1. An Illinois Rail-Splitter Emerges

2. The Illinois Senatorial Election of 1858
- Senator Douglas’s term was coming to an end, so the Republicans took the opportunity to nominate the awkward, yet highly intriguing mayor of Springfield, Abraham Lincoln.
- Lincoln was born in 1809 in a Kentucky log cabin to poor parents. He never really had a good education as a child and was mainly self-taught. After reading a little law, he emerged as one of the better-known trial lawyers of Illinois.
- Lincoln’s political career was less than stellar at first He made his mark in the Illinois legislature as a Whig politician, serving one undistinguished term in Congress from to 1849.
- After the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he was fueled to be more ambitious politically. After switching political parties, Lincoln became one of the faces of the Republican party. So much so, that at the Philadelphia convention of 1856, Lincoln received 110 votes for the vice-presidential nomination.

3. Source- Abraham Lincoln’s Speech for Candidacy for the Illinois legislature, 1832
“I presume you all know who I am. I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many friends to become a candidate for the Legislature. My [Whiggish] politics are short and sweet, like the old woman’s dance. I am in favor of a national bank. I am in favor of the internal improvement system, and a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected, I shall be thankful; if not, it will all be the same.”

4. OCPVL
O- This was a speech by Abraham Lincoln in 1832 when Lincoln became a candidate for the Illinois legislature. He delivered the speech at a political gathering.
C- Lincoln is addressing his political stances in a short summary that is easy and to the point for everyone to understand.
P- This speech’s intent was to sway the people of this gathering who were listening to Lincoln’s speech to vote for him.
V- This document is important because it gives a simple summary of Lincoln's beliefs early on in his political career, so as he progresses onward through his career we can see whether he strays from or follows his stances.
L- There could be human error in the transcript of the speech and maybe Lincoln’s exact words weren’t used.

5. FATPB
F- This is a secondary source. It is a transcript of Lincoln’s speech when he was running for Illinois legislature.
A- As a transcript, Lincoln provides the words but is not the author.
T- The transcript of Lincoln’s speech was recorded in 1832 when he ran for Illinois legislature.
P-Illinois political gathering
B- As a transcript, the author has the probability of error. He can mishear something said by Lincoln or be paraphrasing certain pieces. This may alter Lincoln’s intentions as read by the reader.

6. Questions
Compare/Contrast how Lincoln’s different background and upbringing altered his political approach compared to other politicians of his time.
Imagine why the Republican party was so intent on having a relatively unknown and awkward small-time mayor run for Senate.