VOL. XV.
No. 10.
STEPHEN A
BOSTON.
OCTOBER, 1903
DOUGLAS AS A LAWYER. BY EUGENE L. DIDIER.
LIKE so many men who have won polit ical distinction in this country, Stephen A. Douglas began life as a lawyer. His early entrance into politics, his sudden and brilliant rise to a commanding position, his crushing defeat when aspiring to the highest office in the government,—altogether form one of the most interesting and picturesque careers in the history of the United States; showing, at the same time, the splendid opportunity that this great republic offers to every citi zen. His life shows, also, for how brief a span even the most conspicuous men engross the attention of the world. For nearly ten years, from 1852-61, the name of Stephen A. Douglas was on every tongue, his speeches in every newspaper, his political opinions ac cepted by millions of his fellow-citizens. He possessed a personal magnetism second only to that of Clay and Jackson; but unfortu nately for his fame, he sought the great office of President of the United States at the time of the parting of the political ways—when sectionalism was the burning question of the hour, and the safety of the Union was at stake. On that vital issue, Stephen A. Doug las went down to a political death, for he led a party which was powerless to save a threat ened Union. Before giving himself up—mind and body, heart and soul—to politics, he had won dis tinction as a lawyer and judge. It is this interesting period of his life, although less striking and brilliant than his public career, that is the subject of this article.
Like many men who have reached emin ence at the bar, Stephen A. Douglas was a son of New England. It cannot be said of him, as was said of Homer, that seven cities contended for the honor of giving him birth, but it is recorded that, when Douglas was at the height of his popularity, several houses in Brandon, Vt., contended for the honor of being the place where he was born. It is also recorded that he who was to be the subject of so much newspaper publicity, com menced to figure in the press when only two months old. At that age, he lost his father, who, while holding the child in his arms, fell back in his chair and died, and Stephen rolled into the fire, from which he was rescued by a neighbor, who opportunely entered. It is worthy of remark that Douglas, like Clay, Jackson, Benton and other distinguished men, who lost their fathers early in life, was indebted to his mother for the training which helped to make him what he was—proving the truth of Napoleon's saying, that the future good or bad conduct of a child de pends on the mother. Douglas' mother was left poor by the death of her husband, and was dependent upon her brother for support. Stephen, having taught himself the Latin grammar, applied to his uncle for permission to enter college. This request was curtly refused, and the boy was bound to a cabinet maker to learn that useful, but not very in tellectual trade. Although this was a bitter disappointment to the aspiring youth, he worked faithfully at the business; love of
