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Old August 16th, 2008 #17
Alex Linder
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"In 1838, he [Usher Linder] resigned as Attorney General, in the wake of a scandal in which he was apparently blameless, and returned to Coles Co. There, in 1844, he was defeated for Congress, but was elected, beginning in 1846, to several terms in the Ill. legislature. In 1858, he was a supporter and close associate of Stephen Douglas in his famous campaign against Abraham Lincoln. (Lincoln tried unsuccessfully to get Douglas' Senate seat.) Usher often spoke at Douglas rallies and was considered quite an orator. In the Fourth Lincoln-Douglas Debate, at Charleston, Ill. (Usher's home town), Usher and a cousin, Elisha Linder, were on the platform among the Douglas men. (There is a famous painting, and, I believe, photograph of this debate.) In 1860, he was a delegate to the Democratic Nat. Convention at Charleston, S.C., which nominated Douglas for president. (Usher was a "War Democrat", supporting the Union despite his pro-slavery views.)

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