Hearing Lewis Lehrman, author of Lincoln at Peoria: The Turning Point, speaking on campus today rekindled a lot of memories for me. About two years after my husband Tobias and I married in Vevay, Ind., we decided it was time to move. Tobias wanted to go to Kentucky because he thought there would be opportunities there. I, however, shared the sentiments of my father Zeally Moss, who had a great distaste for slavery. I wanted to move to a non-slave state. When my brother William, who was enjoying several successful ventures, encouraged us to move to Illinois, we decided to go. We moved here in the 1840s, and I was thrilled to learn that Abraham Lincoln was going to speak on the steps of the Peoria County courthouse on October 16, 1854.

Mr. Lehrman’s book spotlightsd the speech Lincoln gave that day. It was the first time Lincoln spoke out against the extension of slavery, a speech that helped resurrect his political career. Mr. Lehrman discussed Lincoln’s patriotism, saying Lincoln believed we should love our country not only because it is our country, but because it is a free country. He told the group of about 25 students, faculty-staff, and members of the community that Lincoln was fortified by the Declaration of Independence and believed America was the world’s last best hope.

It’s uplifting to know that I was a contemporary of Lincoln and that his feelings regarding slavery resonated with me like they did. To think that he was in Peoria 155 years ago today, making that speech gives me goosebumps!

This rendering of Lincoln delivering his speech in Peoria on October 16, 1854, is from the Peoria Historical Society Collection, Bradley University Library.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.