"His very features, in the ecstatic agony of his soul, spoke audibly and distinctly–'Dear girls, it is distressing, but I cannot marry you all. Lincoln went on to taunt Shields’ pursuit of women: “'I've been tugging ever since harvest getting out wheat and hauling it to the river, to raise State Bank paper enough to pay my tax this year, and a little school debt I owe and now just as I've got it…, lo and behold, I find a set of fellows calling themselves officers of State, have forbidden to receive State paper at all and so here it is, dead on my hands.'” Assuming the character of an Illinois farmer, Lincoln wrote: Lincoln was friendly with the editor of the Sangamo Journal, Simeon Francis, and Francis allowed him to write the letter under the penname “Rebecca.” As “Rebecca,” Lincoln attacked Shields for his politics and for his personal foibles. Shields became a target for Whig opposition to the financial plan and Lincoln, then a self-described “prairie lawyer,” added fuel to the fire with a sizzling editorial written in early September. Shields, the State Auditor, sided with his Democratic party and supported the decision to close the bank. Gold and silver, which most citizens did not have, became the only acceptable currency. In August of 1842, the Illinois State Bank went bankrupt and announced that it would no longer accept its own paper currency from private citizens looking to pay off debts. The ridicule pushed Shields to challenge Lincoln to a duel in which the victor took both the life and the pride of his opponent. In 1842, a young Abraham Lincoln publicly chastised James Shields in the course of a debate about banking in Illinois. Saved Land Browse Interactive Map View active campaigns.Protect Virginia Battlefields from Massive Data Centers.New Battlefield State Park Coming to Virginia.Support Outdoor Classrooms at Seven Key Battlefields.Help Preserve 64 Acres Across Three Revolutionary War Sites.Help Preserve 311 Acres at Four Historic Battlefields.Save 45 Historic Acres at the Battle of Chancellorsville.Help Restore Three Sites to Their Wartime Appearance.Save 170 Threatened Acres at Lookout Mountain, Mill Springs and Fort DeRussy.Virtual Tours View All See Antietam now!.National Teacher Institute July 21 - 24, 2022 Learn More.USS Constitution In 4 Minutes Watch Video.African Americans During the Revolutionary War.The First American President: Setting the Precedent.
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