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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

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