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or do aught that can be personally offensive to him。 Whenever;
if ever; he and we can come together on principle so that our
cause may have assistance from his great ability; I hope to have
interposed no adventitious obstacles。 But clearly he is not now
with us; he does not pretend to be;he does not promise ever to
be。
Our cause; then; must be intrusted to; and conducted by; its own
undoubted friends;those whose hands are free; whose hearts are
in the work; who do care for the result。 Two years ago the
Republicans of the nation mustered over thirteen hundred thousand
strong。 We did this under the single impulse of resistance to a
common danger; with every external circumstance against us。 Of
strange; discordant; and even hostile elements we gathered from
the four winds; and formed and fought the battle through; under
the constant hot fire of a disciplined; proud; and pampered
enemy。 Did we brave all then to falter now;now; when that same
enemy is wavering; dissevered; and belligerent? The result is
not doubtful。 We shall not fail; if we stand firm; we shall not
fail。 Wise counsels may accelerate; or mistakes delay it; but;
sooner or later; the victory is sure to come。
SPEECH AT CHICAGO; JULY 10; 1858。
IN REPLY TO SENATOR DOUGLAS
DELIVERED AT CHICAGO; SATURDAY EVENING; JULY 10; 1858。
(Mr。 DOUGLAS WAS NOT PRESENT。)
'Mr。 LINCOLN was introduced by C。 L。 Wilson; Esq。; and as he made
his appearance he was greeted with a perfect storm of applause。
For some moments the enthusiasm continued unabated。 At last;
when by a wave of his hand partial silence was restored; Mr。
LINCOLN said;'
MY FELLOW…CITIZENS:On yesterday evening; upon the occasion of
the reception given to Senator Douglas; I was furnished with a
seat very convenient for hearing him; and was otherwise very
courteously treated by him and his friends; and for which I thank
him and them。 During the course of his remarks my name was
mentioned in such a way as; I suppose; renders it at least not
improper that I should make some sort of reply to him。 I shall
not attempt to follow him in the precise order in which he
addressed the assembled multitude upon that occasion; though I
shall perhaps do so in the main。
There was one question to which he asked the attention of the
crowd; which I deem of somewhat less importanceat least of
proprietyfor me to dwell upon than the others; which he brought
in near the close of his speech; and which I think it would not
be entirely proper for me to omit attending to; and yet if I were
not to give some attention to it now; I should probably forget it
altogether。 While I am upon this subject; allow me to say that I
do not intend to indulge in that inconvenient mode sometimes
adopted in public speaking; of reading from documents; but I
shall depart from that rule so far as to read a little scrap from
his speech; which notices this first topic of which I shall
speak;that is; provided I can find it in the paper:
〃I have made up my mind to appeal to the people against the
combination that has been made against me; the Republican leaders
having formed an alliance; an unholy and unnatural alliance; with
a portion of unscrupulous Federal office…holders。 I intend to
fight that allied army wherever I meet them。 I know they deny
the alliance; but yet these men who are trying to divide the
Democratic party for the purpose of electing a Republican Senator
in my place are just as much the agents and tools of the
supporters of Mr。 Lincoln。 Hence I shall deal with this allied
army just as the Russians dealt with the Allies at Sebastopol;
that is; the Russians did not stop to inquire; when they fired a
broadside; whether it hit an Englishman; a Frenchman; or a Turk。
Nor will I stop to inquire; nor shall I hesitate; whether my
blows shall hit the Republican leaders or their allies; who are
holding the Federal offices; and yet acting in concert with
them。〃
Well; now; gentlemen; is not that very alarming? Just to think
of it! right at the outset of his canvass; I; a poor; kind;
amiable; intelligent gentleman;I am to be slain in this way!
Why; my friend the Judge is not only; as it turns out; not a dead
lion; nor even a living one;he is the rugged Russian Bear!
But if they will have itfor he says that we deny itthat there
is any such alliance; as he says there is;and I don't propose
hanging very much upon this question of veracity;but if he will
have it that there is such an alliance; that the Administration
men and we are allied; and we stand in the attitude of English;
French; and Turk; he occupying the position of the Russian; in
that case I beg that he will indulge us while we barely suggest
to him that these allies took Sebastopol。
Gentlemen; only a few more words as to this alliance。 For my
part; I have to say that whether there be such an alliance
depends; so far as I know; upon what may be a right definition of
the term alliance。 If for the Republican party to see the other
great party to which they are opposed divided among themselves;
and not try to stop the division; and rather be glad of it;if
that is an alliance; I confess I am in; but if it is meant to be
said that the Republicans had formed an alliance going beyond
that; by which there is contribution of money or sacrifice of
principle on the one side or the other; so far as the Republican
party is concerned;if there be any such thing; I protest that I
neither know anything of it; nor do I believe it。 I will;
however; say;as I think this branch of the argument is lugged
in;I would before I leave it state; for the benefit of those
concerned; that one of those same Buchanan men did once tell me
of an argument that he made for his opposition to Judge Douglas。
He said that a friend of our Senator Douglas had been talking to
him; and had; among other things; said to him:
〃。。。why; you don't want to beat Douglas?〃 〃Yes;〃 said he; 〃I do
want to beat him; and I will tell you why。 I believe his
original Nebraska Bill was right in the abstract; but it was
wrong in the time that it was brought forward。 It was wrong in
the application to a Territory in regard to which the question
had been settled; it was brought forward at a time when nobody
asked him; it was tendered to the South when the South had not
asked for it; but when they could not well refuse it; and for
this same reason he forced that question upon our party。 It has
sunk the best men all over the nation; everywhere; and now; when
our President; struggling with the difficulties of this man's
getting up; has reached the very hardest point to turn in the
case; he deserts him and I am for putting him where he will
trouble us no more。〃
Now; gentlemen; that is not my argument; that is not my argument
at all。 I have only been stating to you the argument of a
Buchanan man。 You will judge if there is any force in it。
Popular sovereignty! Everlasting popular sovereignty! Let us
for a moment inquire into this vast matter of popular
sovereignty。 What is popular sovereignty? We recollect that at
an early period in the history of this struggle there was another
name for the same thing;〃squatter sovereignty。〃 It was not
exactly popular sovereignty; but squatter sovereignty。 What do
those terms mean? What do those terms mean when used now? And
vast credit is taken by our friend the Judge in regard to his
support of it; when he declares the last years of his life have
been; and all the future years of his life shall be; devoted to
this matter of popular sovereignty。 What is it? Why; it is the
sovereignty of the people! What was squatter sovereignty? I
suppose; if it had any significance at all; it was the right of
the people to govern themselves; to be sovereign in their own
affairs while they were squatted down in a country not their own;
while they had squatted on a Territory that did not belong to
them; in the sense that a State belongs to the people who inhabit
it; when it belonged to the nation; such right to govern
themselves was called 〃squatter sovereignty。〃
Now; I wish you to mark: What has become of that squatter
sovereignty? what has become of it? Can you get anybody to tell
you now that the people of a Territory have any authority to
govern themselves; in regard to this mooted question of slavery;
before they form a State constitution? No such thing at all;
although there is a general running fire; and although there has
been a hurrah made in every speech on that side; assuming that
policy had given the people of a Territory the right to govern
themselves upon this question; yet the point is dodged。 To…day
it has been decidedno more than a year ago it was decidedby
the Supreme Court of the United States; and is insisted upon
to…day that the people of a Territory have no right to exclude
slavery from a Territory; that if any o