Ohio History Journal

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BEHIND LINCOLN'S VISIT TO OHIO IN 1859

BEHIND LINCOLN'S VISIT TO OHIO IN 1859

 

by EARL W. WILEY

Professor of Speech, Ohio State University

 

The wheels of Buckeye politics were set spinning on September

1, 1859. That was the day when the Ohio Statesman, published in

Columbus, tardily and reluctantly released the announcement that

Senator Stephen A. Douglas would barnstorm in Ohio during the

Ranney-Dennison campaign then off to a running start. Its editor,

George W. Manypenny, was chairman of the Democratic state

central committee. A former administration man of some influence

himself, he knew only too well that the Buchanan Democrats would

look upon Douglas' entry into the state as an intrusion. Douglas

Democrats, contrarily, saw in the move smart politics, fully aware

that it sounded the opening gun of the senator's expanding presi-

dential campaign for 1860. Obviously, the battle weary fragments

of the Democratic party would again be tearing at one another's

throats. This was no way for the party to get ready for the presi-

dential contest in 1860.

The Ohio Republican high command, meanwhile, cocked a

wary eye at the maneuver. They smiled indulgently at their op-

ponents and hoped that the new altercation would lead to nothing

trivial. But on second thought they realized that Douglas' plans

of invasion into home territory came close to their own interests.

What they said on the subject when it came up for consideration

behind the bolted doors of party headquarters, or in the sequestered

corners of the Neil House lobby, was never reported. But Buckeye

tongues wagged over the development. That the Little Giant

should be answered in kind seemed evident. The dog-eat-dog ameni-

ties of the western stump called for an answer, and the stakes were

too high for the Republicans to ignore the challenge. A Ranney

victory in 1859 would signalize Douglas' potential strength for

1860, since Ranney carried Douglas' blessing into the campaign. A

Dennison defeat, on the other hand, would indicate a leveling

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