Tazewell Circuit Court convenes. David Davis, Bloomington attorney who travelled Eighth Circuit in spring of 1844, wrote: "Politics rage now hereabouts. . . . The first day of every court is occupied with political speaking, usually by an Elector on each side of politics, each person generally taking some three or four hours. . . . Lincoln is the best stump speaker in the State."David Davis Papers, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, IL.