Barely a year after statehood, Illinois’ new state
government abandoned its original riverfront capital city of Kaskaskia
and moved northeast to higher ground in Vandalia. It proved to be a wise
choice: within a few decades, the Mississippi had changed course, and much of
the original seat of government lay at the bottom of the river.
Less than 20 years later, Illinois was once again looking
for a new capital city. The efforts of a freshman state legislator and eight of
his colleagues would help shift it farther north.
It was never entirely clear whether Vandalia was intended to
be a temporary or a permanent capital when state government moved in during
1820. The years in Illinois’ second capital city had been difficult. The first
statehouse in the Fayette County town had burned to the ground in 1823. Another
had been built, but it was already showing signs of deterioration: floors
sagged, walls bowed and a local congregation which held its prayer meetings in
the building decided it was prudent to find a better location.
Meanwhile, the Act which had moved the seat of state
government to Vandalia was about to expire: it had a sunset date of 20 years,
which was coming up in 1839. In anticipation of the recurrence of the issue,
legislators began making the case for their preferred city. They agreed to
place on the August 1834 general election ballot a question about the future
location of the capital.
“There shall be opened at each place of voting a book, in
which shall be entered the votes of the qualified voters in favor of the
following named places, as their choice for the permanent location of the seat
of government of this State, after the time prescribed by the Constitution for
its remaining at Vandalia,” read the act of the 8th General Assembly
which authorized the referendum. It then listed the options and the stakes:
“Geographical center of the State, Jacksonville, Springfield, Vandalia, Alton
and Peoria. The place receiving the highest number of votes shall forever
thereafter remain the seat of government of the State of Illinois.”
The referendum’s results were disappointing. In a
low-turnout election, the riverfront city of Alton emerged as the front-runner,
but with only about a third of the vote. Vandalia and then Springfield were
close behind. It was far from a consensus, and state leaders decided to
disregard the vote. Alton would go on to achieve importance as the home of
abolitionist publisher Elijah Lovejoy and the site of a famous Senate
debate a quarter century later, but it never again came as close to
becoming the state capital.
So the debate would go on. Legislators from different parts
of the state argued fiercely for several different cities. Among their number
was a tall representative from rural Sangamon County named Abraham Lincoln, who
attended sessions of the House in his one and only suit, which he had purchased
with borrowed money. Lincoln advocated for his county’s seat, Springfield.
 |
| The State House at Vandalia. Photo from the Illinois DNR Historic Preservation Division. |
The new capitol opened in 1836, but even this much-improved
structure did not settle the issue. Lincoln, particularly, redoubled his
efforts, along with eight of his Whig colleagues from Sangamon County.
Together, these nine legislators; all standing more than six feet tall; came to
be known as the “Long Nine,” and their persistence would make Illinois history.
In the next session of the legislature, Lincoln filed a bill
to relocate the capital to Springfield. He was supported in this effort by his
Long Nine colleagues, but not supported by freshman Rep. Stephen Douglas, who
argued for his home town of Jacksonville. Douglas, however, was more interested
in the other great issue of the 10th General Assembly: the question
of an internal improvements bill.
Douglas’ plan called for three major infrastructure
projects: a canal linking the Illinois River with Lake Michigan, a
north-to-south railroad (which would become the Illinois Central), and an
east-to-west railroad across the center of the state, to be called the Northern
Cross. Lincoln; who had emerged as the leader of the Long Nine, and who had
campaigned on the issue of internal improvements; offered his support for the
program, if it could be expanded to include canals and other infrastructure
improvements for villages and rural areas like the one he represented. Douglas
agreed, and soon Lincoln was rounding up Whig backing for the program. But he
was also working to build support for Springfield as the new capital.
As the internal improvements bill ballooned in size and cost
(the state would eventually issue $10 million in bonds and the Illinois and
Michigan Canal would issue more of its own bonds as well) it attained the votes
needed for passage. Douglas was uneasy, writing to a friend that he had, “never
for a moment dreamt of such a wild and extravagant scheme,” but in the end he
was pleased to have achieved his goal and passed the legislation.
Having enacted the internal improvements plan, legislators
now moved back to the question of where to locate the capital. Their
deliberations were sometimes interrupted by carpenters still working on the
inside of the new capitol building in Vandalia, and by the hacking coughs of their
colleagues who were having bad reactions to the still-wet plaster in the
chamber. With each cough, support for keeping the capital in Vandalia was
dwindling, while support for Lincoln’s idea to relocate to Springfield was growing.
 |
| Part of the roll call page in the vote to move the state capital. Abraham Lincoln is marked as the 50th vote for Springfield. |
The question of how much wheeling-and-dealing was genuinely
involved in the vote on the location of the capital has long been disputed,
with an Illinoisan of no less stature than former U.S. Senator Paul Simon
writing in a Lincoln biography that it was not a major factor. But whatever
went into the final decision, in 1839, Springfield became the capital city of
Illinois.
A new capitol
building, one of the most impressive state houses in the west, was soon
under construction. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1837, for the Greek
Renaissance structure; compete with a dome and porticos; which was to be built
on the block in downtown Springfield bounded by Adams and Washington Streets
between 5th and 6th. The speaker at the occasion was
Edward Baker, a close friend of Lincoln who would go on to serve in the U.S.
Senate. The two story structure was designed by architect J.F. Rague of
Springfield’s Mechanics Institute.
It was not completed until 1853, and cost $260,000, which
was twice what was expected. The building would remain the seat of state
government until 1876, when it moved once again to its current
home a few blocks away at 2nd and Monroe Streets.
Lincoln’s triumph marked a high point in a life filled with
ups and downs. But storm clouds were gathering on his horizon. Lincoln was
nominated for Speaker of the House, but fell short by five votes. A nationwide
economic crisis, the Panic of 1837, struck just months after passage of the
internal improvement bill. Some observers began to raise doubts about the
amount of debt Illinois had incurred for the plan, but Lincoln was still buoyed
by its successful passage, winning re-election in 1838. He moved from New Salem
to Springfield, eventually opening a law
office across the street from the new capitol building.
But then a second economic crisis hit in 1839, hammering the
Midwest and driving down the value of railroad and canal bonds. The ambitious
internal improvements program collapsed under its own weight, though a few of
the canal and rail projects were built. Douglas by this time had moved on: he
was picked to head the federal government’s Springfield land office, and then
was appointed Illinois Secretary of State. Lincoln was left behind in the
legislature to deal with the consequences. The state sank into a debt which it would not
be able to fully repay in Lincoln’s lifetime. Lincoln squeaked to re-election
in 1840, but in 1842, perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, he did not seek
re-nomination. He would remain an advocate of internal improvements during his
term in Congress,
but without much success.
The speech, and the Senate campaign of which it was a
crucial part, propelled him to national fame. Two years after that, he would
return to the same building and borrow office space from Governor John Wood. There
he prepared for the momentous task of taking office as the newly-elected 16th
President of the United States.