary structure for the accom- modation of the Republican national convention and for the con- venience of the Republicans of Cook county during the campaign. The plan met with general favor. It was decided that the structure, which afterwards was called the "Wigwam," should be built on the corner of Lake and Market streets, on the site of the old Sauganash hotel. The cost was estimated at $5,000, which must be raised by subscription among the Republicans. It is a singular fact that in Chicago a number of Republican presidential clubs were formed and that in almost every instance Lincoln was named second on the ticket. There were clubs called Cameron and Lincoln, Seward and Lincoln, Read and Lincoln, Banks and Lincoln, etc. The committee chosen to superintend the erection of the Wigwam and to receive and dis- burse the fund were Peter Page, Sylvester Lind, C. N. Holden,
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G. S. Hubbard and Erastus Rawson. At this date E. C. Larned was president of the executive committee of the Republican club. The Wigwam was built in about thirty days. It fronted 180 feet on Market street and 100 feet on Lake, and was made to accommo- date 10,000 people. It had a large gallery and was lighted with gas. A ladies' committee was appointed to provide suitable deco- rations. It was dedicated May 12, 1860, and 25 cents admission fee was charged. Many speeches were delivered, one by Joshua R. Giddings being especially noteworthy. Letters were read from Charles Sumner and Cassius M. Clay, and the Ellsworth Zouaves gave one of their inimitable drills for the entertainment of visitors from abroad. Giddings in his Wigwam speech said:
"When I look back but the short space of twenty years I remem- ber when I stood in Congress without a single sympathetic heart, proclaiming doctrines which we all, which the vast host of Repub- licans all, now exult in upholding, and had no conception that I should live to see this the prevailing sentiment throbbing in every heart. We have come here with our souls baptized with the love of truth, justice and liberty. We know we shall have a man who will maintain those doctrines. We have no fears about it. Who that man is we don't care a cent. It is the principle, the rights of the people, those great immutable, unchangeable truths for which your fathers and mine contended on the hundred battlefields of the Revo- lution. We are fighting those battles over again."
As early as May 2 delegates from several states secured their headquarters in the city. The leading hotels at the time were the Richmond, Tremont, Sherman and Briggs houses. During the National convention rallies of Republicans at the Wigwam occurred nightly. Chicago succeeded in caring for all the delegates and visitors present at the National convention. At the meetings it was noted that there was great diversity of opinions on the question of slavery and the Union, but the prevailing opinion was that the Union must be preserved and that slavery must be restricted. Every evening the streets were brilliant with processions of wide-awakes and militia ; rockets and Roman candles were shot off at the leading headquarters. Concerning these meetings the Press and Tribune said: "No one who saw the scene of this juncture will ever forget it. The artillery pealing, the flight of the rockets, the gleaming windows of the entire residence front' of our city, the vast depot edifice filled with the eager crowd, the excursion train safe from its flying trip across the peninsular state about to land its passengers, many of them for the first time on the Western shore of Lake Michi- gan, all constituted a tout ensemble wonderful and rare."
Gilmore's famous band of Boston was present. The Republicans here strongly and urgently demanded the nomination of Mr. Lin- coln. It was declared that he was the soundest, safest, most con- servative and truest to Republican principles. It was urged that
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he was not a candidate, that he had no apologies to make, was a Southern man with Northern principles, was one of the people, was acceptable to all factions of the Republicans, was an honest man, and could be elected. Gen. James W. Nye of New York, who far a number of years had been a favorite orator of the Chicagoans whenever he came here, spoke as follows at one of the meetings :
"The labor that this convention is called upon to perform is of more importance that that of any convention that has ever convened in this nation. We behold on all sides ruin scattered broadcast, promises made to the head that are broken to the heart, pledges of fidelity to principles that are only made to be broken. We behold an old, gray-headed man (Buchanan) yielding implicit obedience to the mandates of an imperious oligarchy. The lower that this admin- istration can stoop, the blacker it can get its face and its heart, the more in keeping it seems to think itself with its masters. To break this thraldom, to dispel this national darkness, its the work of no small moment. . The Charleston convention sat for ten long days and fifteen States backed out. The fifteen that backed out were affirmatively for slavery and those that stayed in were affirma- tively opposed to freedom. They were afraid of each other. They ran, and the South when last heard of was as near destination as the swine that were possessed of devils were when they were last seen on land. And the Northern wing have come home to take counsel, I suppose, of their wives, for there is nobody else that will counsel with them, and they would not were it not for the marital vow. They have adjourned to Baltimore, and the fact reminds me of a story that was told of a nobleman of England who, when told that a certain friend of his had the smallpox twice and had died, inquired whether he had died of the first or second attack. Now if there are any Democrats present-and I hope there are some here, for 'I came not to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance'-I will tell you where to hide-hide in the rich bosom of Republican redemp- tion. Come back, after having fed on husks long enough, to your old father's house where there is bread enough and to spare."
The Press and Tribune of May 16 said: "The city swarms like a beehive. The hotels are full. Multitudes of our private residences have their quota of guests. The rush from the country will com- mence today. The delegations have established their headquarters at the several hotels. All trains come loaded with passengers. The great Wigwam is the marvel and admiration of all our visitors and will do a work in the coming campaign worth ten times its cost."
David Wilmot of Pennsylvania was made temporary chairman of the convention and in the opening speech said: "A great sec- tional and aristocratic party or interest has for years dominated with a high hand over the political affairs, of this country. That interest has wrested, and is now wresting, all the great powers of the Government to the one object of the extension of slavery. It
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is our purpose-it is the mission of the Republican party and the basis of its organization, to resist this policy of a sectional interest. It is our mission to restore this Government to its original policy and place it again in that rank upon which our fathers organized and brought it into existence. It is our purpose and our policy to resist these new Constitutional dogmas that slavery exists by virtue of the Constitution, wherever the banner of this Union floats. Our fathers regarded slavery as a blot upon this country. Had the propositon been presented to them in the early conflicts of the Revolution or outside of that grand movement that they were called upon to endure the hazards, trials and sacrifices of that long and perilous contest for the purpose of establishing on this continent a great slave empire, not one of them would have drawn his sword in such a cause. No, citizens! This Republic was established for the purpose of securing the guaranties of liberty, of justice and of righteousness to the people and to their posterity. That was the great object with which the Revolution was fought; these were the purposes for which the Constitution and the Union were formed. Slavery is sectional; liberty national."
Among the notable men present were Horace Greeley, William M. Evarts, George S. Boutwell, Frank P. Blair, Carl Schurz, John A. Kasson, David Davis, Preston King, Governor Reeder, David Wilmot and Montgomery Blair. George Ashmun of Massachusetts was made permanent chairman. He said: "No ordinary call has brought us together. Nothing but a deep sense of the danger into which our Government is fast running could have rallied the people thus in this city today for the purpose of rescuing the Government from the deep degradation into which it has fallen. . . Allow me to say that I think we have a right here today in the name of the American people to say that we impeach the administration of our general government of the highest crimes that can be committed against a constitutional government, against a free people, and against humanity. Allow me to congratulate you and the people upon one striking feature of our meeting in this beautiful city. It is that brotherly kindness and generous emulation which has marked every conversation and every discussion, showing a desire for nothing else but their country's good. Earnest, warm and generous preferences are expressed, ardent hopes and fond purposes are declared, but not have I heard one unkind word uttered by one man toward another. I hail it as an augury of success."
At the opening of the convention Norman B. Judd presented to the chairman a gavel made by a Chicago mechanic from Perry's ship, the "Lawrence." The Board of Trade invited the convention to take a ride on the lake, and E. E. Ellsworth invited the convention to the Wigwam in the evening to witness an exhibition drill of his Zouaves.
One of the most interesting events connected with the great con-
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vention was the reception given to Abraham Lincoln at the Wigwam upon his appearance there. While he was present Mr. Oorlogs "This al. happened in county desired to make a contribution to the convention. On mot: " Decatur
of the Illinois delegation, announced that an old Democrat of Macon his contribution was accepted. Thereupon two old fence rails were warm f may 10, mot at Chicago brought in and carried up the aisle, decorated with flags and stream- ers and bearing this inscription: "Abraham Lincoln, the Rail Can- didate for President in 1860. The two rails were from a lot of 3,000 made in 1830 by Thomas Hanks and Abraham Lincoln, whose a previous error! father was the first pioneer of Macon county." The Illinois Journal said: "The effect was electrical. One spontaneous burst of ap- plause went up from all parts of the Wigwam, which grew more and more deafening as it prolonged, and which did not wholly sub- side for ten or fifteen minutes after."
Mr. Lincoln was called out amidst a burst of applause and ex- plained how and when the rails were split and the fence was built. On the great day of the convention when Mr. Lincoln was nomi- nated there were packed into the Wigwam, by actual count, 12,150 persons ; outside in the streets were fully 12,000 more. The weather was extremely warm and at least four women in the audience fainted. One of the notable features of the convention was the singing of na- tional and patriotic songs by Frank Lumbard. On the third roll-call, when the Ohio delegation saw that about three more votes would nominate Mr. Lincoln and before the result was announced, enough of them promptly changed, insuring his nomination. When the call was read and it was known that Mr. Lincoln was the nominee, the entire audience rose to their feet cheering, waving flags, hats and caps and continuing thus for many minutes. Quickly, one state after another changed to Mr. Lincoln until he had a total of 364 votes. The Tribune of May 19 said: "The Scene in the Wig- wam .- It is absolutely impossible to describe, as it is equally impossi- ble for one who was not present to imagine, the scene in the Wig- wam when Mr. Lincoln was nominated. Without attempting, therefore, to convey an idea of the delirious cheers, the Babel of joy and excitement, we may mention that stout men wept like children- that two candidates for the gubernatorial chairs of their respective states, who looked at the nomination of Honest Old Abe to carry the Republican cause at home through the storm, sank down in ex- cess of joy. The tumultuous emotions of men all over the plat- form, who had not closed their eyes during the last forty-eight hours, trembling between hope and fear-laboring for what they deemed the best interest of the noblest cause under the heavens- acted with electrical effect on the immense auditory. Men of stern countenances and strong nerves, upon arising to speak, were almost disabled by their agitation. But the scene is not to be pictured."
"The speech of Mr. Evarts of New York in moving that the nomination of Abraham Lincoln be made unanimous is upon every
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lip. The words of the eloquent gentleman will be found in another column, but the majestic grace and dignity of their utterance are not to be known to those who are readers merely and not hearers."
Lincoln was nominated by Mr. Judd of Illinois. William H. Seward was nominated by William M. Evarts. Simon Cameron and Salmon P. Chase were also nominated. Mr. Deland of Ohio, who seconded Mr. Lincoln's nomination, referred to him as "the man who can split rails and maul Democrats." As soon as it was known throughout the city that Mr. Lincoln had been nominated, Chicago practically went wild with delight and impromptu celebra- tions on the street corners and in public buildings were held. It is said that the Pennsylvania delegation telegraphed to Decatur to secure the whole fence built by Lincoln and Hanks in 1830. At the close of the convention were the great speeches of Evarts of New York, Andrews of Massachusetts, Schurz of Wisconsin, Browning of Illinois-all sound, harmonizing, eloquent and brilliant. All felt sure of success at the November election.
At a big Republican rally held May 19 the speakers were J. R. Giddings, General Nye, Ossian E. Dodge and General Swift. The speech of General Nye was unusually strong and effective. Mr. Giddings, as he always did, became eloquent and during his address scores were moved to tears. An interesting feature connected with the convention was that on Thursday, May 17, the night Mr. Lin- coln was nominated, Mr. Greeley telegraphed to the New York Tribune that the nomination of Seward could not be prevented. Immediately after the nomination of Mr. Lincoln, his speeches and those of Mr. Douglas during the memorable campaign of 1858 be- came the strongest campaign documents. They were distributed by thousands in all parts of the Union.
Among those who took part in the Democratic county convention in June, 1860, were Dr. Brock McVicker, S. S. Hayes, H. L. Stew- art, Alderman Comisky, J. B. Bradwell, A. G. Foreman, Aaron Haven, William Carpenter, W. A. Richardson, R. T. Merrick, J. M. Rountree, Utah Drummond, J. W. Sheahan, H. D. Colvin, J. A. Hahn and Henry Greenebaum.
Both parties during the fall of 1860 were thoroughly organized and carried on a campaign that was never surpassed for enthusiasm, vigor and brilliancy. The Democrats were divided, which put them at a disadvantage, particularly so as the Republicans were united and had drawn largely from their disorganized ranks. Dozens of rallies by both parties were held in Chicago, Evanston, Thornton, Blue Island and elsewhere, on which occasion wide-awakes paraded with torches, bonfires lighted up the surrounding country and the leading speakers from Chicago entertained the people with brilliant addresses. In June, 1860, Norman B. Judd began suit against John Wentworth for libel.
On July 7, 1860, at night, the Democrats held an immense meet-
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ing ratifying the nomination of Douglas for the presidency. They took possession of North's amphitheater and made this the opening night, on which occasion they dedicated the building to Democracy for the fall campaign. Soon after Mr. Lincoln's nomination a dele- gation of fifty-one carloads of enthusiastic Republicans visited Springfield to congratulate the nominee and to hear him speak. At a Breckenridge and Lane meeting held August 12, Thompson Camp- bell and Henry S. Fitch were the speakers. At a Republican rally on the North Side on August 30, "on the forty-acre vacant lot," the speakers were Cassius M. Clay, J. F. Farnsworth, A. C. Hesing, S. M. Wilson and others. On September 1, James Allen, Demo- cratic candidate for governor, spoke to a torchlight procession from the balcony of the Tremont house.
The local questions of importance during the fall of 1860 were as follows: To amend the city charter; to fund the floating debt; to deprive the Council of power to run into debt; to limit expenes and revenue; to consolidate the sewerage board, board of water commissioners and the street commissioners in a single board; and to cut down the number of office holders. William B. Ogden was Republican candidate for state senator at this time. At a big meet- ing in the Wigwam on September 15, Messrs. Ogden, Scammon, Bradley, Arnold and Driscoll were the speakers.
On October 1, 1860, upon the appearance here of Gov. William H. Seward, he was given a splendid reception and responded with an eloquent speech on the famous balcony of the Tremont house. Lady Franklin, widow of Sir John Franklin, who was lost in the Polar sea, occupied a place on the platform while he was speaking. The next day he delivered another address here and was followed by General Nye and Owen Lovejoy, both of whom were favorite orators of Chicago audiences. It was declared that on this occasion 75,000 people from abroad were in the city. . It was no doubt the biggest crowd ever here up to that date. All of the surrounding counties and nearly every township in Cook county sent large delegations. A prize of $100 in cash was offered to the best delegation and was captured by Libertyville; 10,000 wide-awakes were in procession and 500 mounted rangers occupied a conspicuous place in the parade. The crowd was larger than at the National convention or at the United States fair. The speeches were delivered from a stand erected nearly opposite the Wigwam on the west side of Market street ; in fact, the crowd was so large that it was concluded to hold speaking outside of the Wigwam, which would hold only 12,000. Seward's speech was two hours in length and was a splendid exposi- tion of Republican principles. Lovejoy and Nye spoke in the Wig- wam. On October 4, upon the return of Mr. Douglas, he was given a magnificent reception by the local Democracy. He delivered a short speech from the Tremont balcony in the evening, but the fol- lowing day, October 5, delivered one of his masterpieces to a crowd
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almost as large and almost as enthusiastic as the big meeting of the Republicans. On October 24, Thomas Corwin, "The Wagon Boy" of Ohio, addressed an immense audience in the Wigwam. The elec- tion of November occurred on the 6th and the same evening more than 6,000 people gathered in the Wigwam and heard the returns read. Of course, interest centered in the presidential ticket, but a strong local fight was made over the office of sheriff. Mr. Sherman was the candidate of the Democrats and Mr. Hesing the candidate of the Republicans; the latter was abused unstintedly during the campaign. When the returns were in the Republicans went wild with joy, 200 guns were fired at the Randolph street bridge, the Wigwam was thrown open, the wide-awakes appeared as if by magic, and at Randolph and Clark streets a splendid display of rock- ets, roman candles and bonfires was enjoyed. In Cook county Lincoln received 14,589 votes and Douglas 9,946. In the city of Chicago the vote stood Lincoln 10,697, Douglas 8,094, Bell 107, and Breckenridge 87. At the same election was submitted the question of a convention to form a new constitution. The vote in Cook county was: For the convention, 24,369; against the convention, 260. The famous "Tinth ward" went overwhelmingly for Douglas, the vote being Douglas 1,359, Lincoln 991. It was humorously stated at the time that that ward threatened to secede from the Union.
At the time of the fall of Fort Sumter Chicago was in the midst of its municipal campaign, and immediately the question of sustain- ing the National administration in its coercive policy became all- important. The candidate of the Democracy for mayor, Thomas B. Bryan, was an unswerving Union man, as was also the candidate of the Republicans, Julian S. Rumsey. Both parties called their tickets "Union," and in public meetings indorsed the prosecution of the war to sustain the Government. At a meeting held in Bryan hall on the evening of April 15 the Democrats took the following action :
"Resolved, That the people of Chicago-Republicans, Democrats, Bell and Breckenridge men-should now know no party but that of patriots and should unite earnestly and cordially in support of the Government. To do so the People's Union ticket should be voted for with such unanimity as to render its triumph a most emphatic declaration of our whole people, ignoring all party, in favor of the Union, and in support of the Government."
The Republicans, while admitting the loyalty, popularity, ability and high character of Mr. Bryan, condemned the ticket as a whole, because it had the support of the Times and of men who had opposed coercive measures and had favored permitting the Southern states to dissolve the Union. The Tribune of April 17 said: "Aside from the endorsement of the Times and the special nursing of its Virginia cliques, there was no taint of secession on Mr. Bryan's garments and the people so understood it. Whether on the score
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CLYDE A, MORRISON
MADISON R.HARRIS
D. H. WAMSLEY
JOHN R. CAVERLY
HENRY J. FRE KS
J. J. SULLIVAN
EDWARD
C. FITCH
ALFRED O. ERICKSON.
CITY ATTORNEY AND ASSISTANTS.
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of patriotism, respectability, sound judgment, or public spirit, there was nothing to choose between the two men-Rumsey and Bryan."
When the votes were counted it was found that Rumsey's major- ity was 1,673 in the total city vote of 14,875. It was seen that the parties had divided squarely on party issues and that the superior prominence of Mr. Bryan over Mr. Rumsey had cut no figure in the face of the momentous questions then shaking the country. The . Tribune of April 18, 1861, said: "The result shows that the city divided nearly on the old party lines. After the nominations were made both sides adopted platforms pledging their firm and unceasing support of the Government in its war with the rebels. Was it the duty of either party to withdraw its candidates? If so, which party? Perhaps if more time had been allowed for the interchange of views, such an arrangement could have been made. Mr. Rumsey had no desire to be mayor. On the contrary, he was averse to the office up to the very closing of the polls. But he was not authorized to withdraw without consulting his friends."
In March, 1861, Herman Kreismann of Chicago was appointed secretary of legation at Berlin by President Lincoln. At this time the entire police force was discharged by Mayor Wentworth. The death of Mr. Douglas in June, 1861, was deeply lamented and in many ways was regarded as a public calamity by the members of both parties. He had come out strongly in favor of the war and his past was forgiven by the Republicans. All felt that the war had lost a staunch friend. He died at the Tremont house and lay in state in Bryan hall for several days.
In October, 1861, a convention of Republicans and war Demo- crats was held for the purpose of uniting all persons favoring the preservation of the Union at any cost. A large committee was appointed to carry into effect a plan for dividing among the two parties delegates from the city precincts. This committee consisted of the following men: C. N. Holden, Julian S. Rumsey, Joseph Medill, J. C. Paine Freer, Homer Wilmarth, Jacob Rehm, Republi- cans; and W. C. Goudy, J. B. Turner, D. Cameron, W. B. Scates, Philip Conley, S. S. Hayes, F. C. Sherman and Andrew Schall, Democrats. This convention was held in Bryan hall in October and was called afterwards "The Bryan Hall Packed convention." There were adopted at this convention a series of resolutions, just as the convention closed, that were not in harmony with the notions of a large portion of the Democracy. Objection particularly was taken to the following: "Resolved, That we call upon the adminis- tration to use every legal means of warfare to suppress the Rebel- lion, including the confiscation of all the property of the rebels and even to the liberation of their slaves." This was carrying recom- mendations farther than many of the Democracy desired. The result was that two other tickets were nominated. The objectors wanted changes made upon the basis of the Crittenden resolutions.
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