A Chance to Stand Where Lincoln Did!
Continuing through Americana, Sue and I stopped at “Old Main,” the central administration building on the campus of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where the 5th Lincoln-Douglas debate was held on October 7, 1858. On that cool, gray day more than 15,000 people gathered—more than half of the county’s population! Although headcounts are estimated, Galesburg was likely the most well-attended of the debates.
Standing where Lincoln stood on Old Main’s steps was inspiring indeed. Galesburg is the only one of the seven Lincoln-Douglas debate sites where you can stand where our great 16th President did. Looking over the lawn, one can imagine the crowd swell around Old Main to a slow, restless rumble, waiting for the debaters to take the podium.
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were conducted during the 1858 US Senate campaign. Senator Douglas—“The Little Giant”—won the election, but ‘Ol Abe ‘won’ his notoriety on the national stage that would catapult him into the presidency on the eve of the Civil War.
The debates became increasingly focused on the question of whether slavery should be extended to new states. Douglas was for state self-determination, and took the position that the Declaration of Independence was written “by white men for white men.” Lincoln stopped short of demanding emancipation—being labeled “Abolitionist” was political suicide in a statewide election in then far west Illinois—but made his position quite clear when he attacked Douglas’s position on slavery as “blowing out the moral lights around us.”
It’s said that Lincoln’s delivery had a particular strength and confidence in Galesburg. Perhaps he was in friendly territory, as the local political climate had abolitionist leanings, and Galesburg was a known stop on the Underground Railroad. History calls the Galesburg debate a turning point for Lincoln’s political career.
Knox College is a liberal arts college with over 1,300 students. Sue and I enjoyed a stroll around its eighty two acres of neatly-preserved green space dotted with well-worn school buildings. Each spring these days, Knox’s commencement ceremony takes place on the grounds where the debate was held. Surely a heady send-off for its graduates!
Have a look around Galesburg if you visit. It’s a small city of 32,000 or so that was once a major railroad hub. You can still see the layout of its massive depot, and then take a break at nearby Iron Spike craft brewery or ‘can’t miss’ Jimmy’s Pizza. Another attraction centers on poet Carl Sandburg.