[Illustration: An atmosphere of exultation pervaded the Metamora courtroom when Lincoln was present. He was the most popular of all the barristers who traveled the Eighth Circuit.] [Illustration: The Old Cass County Courthouse in Beadstown, Illinois, was the scene of the “Duff” Armstrong murder trial in which Lincoln defended the son of “Aunt Hanna” Armstrong, who had befriended him when he lived in New Salem. During the trial Lincoln proved, by referring to an almanac, that the moon was not shining brightly at the time of the murder. It is said that tears stood in Lincoln’s eyes as he pleaded for the boy’s life and that the hardened pioneer jurymen wept with him. Young Armstrong was acquitted.] [Illustration: The courtroom.] [Illustration: On the evening of July 29, 1858, Lincoln, Republican Candidate for the United States Senate and the incumbent Democratic Senator, Stephen A. Douglas, were guests at the Bryant Home. It was here that the two politicians agreed to their seven debates.] [Illustration: Lincoln occupied the chair below during the evening’s discussion.] [Illustration: On this table Douglas wrote a letter to Lincoln confirming the schedule for seven debates.] [Illustration: This memorial to the Lincoln-Douglas debates, at Quincy, Illinois, stands as a symbol of Lincoln’s moral and spiritual convictions. They enabled him to match wits with Stephen A. Douglas, who was blind to the evils of slavery and deaf and dumb to those who expressed a desire to abolish it.] [Illustration: Lincoln had crossed the threshold of his greatest ambition when he and his family became frequent visitors to the Governor’s Mansion, where they mingled with the elite both politically and socially. Lincoln’s name had been mentioned in the press as a possible candidate for the Presidency.] [Illustration: “The Rail Splitter.” Lincoln acquired this nickname during the 1860 convention in Chicago, where he became known as “The Rail Splitter” candidate for President of the United States.] [Illustration: It was to this house, Lincoln’s Springfield residence, that the appointed committee came on May 19, 1860 to notify “The Rail Splitter” candidate of his nomination for the Presidency.] [Illustration: One of the committeemen rang the front doorbell, which has announced visitors to the Lincoln house for more than a hundred years.] [Illustration: “The Rail Splitter” himself opened the front door and welcomed the committee into the entrance hall, where both the humble and the great had always been welcome visitors.] [Illustration: It was in the north parlor that the committee spokesman, George Ashmun, delivered to Lincoln the letter which confirmed his nomination, a copy of the Republican platform and a short congratulatory speech. “The Rail Splitter” candidate stood tall and dignified, a grave expression on his rugged countenance.]