Debates on the War. Advantage of the Whigs. Acquisition of Territory.
The Wilmot Proviso. Lincoln's Resolutions. Nomination of Taylor for
President. Cass the Democratic Candidate. Lincoln's Speech, July 27,
1848. Taylor Elected

CHAPTER XVI. A FORTUNATE ESCAPE Independent Action of Northern
Democrats. Lincoln's Plan for Emancipation in the District of
Columbia. His Bill Fails to Receive Consideration. A Similar Bill
Signed by Him Fifteen Years Later. Logan Nominated for Congress and
Defeated. Lincoln an Applicant for Office. The Fascination of
Washington

CHAPTER XVII. THE CIRCUIT LAWYER The Growth and Change of Legal
Habits. Lincoln on the Circuit. His Power and Value as a Lawyer.
Opinion of David Davis. Of Judge Drummond. Incidents of the Courts.
Lincoln's Wit and Eloquence. His Life at Home

CHAPTER XVIII. THE BALANCE OF POWER Origin of the Slavery Struggle.
The Ordinance of 1787. The Compromises of the Constitution. The
Missouri Compromise. Cotton and the Cotton-Gin. The Race between Free
and Slave States. The Admission of Texas. The Wilmot Proviso. New
Mexico and California. The Compromise Measures of 1850. Finality

CHAPTER XIX. REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE Stephen A. Douglas. Old
Fogies and Young America. The Nomination of Pierce. The California
Gold Discovery. The National Platforms on the Slavery Issue.
Organization of Western Territories. The Three Nebraska Bills. The
Caucus Agreement of the Senate Committee. Dixon's Repealing Amendment.
Douglas Adopts Dixon's Proposition. Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act