Making a Home
Farming in the Great Corn Belt
Working for a Living
A Community in Conflict
Abraham Lincoln in McLean County
Lincoln's Lost Speech
On May 29, 1856, delegates from across Illinois gathered at Bloomington's Major's Hall to oppose the expansion of slavery. They were part of a national movement that became the newly organized Republican Party.
The New Republican Party
The delegates came from various political parties and factions: anti-slavery Whigs like Lincoln; anti-slavery Democrats; German immigrants; abolitionists; and even anti-immigrant “Know Nothings.” The glue that held this diverse group together was opposition to slavery’s expansion.
“Radical Abolitionists and heretofore Old Line Whigs and Democrats, are exchanging jokes over the strange fact that they are about to unite in the same political party.”
Major's Hall, located on the southwest corner of Front and East streets.
Lincoln's Lost Speech
In an emotionally charged keynote address, Lincoln
pledged to oppose the expansion of slavery and the
rise of “Slave Power” — even threatening to use force
if southern “disunionists” made good on their threats to secede.
Contemporary observers believed Abraham Lincoln’s May 29, 1856
speech in Bloomington was the finest of his career. Because no copy of this
address exists, today it is known as Lincoln’s “Lost Speech.”
Yet we know much of what Lincoln said that night.
By piecing together a large body of evidence from newspapers and other sources, Lincoln’s fiery anti-slavery address comes to life.
“When he concluded, the audience sprang to their feet, and cheer after cheer told how deeply their hearts had been touched and their souls warmed up to a generous enthusiasm.”
Lincoln's "Lost Speech" by Lloyd Ostendorf
Lincoln stood amongst the cheering crowd after his speech.
Credit: Illustration by Clayton A. Nicles.
Here is how we can put together the pieces of Lincoln's Lost Speech:
