Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois Legislature

The Young Legislator Pursues the Damaging Whig Economic Agenda

Oct 10, 2009

Abraham Lincoln's first foray into politics featured a strict adherence to destructive Whig Party economic policies and minimal attention to the slavery issue.

Abraham Lincoln was first elected to the Illinois state legislature in 1834. As a legislator, Lincoln was an ardent supporter of the Whig Party’s economic program. This progressive agenda including:

The "American System"

The Whig program was known as "the American System." While it aimed to create a strong, centralized government that could regulate economic development, it ultimately introduced corruption, monopoly and special interest bias to American politics.

As a young politician, Lincoln idolized Whig Congressman Henry Clay, who was the greatest champion of "the American System." Lincoln also sought to be the "DeWitt Clinton of Illinois." Clinton was the New York governor who had orchestrated the taxpayer-funded construction of the Erie Canal. The canal was hailed as a magnificent achievement, but whether or not it was worth the price was questionable because the advent of the railroad less than a decade later made the canal obsolete.

Internal Improvement Projects

Since nationalizing the money supply and supporting protective tariffs were national issues, as a state legislator Lincoln concentrated on funding "internal improvements" like the Erie Canal in New York. Lincoln argued that government projects such as road building would enable farmers to earn more because new roads would make it easier for them to bring their goods to market. However as history has proven, in such a system the detriments far outweigh the benefits.

While Lincoln's (and most other Whig politicians') intentions were good, government intervention in the economy brings unintended consequences, which is why most of the nation's founders believed that government and business should not be connected. Such a connection tends to cause mercantilism, which was employed in Great Britain and was one of the main reasons why the American colonies fought to free themselves from oppressive British rule.

In Illinois, taxpayer-funded construction projects enabled the government to award special favors such as money and contracts to politically-connected businesses. To secure these special favors, business leaders donated money to political campaigns to assure their benefactors' re-election. Such an arrangement benefited corrupt politicians and business leaders but harmed the general public.

As more business leaders lobbied to secure special favors, the government needed to raise more money for more projects. One way to raise more money was to raise taxes, which only burdened average families more. Another way was to convert from the gold standard to a paper currency (one of the Whigs' goals) so that more money could be printed and its value inflated to finance the projects. Unlike direct taxation, inflation is an indirect tax that can be better hidden from the public.

The Panic of 1837 Damages the Whig Agenda

In 1837, Lincoln led the Whig majority in the Illinois legislature to pass a $12 million appropriation for "internal improvements." The program was a disaster, as even William Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner, called it "reckless and unwise." That same year, a financial panic led to an economic depression. Public opinion turned against the Whigs and the Democrats won control of the legislature. Lincoln won re-election by only a slim margin. However instead of acknowledging the failure of the Whig program, Lincoln resolved to push it even harder.

In 1840, the Democratic majority moved to require that state government banks make payments in gold instead of devalued paper currency. Because the Whig program relied on inflated paper money, Lincoln and most Whigs staunchly opposed this measure. They tried to leave before a vote could be called, thus defeating the measure due to a lack of a quorum. When the door was barred shut, Lincoln and other Whigs jumped out a first-floor window.

By this time, the depression was in its fourth year and the Whig program was widely discredited as an overly expensive failure that was corrupted by political favors and special interests. With funds no longer forthcoming and Illinois deep in debt, many of the government projects were abandoned before they were even completed. This in turn caused land values to drop and banks to collapse. When the Illinois constitution was amended in 1848, it prohibited spending taxpayer money on "internal improvements" because of these disastrous results.

Lincoln's Stance on Slavery

During Lincoln's eight years as a state legislator, he barely mentioned slavery. When he did, his views were consistent with most white Northerners: they wanted nothing to do with blacks or the slavery issue. In fact the Illinois constitution later prohibited blacks, free or otherwise, from immigrating to the state. Lincoln did oppose a measure that upheld the right of people to own slaves, but that did little in Illinois since the state already prohibited slavery.

Legacy of the Failed Whig Program

Lincoln was widely blamed for the sad affairs in Illinois because he was one of the most vocal proponents of the failed Whig agenda. Although Lincoln decided not to run for office again in 1842, he did not stop advocating the Whig program.

Meanwhile Chicago became the railroad center of the country without taxpayer subsidies, and most states amended their constitutions to prohibit using tax money for internal improvement projects. This suggests that the economic program pursued by Lincoln and his fellow Whigs was unpopular and harmful not only to Illinois but to the country as a whole.

However this did not stop the Whigs from pursuing their ultimate goal of implementing this program permanently. Even when the party dissolved, the program was taken up by the new Republican Party, and when Lincoln became president in 1861, the ultimate goal was realized. It is this economic program under which Americans generally live today.

Sources

DiLorenzo, Thomas J.: The Real Lincoln (New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 2002)

The copyright of the article Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois Legislature in US Civil War is owned by Walter Coffey. Permission to republish Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois Legislature in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Oct 12, 2009 7:32 AM

Guest :

Right on. Lincoln, following Henry Clay who followed Alexander Hamilton, were the central government interventionists. The 19th century Democrats were the true conservatives and libertarians, until the 20th century Democrats took us down the Rousseau to Marx pathway, as cited in THE CHANGING FACE OF DEMOCRATS on Amazon and www.claysamerica.com.