Part of the Augustus Adams Series
In December 1854, during a pivotal moment in Illinois politics, Augustus Adams replied to a letter sent to him by Abraham Lincoln. The surviving correspondence, preserved in the Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress, places Adams within the legislative struggle surrounding the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and the emerging Anti-Nebraska movement.
“The repeal of the Missouri Compromise… has awakened throughout the North a deep and abiding opposition to the further extension of slavery… and no compromise which looks toward its nationalization can receive my support.”
(From Augustus Adams to Abraham Lincoln, December 17, 1854. Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress.)
In December 1854, during the turbulent political realignment following the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, Augustus Adams replied to a letter sent to him by Abraham Lincoln.
At the time, Lincoln was seeking election to the United States Senate and was corresponding with members of the Illinois General Assembly to determine political alignments. Adams, then serving in the Illinois Senate, was among those whose views and support were strategically important. Because legislative votes were called alphabetically, Adams—whose initials were A.A., often cast the first recorded vote, adding symbolic weight to his position.
In his reply dated December 17, 1854, written from Elgin, Adams addressed Lincoln candidly about the Anti-Nebraska movement and the future direction of Illinois politics. He expressed concern over further compromise regarding the expansion of slavery and emphasized the need for firm opposition to its extension into new territories.
The original reply is preserved in the Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. While the initial letter from Lincoln to Adams has not been located, Adams’ surviving response confirms that Lincoln had reached out directly to him during a pivotal moment in the formation of the Republican Party.
Family recollections later recorded that additional letters from Lincoln were once kept in the Sandwich factory office but were reportedly destroyed in a later fire. The surviving 1854 reply remains the only documented piece of their correspondence.
This exchange places Augustus Adams within the active political discussions that reshaped Illinois and ultimately influenced national events in the years preceding the Civil War.
Sources
Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division. Letter from Augustus Adams, December 1854.
History of DeKalb County, Illinois. Chicago, 1878.
Portrait and Biographical Album of DeKalb County, Illinois. Chicago, 1885.
Family recollections and Adams archival material