| Monday, October 11, 1858.Monmouth, IL. | Lincoln arrives in the morning by a
"train from the west." A group of about two hundred people plan to meet Lincoln
"on the Oquawka Road," but rain curtails "arrangements for a grand display" to
welcome him prior to his scheduled speech. "[T]wo or three Republican friends"
escort Lincoln to the Baldwin House, where a local newspaper reports that he is
"received in silence." At approximately one in the afternoon, an audience makes
its way to "Henry's board yard," the setting for the speech. A newspaper
reports that there are "as many as the Douglasites had last week, and that they
were mostly voters, while full half of theirs were women and children." Dr.
A.V.T. Gilbert, a former state representative, delivers a speech prior to
Lincoln's oration. The Monmouth Republican Glee Club performs a song, and Philo
E. Reed, "a very modest, unassuming young man," introduces Lincoln, who speaks
for "three hours." The Democratic and Republican newspapers differ in their
accounts as to the effectiveness of Lincoln's remarks. The local Democratic
newspaper describes Lincoln's speech as "a personal attack on Douglas and
Democrats." It accuses Lincoln of "dodg[ing] the issues before the people." A
Republican newspaper in Chicago reports his remarks as "elaborate, full and
perfect." This account also describes the audience as "perfectly wrapt in
attention," while the local Democratic newspaper reports that Lincoln "was
coldly received by the small crowd present." The Monmouth
Review (IL), 15 October 1858, 2:2-3; Chicago Daily Press and
Tribune (IL), 15 October 1858, 2:2; Journal of the House of
Representatives of the Twentieth General Assembly of the State of
Illinois (Springfield: Lanphier & Walker, 1857), 4;
Speech
at Monmouth, Illinois, 11 October 1858, CW, 3:244-45. |