Lincoln's First Political Speech - Decatur, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 39° 50.496 W 088° 57.336
16S E 332679 N 4412006
A barefoot, shirt-sleeved Lincoln stands, leaning forward, with proper right foot on a tree stump. His proper right hand rests on his proper right knee. With his proper left hand, he gestures as if making a point.
Waymark Code: WMCA28
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 08/14/2011
Views: 6
Continued from the Smithsonian database:
"The young Lincoln wears farmers garb - a simple shirt and pants.
Dimensions: Sculpture: approx. 5 ft. 7 in. x 3 ft. x 4 ft. 5 in.; Base: approx. 4 ft. 7 in. x 4 ft. 3 in. x 5 ft. 3 in.
Inscription: (Plaque on front of base:) ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S/FIRST POLITICAL SPEECH/LINCOLN MOUNTED A STUMP BY HARRELL'S/TAVERN FACING THIS SQUARE, AND DEFENDED/THE ILLINOIS WHIG PARTY CANDIDATES NEAR/THIS SPOT AT AGE 21 IN THE SUMMER/OF 1830./THIS STATUE ERECTED OCT. 12, 1968 BY/THE DECATUR AND MACON COUNTY HERITAGE/COMMITTEE./THIS PLAQUE IS PLACED BY STEPHEN DECATUR CHAPTER,/NATIONAL SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION/FEB. 12, 1970. unsigned"
The statue is at an intersection and surrounded by plantings of flowers. Bees were buzzing all around, which made it life threatening to photograph the plaque in front. Will need a winter visit to accomplish that.
Also adjacent is a Looking for Lincoln marker aptly entitled "Lincoln's First Speech." That marker adds that Lincoln also argued for clearing and widening the nearby Sangamon River for improved navigation. Pretty good for a barefoot 21-year-old! (The LfL marker is somewhat tattered and needs repair.)
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and promoting economic and financial modernization. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, Lincoln was mostly self-educated. He became a country lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a one-term member of the United States House of Representatives, but failed in two attempts at a seat in the United States Senate. (source Wikipedia)
Other Lincoln and historical markers and statues abound in the area.
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