The debate that got Lincoln into a duel was one about banking in Illinois with state auditor James Shields. Lincoln criticized the closing of the bank and its refusal to accept its own issued currency. Farmers in Illinois now had worthless money while the bank would only accept gold and silver as payment on debts.
The young politician made the mistake of publicly denouncing an Illinois banker. The banker demanded satisfaction while Lincoln demanded the public challenge be fought with swords. The whole row started with a public debate about banking in 1842. Lincoln was a young man at this time, a lawyer and member of the Illinois State Legislature.
Abraham Lincoln c. 1846. Library of Congress. In 1842, a young Abraham Lincoln publicly chastised James Shields in the course of a debate about banking in Illinois. The ridicule pushed Shields to challenge Lincoln to a duel in which the victor took both the life and the pride of his opponent.
The banker demanded satisfaction while Lincoln demanded the public challenge be fought with swords. The whole row started with a public debate about banking in 1842. Lincoln was a young man at this time, a lawyer and member of the Illinois State Legislature.
Auditor James ShieldsMerryman, [September 19, 1842] (Dueling instructions) 1 Lincoln was challenged to a duel by Illinois State Auditor James Shields, over an alleged aspersion on Shields's character in a satirical letter Lincoln contributed under a pseudonym to Springfield's Whig newspaper, the Sangamo Journal, in September of 1842.
Abraham Lincoln had many challenges to overcome when he was elected President. Some of his challenges were slavery, the separation of the North and South, and the rising tensions of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln ended slavery, brought the United States back together, and ended the Civil War.
In 1842, a young Abraham Lincoln publicly chastised James Shields in the course of a debate about banking in Illinois. The ridicule pushed Shields to challenge Lincoln to a duel in which the victor took both the life and the pride of his opponent.
Undeterred, Lincoln remained active in politics. He helped form the Illinois Republican Party, which, with him acting as manager, elected the governor and other constitutional officers in the election of 1856. On June 16, 1858 the new party nominated Lincoln for United States senator.
His humility allowed him to accept his own failures and not be threatened by the success of others. So his moods were not affected by his own success or failures. Lincoln also used his faith to bolster him in times of hardship and depression.
Lincoln realized in early summer 1863 that he had two big challenges: reestablishing control over the Army and recapturing public opinion. With this realization, Lincoln made some bold choices. First, he got rid of some old beliefs that no longer worked. And second, he started leading in a completely new way.
6′ 4″Abraham Lincoln / Height
The split in the Democratic party is sometimes held responsible for Lincoln's victory despite the fact that Lincoln won the election with less than 40% of the popular vote, as much of the anti-Republican vote was "wasted" in Southern states in which no ballots for Lincoln were circulated.
President Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War, announcing on September 22, 1862, that if the rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states would be free.
5 famous people from IllinoisErnest Hemingway (1899-1961)Walt Disney (1901-1966)Betty White (1922-present)Jacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee (1962-present)Jennifer Hudson (1981-present)
21-year-oldIn March 1830, 21-year-old Lincoln joined his extended family in a move to Illinois. After helping his father establish a farm in Macon County, Illinois, Lincoln set out on his own in the spring of 1831.
Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. First settled in the 1830s, it is the only town in the United States that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president; he practiced law there from 1847 to 1859....Lincoln, Illinois.LincolnWebsitehttp://www.lincolnil.gov/24 more rows
When the time came, the two men met at Bloody Island, Mo. for the match. There, they received the swords and stood apart with a plank dividing them.
His debating skills were feared by opponents, and as a lawyer, his closing arguments were near-perfect. The debate that got Lincoln into a duel was one about banking in Illinois with state auditor James Shields. Lincoln criticized the closing of the bank and its refusal to accept its own issued currency.
In a letter to the Sangamo Journal newspaper, Lincoln wrote an editorial criticizing the bank, the Democratic Party, and personally insulting Shields.
The banker demanded satisfaction while Lincoln demanded the public challenge be fought with swords. The whole row started with a public debate about banking in 1842. Lincoln was a young man at this time, a lawyer and member of the Illinois State Legislature. Even then, Lincoln’s rhetoric was formidable.
Honest Abe chose cavalry swords because he knew if he were to choose pistols, Shields would likely kill him. Lincoln, a very tall man by the standards of the day, was also very strong, so his reach and his power gave him the edge in a sword fight.
Rightfully credited as one of the greatest NBA players of all-time, Elgin Baylor turned around a struggling Minnesota Lakers franchise (and set the pace for what would become one of the winningest franchises in all of sports) by leading them to the NBA finals his rookie season. During his fourth year in the purple and gold, he served as a U.S. Army Reservist, living at Fort Lewis. His duties as an army reservist prevented him from practicing or participating in weekday games—and he still posted up 38 points per game.
In an interesting historical footnote, Shields would later lead Union troops in the Shenandoah Valley as a Brigadier and was the only General to defeat Stonewall Jackson in battle during the campaign. It cost him a lot – he was nearly killed in the process. Lincoln awarded his former rival a promotion to Major General for the action.
The sequence of events that led to the duel began with decisions that Shields, a democrat, took as Illinois State Auditor. A financial crisis termed the ‘Panic of 1837’ had swept across the country, with banks responding by accepting only gold and silver as payment. In turn, Shields felt it necessary in order to maintain state credit to insist that all taxes in Illinois also be paid in gold and silver. This incensed the Whigs, the party of which Lincoln was a member. Lincoln published an anonymous letter dated August 27th 1842 in the Springfield Journal, signed ‘Rebecca of the Lost Townships’ in which the fictitious Rebecca has a conversation with a farmer about the unjustness of Shields’ policy.
The situation escalated when Lincoln’s friends Mary Todd (his future wife) and Julia Jayne became involved in writing further letters from ‘Aunt Rebecca’ in which Shields was compared to ‘cat’s fur’ and was described as being ‘mad as a march hare’ among other insults. Unable to bear the ridicule any longer, Shields demanded that the paper’s editor reveal the author of the letters. Lincoln felt honour-bound not to mention the ladies involvement and so accepted responsibility for all of the correspondence. Shields demanded the retraction of the statements regarding his personal character, though Lincoln refused to do so as he felt the initial request was written in a menacing fashion. Shields the sought satisfaction, and so a duel was arranged.
In turn, Shields felt it necessary in order to maintain state credit to insist that all taxes in Illinois also be paid in gold and silver.
As their friends continued to intercede to try to arrange a peaceful resolution, it was made clear to Shields that Lincoln had not in fact been the author of all of the letters. Lincoln admitted to having written the first letter and also stated that he had no intention of injuring Shields’ personal or private character, and held no personal grudge against him. With this apology and the knowledge that Lincoln had in fact been protecting the reputation of his soon to be wife, Shields withdrew the challenge and the duel was avoided.
On September 22, 1842, the Mississippi River levee in Alton, Illinois , was crammed full of spectators awaiting the results of a highly anticipated duel on an island in the middle of the river which belonged to Missouri — a smackdown between Abraham Lincoln and political rival James Shields. Only one man could emerge victoriously. Onlookers held their breath in suspense as they spotted a boat approaching with a blood-soaked body draped over the bow.
Upon learning the identity of his defamer, Shields decided to settle the matter by challenging Lincoln to a duel to the death. Though Lincoln thought the whole thing was absurd, he knew that backing down from a duel was never the honorable thing to do. Duel Rules.
Before sending his note off to the editor, Lincoln shared it with his soon-to-be-wife Mary Todd and her friend Julia Jayne. The two women contributed a few quips to Lincoln’s letter and even began writing memos of their own.
The duel was about to commence when a few mutual friends arrived and intervened. Colonel John Jay Hardin helped the two reach a face-saving compromise, working it out with words instead of swords. Lincoln offered up a mea culpa and admitted that he’d authored the letters.
Upon learning the identity of his defamer, Shields decided to settle the matter by challenging Lincoln to a duel. Though Lincoln thought the whole thing was absurd, he knew that backing down from a duel was never the honorable thing to do.
As the one who’d been challenged, Lincoln got to select the conditions of the duel. He had a grand old time conjuring up the most ridiculous set of circumstances possible. To begin with, he named the cavalry broadsword as the weapon of choice. (“I didn't want the d—-d fellow to kill me, which I think he would have done if we had selected pistols,” he later explained.)
The two men buried the hatchet (or broadsword) and remained friends from then on. Lincoln wasn’t exactly proud that he’d almost dueled against a political opponent. In fact, he was pretty embarrassed. When an officer asked him about the event years later, he replied, “I do not deny it, but if you desire my friendship you will never mention it again.”
Reluctantly, Lincoln accepted, but clearly thought the situation through. Believing he could not compete with Shields with pistols , the long-armed Lincoln selected broadswords, as his opponent was seven inches shorter in height. Despite his size disadvantage, Shields was undeterred.
ALTON — Had it not been for a heated exchange with Abraham Lincoln, James Shields would be remembered as the only man to serve in the U.S. Senate from three different states.