First Elective Office
1834
On December 1, 1834 Abraham Lincoln entered the State Capitol that stood on this site. This was his first term as a state representative and the first time he held elective office. The Abraham Lincoln that began his political career on that December day was not yet the national hero that is brought to mind with the mere mention of his name. He had spent his life in Kentucky, Indiana, and the preceding four years, in Illinois. Lincoln had moved to New Salem just three years earlier. Many historians believe that Lincoln’s early interest in the legislature was, in part, due to the fact that it paid better than most other pursuits available to him. By serving in the state legislature, Lincoln rejected once and for all the backbreaking labor of subsistence farming as practiced by his father, Thomas Lincoln. Young Abraham had detested farm life in Kentucky and Indiana, and the Illinois legislature offered him a proven path to self-advancement.
The building that served as the state capitol had been the former home of the State Bank. This building became the capitol after the original capitol in Vandalia burned in 1823. Accounts indicate that the structure was in poor condition, almost from the start, with sagging floors and falling plaster. Sessions of the legislature were held during the winter so that they did not interfere with agricultural activities. This practice meant that the weather would usually be cold and inhospitable while the legislators were in session here.
Lincoln's first term in the legislature was a turning point in his life. He was one of fifty-five House members, thirty-six of whom were in their first term. He first met his lifelong nemesis, Stephen Douglas, here. Douglas was a first term representative from Morgan County. Lincoln enjoyed one big advantage over most other members of the legislature. Lincoln's roommate John Stuart was the leader of the Whig minority. The politicians he met through John Stuart and the legislative experiences he gained here in Vandalia transformed him from an unsophisticated young man into a politician who would ultimately become one of the nation's greatest presidents.
Lincoln was a younger man when he began his first term as a state representative. He was just twenty-five years old, having just arrived in Illinois four years earlier with his extended family. Vandalia’s statue of Abraham Lincoln presents him as he would have appeared during this time period, seated on a bench reading a copy of the Vandalia Whig newspaper.
Marker is on 4th Street near Gallatin Street, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
