Browning: "I have now come to the conclusion never again to think of
marrying." But it was not long before a reaction set in from this
pessimistic mood. The actual transfer of the seat of government from
Vandalia to Springfield in 1839 gave the new capital fresh animation.
Business revived, public improvements were begun, politics ran high.
Already there was a spirit in the air that in the following year
culminated in the extraordinary enthusiasm and fervor of the Harrison
presidential campaign of 1840, that rollicking and uproarious party
carnival of humor and satire, of song and jollification, of hard cider
and log cabins. While the State of Illinois was strongly Democratic,
Sangamon County was as distinctly Whig, and the local party disputes were
hot and aggressive. The Whig delegation of Sangamon in the legislature,
popularly called the "Long Nine," because the sum of the stature of its
members was fifty-four feet, became noted for its influence in
legislation in a body where the majority was against them; and of these
Mr. Lincoln was the "tallest" both in person and ability, as was
recognized by his twice receiving the minority vote for Speaker of the
House.
Society also began organizing itself upon metropolitan rather than
provincial assumptions. As yet, however society was liberal.
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