Abraham Lincoln's Peoria speech was made in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

on October 16, 1854. The speech, with its specific arguments against

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, was an important step in

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's political ascension. The 1854

Kansas–Nebraska Act The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law b ...

, written to form the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, was designed by

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...

, then the chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories. The Act included language that allowed settlers to decide whether they would or would not accept slavery in their region. Lincoln saw this as a repeal of the 1820

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise (also known as the Compromise of 1820) was federal legislation of the United States that balanced the desires of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand ...

, which had outlawed slavery above the 36°30' parallel.

History

Lincoln was compelled to argue his case against the Kansas-Nebraska Act in three public speeches during September and October 1854, all in direct response to Douglas. The most comprehensive address was given by Lincoln in Peoria, Illinois, on October 16. The three-hour speech that evening on the lawn of the Peoria County Courthouse, transcribed after the fact by Lincoln himself, presented thorough moral, legal, economic, and historical (citing the

Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

) arguments against slavery, and set the stage for Lincoln's political future. Horace White was a young journalist working as the city editor of the '' Chicago Evening Journal'' when he first saw Lincoln:Horace White, "Abraham Lincoln in 1854", Address before Illinois State Historical Society, January 1908, p. 10. White described the speakers: White described Lincoln's style of speaking in colorful terms: Lincoln's speech in many ways foreshadowed the political future that he would soon embark upon:Roy P. Basler, editor
''The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln'', Volume II, p. 275 (October 16, 1854)

History

See also

References

Further reading

Primary sources