About the Lincoln Plaque
On September 16, 1859, Abraham Lincoln addressed a small crowd from the east terrace of the Statehouse. In his first Ohio speech, Lincoln repeated his
conviction that "a house divided against itself cannot stand" and took issue with Democrat Stephen Douglas' concept of "popular sovereignty." Published
and widely circulated as an addendum to the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Lincoln's Ohio Statehouse speech helped stake a firm position for the Republican
Party in the 1860 presidential campaign that followed.
One of the memorable lines from Lincoln's 1859 Statehouse speech:
"This slavery element is a durable element of discord among us... we shall probably not have perfect peace in this country with it until it either masters
the free principle in our government, or is mastered by the free principle." -Abraham Lincoln
On September 16, 1934, a commemorative marker was erected on the 75th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's first Statehouse speech by the people of Ohio.