In 1840, Lincoln sought a fourth legislative term, though in March he told Stuart that “I think it is probable I shall not be permitted to be a candidate.” Many Sangamon County Whigs outside the capital had resisted the convention system and objected to the “Springfield Junto” that supported it. The “Junto” had further alienated voters by opposing the division of the county. Thomas J. Nance, a Democrat in Rock Creek near New Salem, criticized the Junto to a resident of the capital: “Most of our citizens are becoming acquainted with the officious meddling of a few men.… this disposition to misrepresent all our reasonable askings will have one good effect—this is to convince us that we must unite to repel their dictating edicts.” At a meeting in South Fork, voters declared that they “disapprove of the dictative course pursued by the Springfield Junto of lawyers and office holders.” They threatened to “do all we can to put the Junto down.” In 1839, the “Junto” had also antagonized some Whigs by selecting John Bennett of Petersburg, rather than Bowling Green, as a candidate for the General Assembly.
Source: Abraham Lincoln ∶ A Life ▫𓂃
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