Daughter of Josiah Crawford, for whom Lincoln often labored as hired hand in Indiana.
DAVID TURNHAM AND WIFE.
Mr. Turnham, as Constable, loaned Lincoln the Revised Statutes of Indiana, the first law-book he ever studied.
CHAPTER IX.
Lincoln and the Slavery Question
An Ancient Institution—The Evils of Slavery—Lincoln Always Opposed to Slavery—Relic of "Cruel Slavery Days"—Discussions, Laws, and Compromises—The Missouri Compromise—The Fugitive Slave Law—The Kansas-Nebraska Bill—Lincoln Aroused—He Answers Douglas—R. L. McCord Names Lincoln His Candidate for President—A New Political Party—"Bleeding Kansas"—The Dred Scott Decision—"The Underground Railroad"—The John Brown Raid—The Approaching Crisis.
It may be wondered what future generations will think when they read the history of our country and learn that within the memory of many of those who now live this Government tolerated and protected that "sum of all villainies"—human slavery. Slavery arose at an early period in the world's history out of the accident of capture in war. As an institution it has existed in many countries for ages. Unfortunately, in the first settling of the United States, slavery was tolerated, and allowed to spread as the country developed. This was especially true of the Southern States.