Category Archives: Presidential candidates

Springfield hotels turn away Black singing group, 1881

Springfield hotels refused to house America’s best-known Black choral group in 1881. The result was nationwide condemnation, a rebuke from President James A. Garfield, and a scramble by embarrassed local residents to repair the city’s reputation. The group was the … Continue reading

Posted in Abolitionism, African Americans, Amusements, Arts and letters, Hotels & taverns, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, Social life | 3 Comments

Shelby M. Cullom (U.S. Senate)

Shelby M. Cullom won his first election by four votes. It was the start of a 60-year political career that would take him to the edge of the presidency. As a lawmaker, Cullom (1829-1914) “sometimes seemed to plod,” an obituary … Continue reading

Posted in John T. Stuart, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Oak Ridge signs, Politics, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, State government | Leave a comment

Dismantled statues, Illinois Statehouse lawn

The statue of Pierre Menard that formerly stood on the Illinois Statehouse grounds was a gift from a citizen of Missouri. Was it a good likeness of Illinois’ first lieutenant governor? Nobody knows. The Menard statue, along with that of … Continue reading

Posted in Historic Sites, Illinois capital, Markers, Politics, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, State government, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Elks Club Group (1952)

Adlai Stevenson II’s 1952 presidential campaign attracted the most talented, eloquent political team ever assembled in Springfield (well, except for Abraham Lincoln working by himself). Stevenson’s team of speechwriters and idea men (there apparently were no women) was known as … Continue reading

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Stephen A. Douglas’ missing finger

Before he was Abraham Lincoln’s foil in the 1858 contest for U.S. Senate in Illinois and then for the presidency in 1860, Stephen A. Douglas was a regular presence and sometime resident in Springfield. Douglas also was, briefly, Lincoln’s rival … Continue reading

Posted in Buildings, Early residents, Historic Sites, Illinois capital, Lincoln, Abraham, Politics, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, State government | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Duncan McDonald

Duncan McDonald (1873-1965), while not as well-known as John L. Lewis, was almost certainly more principled as both a United Mine Workers leader and a politician. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s Chronicling Illinois collection characterizes McDonald’s labor career this way: … Continue reading

Posted in Arts and letters, Business, Coal mines and mining, Lincoln, Abraham, Politics, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, Springfield Survey | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum controversies

Design and construction of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum took years and involved a variety of political squabbles and maneuvering. If politics could have been put aside, the facility would have been completed much sooner. Of course, since … Continue reading

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Historic Sites, Illinois capital, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Museums, Politics, Presidential candidates, Presidents, Prominent figures, State government | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Senators with Sangamon County links

Note: The following list of U.S. senators with connections to Sangamon County does not include those who lived here solely because of their involvement in state government or politics.  *Ninian Edwards (senator from 1818 to 1824): Edwards, who was territorial … Continue reading

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Adlai Stevenson II in Springfield

As Robert Howard pointed out in his Illinois: History of the Prairie State, most biographers of Adlai Stevenson II (1900-65) “concentrate on the presidential campaigns and United Nations career,” not Stevenson’s single term as Illinois governor. Stevenson, who grew up … Continue reading

Posted in Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, State government | 3 Comments