Part 10 (1/2)

ON MAY 28, 1856, Lincoln traveled by train from Danville to Decatur on his way to Bloomington. Upon learning there was no train north until the following morning, he strolled about town with other delegates to the upcoming anti-Nebraska convention. While sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree, Lincoln reminisced about coming to Decatur twenty-five years earlier as a young man from Indiana. He pointed to the exact place on the public square where he had stopped the wagon and team of oxen he was driving. Lincoln confessed he was worried about what might transpire in Bloomington. He feared the radicals in the northern counties would be well represented in Bloomington, but voiced his concern that there might not be many representatives from the conservative southern Illinois counties.

Arriving in Bloomington the next day, Lincoln made his way to Judge Davis's mansion where he was invited to stay. Later he stopped in a small jewelry store where he bought his first pair of spectacles for thirty-seven and a half cents. He told his walking companion, lawyer Henry C. Whitney, that ”he had got to be forty-seven years old, and 'kinder' needed them.”

In the evening, a crowd gathered in front of the Pike House hotel and called for speeches. Lincoln stepped forward, claimed he wasn't prepared to speak that evening, but then proceeded to do so. He talked about the ”outrages” in Kansas and said, ”A man couldn't think, dream, or breathe of a free state there, but what he was kicked, cuffed, shot down and hung.”

On the morning of May 29, 1856, everyone was eager for the arrival of the Chicago dailies. Isaac N. Arnold, a former Democrat and now Free Soil politician from Chicago, stood on the main stairway and read from two stories that the delegates had been following. Eight days earlier a huge Kansas posse, including Missouri ”border ruffians,” had swept into Lawrence, Kansas, with the intent of striking terror among the rising free-state population. Finding that the free-state leaders had fled, they proceeded to throw two printing presses into the streets and turned five cannon on the Free State Hotel, finally setting the building on fire. Although no one was killed, homes and businesses were pillaged, and the story of the ”Sack of Lawrence” ignited antislavery men across the North.

Arnold then read aloud about events in Was.h.i.+ngton. Senator Charles Sumner of Ma.s.sachusetts had delivered an eloquent but bitterly antagonistic ”Crime against Kansas” speech on May 19 and 20, 1856, including fierce personal criticisms of Senator James Mason of Virginia and Senator Andrew P. Butler of South Carolina. On May 22, as the Senate was adjourning, Sumner was attacked by young South Carolina representative Preston S. Brooks, a nephew of Butler, and beaten into b.l.o.o.d.y unconsciousness with a walking cane.

With everyone talking about Kansas and Sumner, the convention was called to order. About 270 delegates, mostly from northern and central Illinois, joined together in Major's Hall, located on the third floor over Humphrey's Cheap Store. The call that had gone out was for a ”State Convention of the Anti-Nebraska Party of Illinois.” There were at least two stumbling blocks for using the name ”Republican.” First, the name had become a.s.sociated with the abolitionists, and many delegates detested the abolitionists as much as they did Douglas. Second, Douglas had been using the characterization ”Black Republicans” as a way to play the race card.

The artist pictures the caning of Senator Charles Sumner on May 22, 1856. Above the scene were words from Henry Ward Beecher: ”The symbol of the North is the pen; the symbol of the South is the bludgeon.”

Orville Browning, conservative lawyer from Quincy, led the effort to put together a platform. In its final form, it did not embrace the demands of the abolitionists, but rather reiterated the older logic that Congress had the right to keep slavery out of the territories. It condemned the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and called for the immediate admission of Kansas as a free state. With a nod to the Germans-a potential new force for the Republicans-it remained silent on temperance. As for the vexing issue of nativism, it included the statement that the new party would ”proscribe no one, by legislation or otherwise, on account of religious opinions, or in consequence of place of birth.” Emerging out of Bloomington was an Illinois Republican Party, moderate in its beliefs and tone, ready to take its place within what had become a national Republican Party.

When the official business of the convention was completed, shouts rang out, ”Lincoln! Lincoln! Lincoln!” Lincoln stepped forward, to ”deafening applause,” to make the final speech of the convention. He spoke for nearly an hour and a half. The speech was so powerful that the newspaper reporters in the hall, spellbound, put down their pencils after the opening minutes and failed to record what Lincoln said. It was reportedly one of the most compelling speeches of his life. Some said that he spoke extemporaneously, but by now Lincoln never approached even the possibility of such a speech without careful preparation.

The Alton Weekly Courier Alton Weekly Courier was the only newspaper that carried a summary of the speech, and it was exceedingly brief. Lincoln spoke of the ”pressing reasons” for the Republican Party to step forward at this time. As to the prospect of threats of disunion coming from the South, Lincoln replied, ”The Union must be preserved in the purity of its principles as well as the integrity of its territorial parts.” was the only newspaper that carried a summary of the speech, and it was exceedingly brief. Lincoln spoke of the ”pressing reasons” for the Republican Party to step forward at this time. As to the prospect of threats of disunion coming from the South, Lincoln replied, ”The Union must be preserved in the purity of its principles as well as the integrity of its territorial parts.”

Because no stenographic reporter recorded the address, it has acquired the t.i.tle of Lincoln's ”Lost Speech.” It's surprising that Lincoln, even though he spoke without notes, did not later write the speech out, at least in summary form, for publication by local newspapers. Yet, his pa.s.sion and eloquence were not lost on his audience. Herndon wrote ten years later, ”I have heard or read all of Mr. Lincoln's great speeches, and I give it as my opinion that the Bloomington speech was the grand effort of his life. ... He had the fervor of a new convert; the smothered flame broke out; enthusiasm unusual to him blazed up, his eyes were aglow with an inspiration, he felt justice.”

IT WILL FOREVER BE DEBATED whether Lincoln's political career was essentially continuous or whether there was a new beginning in 1854. The friends who knew him best-even with their great respect for what he had already accomplished-would say there was something new in the anti-Nebraska Lincoln. In 1854, with the speech he delivered at Springfield and again at Peoria, he laid the foundation of ideas he would build upon in the next six years. Like anything new, Lincoln's ideas went through a refining process. He began with opposition to the extension of slavery in the West in the political disguise of ”popular sovereignty.” But he had long ago learned that simple opposition to expansion could never carry the day. Where he began to distinguish himself from his peers was his ability to offer affirmation-of the old Declaration of Independence and of a new vision for America. whether Lincoln's political career was essentially continuous or whether there was a new beginning in 1854. The friends who knew him best-even with their great respect for what he had already accomplished-would say there was something new in the anti-Nebraska Lincoln. In 1854, with the speech he delivered at Springfield and again at Peoria, he laid the foundation of ideas he would build upon in the next six years. Like anything new, Lincoln's ideas went through a refining process. He began with opposition to the extension of slavery in the West in the political disguise of ”popular sovereignty.” But he had long ago learned that simple opposition to expansion could never carry the day. Where he began to distinguish himself from his peers was his ability to offer affirmation-of the old Declaration of Independence and of a new vision for America.

Beneath the public figure dwelt a private man forging a deeper moral character as he clarified his personal and political ident.i.ty. As Lincoln's political star began to rise, his friends and colleagues often tried to define and sometimes even restrict who he was becoming. But the dynamism of the developing Lincoln could not be confined. Emphasizing his ”ancient faith” in the Declaration of Independence, he was not to be bound even to the American Revolution and the founding generation. Though he grieved for the Whig Party, its pa.s.sing opened up new prospects for political achievement and service that he had not known before. With the birth of the Republican Party, Lincoln left Bloomington with no political office but with something much more important-a political vision for the promise of America that would lead him into the future.

While Lincoln was in Chicago working on a lawsuit some attorney friends asked him for a photograph. He replied, ”I don't know why you boys want such a homely face.” Alexander Hesler tried to brush Lincoln's hair away from his forehead. This ”tousled hair” photograph made Lincoln smile and pleased his friends.

CHAPTER 12.

A House Divided 185658 I BELIEVE THIS GOVERNMENT CANNOT ENDURE, PERMANENTLY HALF SLAVE SLAVE AND HALF AND HALF FREE FREE.

I DO NOT EXPECT THE UNION TO BE DISSOLVED-I DISSOLVED-I DO NOT EXPECT THE HOUSE TO DO NOT EXPECT THE HOUSE TO FALL FALL-BUT I DO DO EXPECT IT WILL CEASE TO BE DIVIDED. EXPECT IT WILL CEASE TO BE DIVIDED.

ABRAHAM LINCOLNSpeech at the Republican convention, Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858 -N JUNE 1856, ON THE EVE OF THE FIRST NATIONAL REPUBLICANconvention in Philadelphia, Abraham Lincoln was far away in Urbana, Illinois. He had arrived on Tuesday, June 17, to attend a special session of the Champaign County Court. He checked into a room at the American House hotel where he was joined by his close friends Judge David Davis and lawyer Henry C. Whitney.

The proprietor, John Dunaway, called his guests to meals by beating vigorously on a gong situated directly under the room where the three jurists slept. On Thursday morning, after their sleep was disturbed for a second morning, Davis and Whitney, by a majority vote, elected Lincoln to deal with the noisy annoyance. The next day, after the morning session of court, Lincoln went back to the hotel, took the gong down, and ”secreted” it between two layers of a dining room table. When the proprietor attempted to call his boarders to the noon meal, he looked high and low but could not find the missing gong. When Whitney and Davis reached their room, there sat Lincoln, ”looking amused, sheepish, and guilty, as if he had done something ridiculous as well as reprehensible.” The prank deserved a great laugh, and no one laughed harder than Lincoln.

The following day, June 20, 1856, the Chicago papers, arriving about the time of the noon court break, announced that Lincoln had received 110 votes for vice president at the Republican national convention, the second highest of any candidate. Davis and Whitney were ”jubilant” at the news. Davis, recalling the prank of the day before, playfully admonished Lincoln: ”Great business for a man who aspires to be Vice President of the United States.” To their surprise, the news ”made slight impression on Lincoln.” Finally, he responded, ”I reckon it's not me. There's another Lincoln down in Ma.s.sachusetts. I've an idea he's the one.”

The Republicans in Philadelphia offered a validation that Lincoln had become a national Republican leader. Yet, the forty-seven-year-old Lincoln, for a long time reluctant to join the Republican Party, had not held an elected office for seven years and was only one and a half years removed from his defeat for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. Given the whirlwind of events since he reemerged into politics two years before, who could dare predict what the next two years might bring for A. Lincoln, the man with the self-deprecating sense of humor.

THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION convened on June 17 at the Musical Fund Hall in Philadelphia. The party nominated John C. Fremont as its first presidential candidate. A forty-three-year-old military man and explorer, Fremont had become a hero after his expeditions through the American West. Born in the South, he had served briefly as one of the first two senators from California. He was strongly opposed to slavery. As a celebrity with great name recognition, Fremont won on the first ballot, with 530 votes to 37 for Judge John McLean of Pennsylvania, whom Lincoln had favored. convened on June 17 at the Musical Fund Hall in Philadelphia. The party nominated John C. Fremont as its first presidential candidate. A forty-three-year-old military man and explorer, Fremont had become a hero after his expeditions through the American West. Born in the South, he had served briefly as one of the first two senators from California. He was strongly opposed to slavery. As a celebrity with great name recognition, Fremont won on the first ballot, with 530 votes to 37 for Judge John McLean of Pennsylvania, whom Lincoln had favored.

Delegates nominated fifteen names for vice president. Illinois delegate William B. Archer persuaded John Allison, a congressman from Pennsylvania, to nominate Lincoln. Archer, who had known Lincoln for thirty years, made a seconding speech on behalf of Illinois, calling Lincoln ”as pure a patriot as ever lived.”

Lincoln garnered 110 votes on the first ballot, trailing only William L. Dayton, a former senator from New Jersey, who polled 221 votes. Most impressive was that Lincoln received votes from eleven states, stretching from Maine to California. Dayton was elected on the second ballot. Two days later, Archer wrote to Lincoln, ”had we moved earlier,” he might have stood a stronger chance at the nomination.

Lincoln learned that a number of people outside of Illinois had stood up to commend his nomination. Lincoln wrote to one of them, John Van d.y.k.e of New Brunswick, New Jersey, who had served with Lincoln in the Thirtieth Congress. He told Van d.y.k.e, ”When you meet Judge Dayton present my respects, and tell him I think him a far better man than I for the position he is in.”

LINCOLN THREW HIMSELF into the 1856 presidential campaign. Unlike 1852, when he had done little campaigning for the Whig presidential nominee, General Winfield Scott, Lincoln spoke everywhere on Fremont's behalf. On June 23, 1856, in Urbana, he praised ”the gallant Fremont,” and promised he would ”devote considerable of his time to the work” of seeking his election. into the 1856 presidential campaign. Unlike 1852, when he had done little campaigning for the Whig presidential nominee, General Winfield Scott, Lincoln spoke everywhere on Fremont's behalf. On June 23, 1856, in Urbana, he praised ”the gallant Fremont,” and promised he would ”devote considerable of his time to the work” of seeking his election.

Lincoln stumped for the first Republican presidential ticket, John C. Fremont and William Dayton, in 1856.

The Democratic Party, deeply split over the issue of slavery, ”bleeding Kansas,” and the ongoing debate over the role of the states versus the federal government, nominated James Buchanan of Pennsylvania over Stephen Douglas as their presidential candidate. Buchanan's political advantage was his absence. He had been out of the country the past four years serving as amba.s.sador to England, and thus he was the only candidate not tarnished by the bruising battles over the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Douglas, who had worked hard to become his party's star, was now seen by some as too controversial to be elected. Buchanan won the nomination on the seventeenth ballot. The party platform supported ”popular sovereignty” as the means of settling the issue of slavery in the territories.

The presidential election of 1856 became a story of contrasts. Buchanan was born into a well-to-do family in Pennsylvania. He had never married. A tall, handsome man, he wore stiff, high stocks about his jowls that accentuated both his height and his formal personality. He had served five terms in the House of Representatives and ten years in the Senate. He also had served as minister to Russia under President Jackson and secretary of state under President Polk, and came to the campaign fresh from his service as minister to the Court of St. James's in England under President Pierce. Never had a candidate brought more political experience to a presidential campaign.

Fremont was born in Georgia, an illegitimate child of a father who came to the United States as a penniless French-Canadian refugee. He married Jessie Benton, the beautiful daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. Benton, a champion of Western expansion, helped Fremont get a.s.signments in the 1840s to explore the entire American West. Fremont capitalized on five successful expeditions, traveling across the Rocky Mountains to California, to position himself as a young hero of a new party. Ironically, it was Buchanan, as secretary of state, who convinced the Senate to publish Fremont's Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1842, which had enhanced Fremont's fame. Seldom had a candidate brought less political experience to a campaign. in 1842, which had enhanced Fremont's fame. Seldom had a candidate brought less political experience to a campaign.

The Republicans set out to campaign on the theme ”Free Soil, Free Speech, and Fremont.” Stories of ”bleeding Kansas” were kept alive by on-the-scene reports in Horace Greeley's New York Tribune. New York Tribune. Democrats countered that Fremont was a ”black abolitionist,” the front man for a party of radicals. Democrats countered that Fremont was a ”black abolitionist,” the front man for a party of radicals.

In this frenzied environment, Lincoln spoke out on the campaign trail in support of Fremont, but the scope of his speeches was broader than support for the candidate, whom he did not know. Long sections of his speeches consisted of historical and philosophical a.n.a.lysis and made almost no reference to Fremont.

In the summer of 1856, Lincoln privately wrestled with a number of ideas. He wrote a long note to himself-undated, but probably from July-in which he sought to define the issues at stake in the campaign. He began, as he almost always did in his private notes, with a problem. ”It is constantly objected to Fremont & Dayton, [Fremont's vice-presidential candidate] that they are supported by a sectional sectional party, who, by their party, who, by their sectionalism, sectionalism, endanger the National Union.” The Democrats continually charged that the Republicans, because of their strong anti-slavery beliefs, represented only the North and parts of the West, and thus could never be a national party. Lincoln believed that the issue of sectionalism, ”more than all others,” was causing persons ”really opposed to slavery extension, to hesitate.” This was the ”reason, I now propose to examine it, a little more carefully than I have heretofore done, or seen it done by others.” endanger the National Union.” The Democrats continually charged that the Republicans, because of their strong anti-slavery beliefs, represented only the North and parts of the West, and thus could never be a national party. Lincoln believed that the issue of sectionalism, ”more than all others,” was causing persons ”really opposed to slavery extension, to hesitate.” This was the ”reason, I now propose to examine it, a little more carefully than I have heretofore done, or seen it done by others.”

In his private reflection, Lincoln engaged in a systematic examination of all the issues involved in sectionalism. He began by exploring the ways Democrats tried to make the Republican question-”Shall slavery be allowed to extend into U.S. territories, now legally free?”-into a sectional issue. In his answer, Lincoln engaged in a long backward gaze at previous candidates for president, noting which ones were from free and slave states. He pointed out that in 1844, the Democratic Party had nominated a Southern candidate, James Polk of Tennessee, but since 1848, as the debate over the extension of slavery escalated, the Democrats nominated only Northern candidates, ”each vieing to outbid the other for the Southern vote.”

Questions punctuate every paragraph in Lincoln's note. Toward the end, he asked, ”Then, which side shall yield?” His answer: Do they really think the right right ought to yield to the ought to yield to the wrong? wrong? Are they afraid to stand by the Are they afraid to stand by the right? right? Do they fear that the const.i.tution is too weak to sustain them in the right? Do they really think that by right surrendering to wrong, the hopes of our const.i.tutions, our Union, and our liberties, can possibly be bettered? Do they fear that the const.i.tution is too weak to sustain them in the right? Do they really think that by right surrendering to wrong, the hopes of our const.i.tutions, our Union, and our liberties, can possibly be bettered?

This note demonstrates a major reason Lincoln was becoming such a persuasive public speaker. He was willing to engage in the hard task of examining an opponent's arguments fully and fairly.

WHILE IN CHICAGO to try cases before the federal court, Lincoln accepted an invitation to address a Sat.u.r.day evening open-air meeting in Dearborn Park on July 19, 1856. Referring to the Democrats' nomination of Buchanan, Lincoln said it ”showed how the South does not put up her own men for the Presidency, but holds up the prize that the ambition of Northern men may make bids for it.” The to try cases before the federal court, Lincoln accepted an invitation to address a Sat.u.r.day evening open-air meeting in Dearborn Park on July 19, 1856. Referring to the Democrats' nomination of Buchanan, Lincoln said it ”showed how the South does not put up her own men for the Presidency, but holds up the prize that the ambition of Northern men may make bids for it.” The Chicago Democratic Press Chicago Democratic Press reported that Lincoln ”demonstrated in the strongest manner, that the only issue before us, is freedom or slavery.” reported that Lincoln ”demonstrated in the strongest manner, that the only issue before us, is freedom or slavery.”

In Galena on July 23, 1856, Lincoln spoke of the challenge of Mil-lard Fillmore, candidate of the Know-Nothings, who in 1856 officially adopted the name the ”American Party.” Fillmore, elected as the Whig vice president in 1848, had succeeded to the presidency in 1850 upon the death of Zachary Taylor. As president, Fillmore's signing of the Fugitive Slave Act in September 1850 quickly alienated many Whigs. When the Whig Party collapsed in the early 1850s, Fillmore refused to join the new Republicans. The Know-Nothing American Party nominated Fillmore at their convention in February.

Fillmore's appeal came from his nativist platform commitment: ”Americans must rule America.” He accused both the Democrats and the Republicans of being ”Disunionists.” Lincoln was deeply concerned that Fillmore's American Party could deny the Republicans an election victory by playing the role of the spoiler, as he had seen the Liberty Party do before. In the conclusion of his Galena speech, Lincoln exclaimed, ”All this talk about the dissolution of the Union is humbug-nothing but folly. We We won't dissolve the Union, and won't dissolve the Union, and you you S SHANT.

During the 1856 campaign, Lincoln received invitations to speak in Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa-recognition of his growing national stature within the Republican Party. The only out-of-state invitation he accepted was to a huge Republican state ”concourse” in Kalamazoo, Michigan. On August 27, Lincoln followed the logic of his July private note by declaring that the crux of the campaign was ”to learn what people differ about.” He stated, ”The question of slavery, at the present day, should be not only the greatest question, but very nearly the sole question.” He presented the arguments of his opponents, repeating the questionable charge of the Richmond Enquirer Richmond Enquirer ”that their slaves are far better off than Northern freemen.” He also responded to the complaint that Fremont and his supporters were abolitionists and that the Republicans were disunionists. Lincoln's rhetorical strategy was to ask his audience the questions that he wanted to answer. After praising the United States as ”the wonder and admiration of the whole world,” he responded to the question, ”What is it that has given us so much prosperity?” by responding, ”That every man can make himself.” ”that their slaves are far better off than Northern freemen.” He also responded to the complaint that Fremont and his supporters were abolitionists and that the Republicans were disunionists. Lincoln's rhetorical strategy was to ask his audience the questions that he wanted to answer. After praising the United States as ”the wonder and admiration of the whole world,” he responded to the question, ”What is it that has given us so much prosperity?” by responding, ”That every man can make himself.”

LINCOLN RETURNED HOME ON October 28, 1856, after four months of vigorous campaigning. By his own count he had spoken more than fifty times during the presidential campaign. Although his speeches appeared to reporters and audiences to be extemporaneous, little did they realize how much prior effort, including writing his private notes, went into them. The October 28, 1856, after four months of vigorous campaigning. By his own count he had spoken more than fifty times during the presidential campaign. Although his speeches appeared to reporters and audiences to be extemporaneous, little did they realize how much prior effort, including writing his private notes, went into them. The Amboy Times Amboy Times captured the distinctiveness of Lincoln's maturing political speaking, observing, ”His language is pure and respectful, he attacks no man's character or motives, but fights with arguments.” captured the distinctiveness of Lincoln's maturing political speaking, observing, ”His language is pure and respectful, he attacks no man's character or motives, but fights with arguments.”

Lincoln came home to a house divided. Mary did not support Fremont. She wrote her younger half sister Emilie Todd Helm in Lexington, contrasting her political views with those of her husband. Knowing Emilie's strong Southern viewpoint, Mary first defended her husband. ” Altho' Mr L is, or was a Fremont Fremont man, you must not include him with so many of those, who belong to man, you must not include him with so many of those, who belong to that that party, an party, an Abolitionist.” Abolitionist.” She further explained, ”All he desires is, that slavery, shall not be extended, let it remain where it is.” Mary then explained her own political position. ”My weak woman's heart was too Southern in feeling, to sympathize with any but Fillmore.” She further explained, ”All he desires is, that slavery, shall not be extended, let it remain where it is.” Mary then explained her own political position. ”My weak woman's heart was too Southern in feeling, to sympathize with any but Fillmore.”

On Tuesday, November 4, 1856, a cold and muddy election day in Springfield, Lincoln was the 226th voter at polling place number two. Across the nation there was intense interest and an immense turnout. People stood in queues for more than two hours in New York City to vote. Nearly 83 percent of the nation's eligible voters went to the polls, up nearly 7 percent from the election of 1852.

Lincoln had to wait for several days before the results became known in Illinois. In the end, Fremont lost, but William Bissell won for governor by a majority of five thousand, the first statewide victory for the new Republican Party. As Lincoln had feared, the Fillmore vote hurt Fremont, but the American Party vote ran below expectations.

Although Buchanan triumphed in the electoral college with 174 votes to 114 for Fremont and 8 for Fillmore, he did not win a majority of the popular vote. He received 1,832,955 votes (45.3 percent) compared to 1,340,537 (33.1 percent) for Fremont, and 871,955 (21.6 percent) for Fillmore. Buchanan won five Northern states-New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and California-and every Southern state except Maryland, which went for Fillmore. Fremont won Maine, New Hamps.h.i.+re, and Michigan, which had been Democratic mainstays. But he received only 1,196 votes in the South.

President-elect Buchanan, greeting supporters at Wheatland, his estate on the outskirts of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, offered his interpretation of his victory. ”The storm of abolition against the South has been gathering for almost a quarter of a century,” he said, a reference to the growth of antislavery sentiment in the North. More recently, ”Republicanism was sweeping across the North like a tornado.” Then he offered a prediction for the future, one that would prove entirely wrong. ”The night is departing, and the roseate and propitious morn now breaking upon us promises a long day of peace and prosperity for our country.”

Upon reflection, Republicans called the 1856 presidential election a ”victorious defeat.” Privately, many Republican leaders complained that Fremont had proved to be long on bravado and short on both political experience and wisdom. There were, however, many encouraging signs for the future. Fremont had defeated Buchanan by more than 80,000 votes in New York. Buchanan's margin of victory in Indiana was less than 2,000 votes, and less than 1,000 votes in Pennsylvania. If the Fremont and Fillmore votes were combined, Fremont would have won both Illinois and New Jersey. If Fremont had won Pennsylvania, and either Indiana or Illinois, the Republicans would have been victorious. In less than twelve months, the Republican Party had become the strongest party in the North. The Republican candidate in 1860 would stand a real chance of winning the presidential election.