Abe Lincoln once used a lightning rod to win an election

Abraham Lincoln, during his campaign for a second term in the Illinois State Legislature in 1836, gave a speech in Springfield on a hot summer day in July – a few days before the election. But it was his impromptu speech afterwards that made all the difference.

The crowd was a large one. Many of Lincoln’s friends and admirers had come into town from New Salem and the surrounding countryside to hear him speak. Lincoln’s speech was a thorough one. He effectively argued the various issues by clearly presenting both the Whig Party’s and the Democratic Party’s stances on each one.

The speech – and the crowd reaction – was compelling. So much so that when Lincoln finished, George Forquer, a well-to-do lawyer and prominent citizen, asked to be heard by the audience.

William Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner and biographer, told the story. [1]

Forquer, it appears, had been a Whig – one of the champions of the party in Springfield – for many years. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, he switched sides and joined the Democrats. Shortly after his switch, Forquer received a political appointment as the Registrar of the Land Office from the Democratic administration in Washington.

About the same time as the party switch and the federal appointment, Forquer’s new home in Springfield was finished. It was a frame house – not a log cabin – that immediately became the finest house in town. On the roof, Forquer even had a lightning rod installed – the first one that Lincoln had ever seen.

This pretentiousness on Forquer’s part came back to haunt him.

Forquer began by saying that the young man [Lincoln] had to be taken down, and he was sorry the task fell to him. He then proceeded to answer Lincoln’s speech in a fair but very condescending way. As Herndon put it: “his whole manner claimed and asserted superiority.”

Lincoln stood nearby with his arms folded, listening intently. When Forquer was done, Lincoln stepped forward to reply.

Mr. Forquer commenced his speech by announcing that the young man would have to be taken down. It is for you, fellow citizens, not for me to say whether I am up or down. The gentleman has seen fit to allude to my being a young man, but he forgets that I am older in years than I am in the tricks and trades of politicians. I desire to live, and I desire place and distinction; but I would rather die now than, like the gentleman, live to see the day that I would change my politics for an office worth three thousand dollars a year, and then feel compelled to erect a lightning rod to protect a guilty conscience from an offended God.

Herndon noted the effect of Lincoln’s rejoinder “gave Forquer and his lightning rod a notoriety the extent of which no one envied him.”

A few days later, Lincoln and the Whig Party swept the Sangamon County elections for the first time since the county was formed.

That “lightning rod” – in the hands of a political street fighter like Lincoln – certainly did draw the electricity away from the Democrats and their newest convert didn’t it?

Food for thought.

Mac

The lithograph that heads this post is entitled: “American Country Life, May Morning” (1855) by artist F. Palmer. This is a hand-colored stone lithograph. The lightning rod is noticeable on the center cupola.

Works Cited

Herndon, William H. and Weik, Jesse W. (1930) Herndon’s Life of Lincoln. Cleveland, Ohio: The World Publishing Company. pp.136-139.