By the time balloting for the removal of the capital took place, Lincoln and his colleagues had cobbled together an alliance of twenty-three legislators who lived in or near Sangamon County; nine who represented counties that would benefit substantially from the internal improvements bill that had just passed; and three who fit neither category. Two of those three unclassifiable representatives were Jesse K. Dubois and Henry L. Webb, friends of Lincoln who wanted to accommodate him. Dubois and Webb were from the southern part of the state, where proposals to shift the capital northward enjoyed little popularity. Dubois explained that he and Webb “defended our vote before our constituents by saying that necessity would ultimately force the seat of government to a central position. But in reality we gave the vote to Lincoln because we liked him and because we wanted to oblige our friend, and because we recognized his authority as our leader.” Webb called the legislative triumph of the Long Nine “the master stroke of diplomacy of the Western Hemi sphere” and deemed Lincoln “a Napoleon of astuteness and political finesse.” According to Henry C. Whitney, Webb “voted for the measure because of his admiration of Lincoln and the inability to resist his importunities. His [original] policy was to leave the capital at Vandalia but [he] yielded to Lincoln.”
Source: Abraham Lincoln ∶ A Life ▫𓂃
(echo:: @ ⌗)