Hating the Zeal to Spread Slavery, 1854

This chapter examines how Abraham Lincoln and Owen Lovejoy were brought together by a common vision to end slavery. Lincoln, a Springfield lawyer, and Lovejoy, a Princeton pastor, met for the first time at the Springfield State Fair in Illinois on October 4, 1854. At that time, both Lincoln and Lovejoy were angered by the Kansas–Nebraska Act championed by Illinois Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln wanted the Whigs and Lovejoy wanted the Republican Party to lead the “fusion” movement uniting all those opposed to Douglas's law and advocating the restoration of the Missouri Compromise. In a speech, Lincoln declared, “This...real zeal for the spread of slavery, I cannot but hate.” Lovejoy, one of those in attendance, identified with Lincoln's emotion and conviction, as his brother, Elijah, was murdered by a pro-slavery mob. This chapter first discusses the beginning of the Republican Party in Illinois before turning to his and Lincoln's election to the Illinois House of Representatives on November 7, 1854.