Lincoln regretfully declines an invitation to attend the Osawatomie convention on May 18, 1859, which was to formally organize the Republican Party in Kansas. Lincoln warns against "the temptation to lower the Republican Standard [in whatever platform the convention might adopt] in order to gather recruits. "In my judgment," Lincoln continues, "such a step would be a serious mistake" that "would surrender the object of the Republican organization-- preventing the Spread and Nationalization of Slavery." This two-page, handwritten copy of a letter sent by Abraham Lincoln to Mark Delahay was probably given to the Kansas Historical Society by Delahay's daughter, Mary E. Delahay, in the early 1900s.
Date: May 14, 1859
Creator: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Item Number: 90574
Call Number: Delahay Family Coll. #326
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 90574
Collections - Manuscript - Delahay Family
Date - 1854-1860 - 1859
Government and Politics - Elections
Government and Politics - Federal Government - Presidents - Lincoln, Abraham
Government and Politics - Political Parties - Republican
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Letter
People - African Americans - Slavery
People - Notable Kansans - Delahay, Mark W.
People - Notable People - Douglas, Stephen A., 1813-1861
People - Notable People - Lincoln, Abraham
Places - Cities and towns - Osawatomie
Places - Counties - Lykins (1855-1861)
Places - Counties - Miami
Places - Other States - Illinois
Thematic Time Period - Bleeding Kansas, 1854-1861
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Letters
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/90574
