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Douglas (STEPHEN ARNOLD an American)

STEPHEN ARNOLD, an American politician; born in Brandon, Vt., April 23, 1813. In 1834 he began the practice of law at Jacksonville, Ill.; was elected attorney-general of the State in the same year, member of the Legislature in 1835, Secretary of State in 1840, and Judge of the Supreme Court in 1841. He was elected to Congress in STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS 1843, 1844, and 1846, and to the United States Senate in 1847, 1852, and 1858.

In the Lower House he advocated the annexation of Texas and of Oregon up to 54° 40′ N. lat., and favored the war with Mexico, and in the Senate he opposed the posed the ratification of the Clayton- Bulwer Treaty, and declared himself in favor of the acquisition of Cuba. On the question of slavery he maintained that the people of each territory should decide whether it should be a free State or a DOUMERGUE slave State. In 1860 he received the regular Democratic nomination for the presidency, the seceding delegates nominating John C. Breckinridge. Douglas obtained 12 electoral and 1,375,157 popular votes, as against 180 electoral and 1,866,352 popular votes cast for Lincoln, to whom, in the early days of the Civil War, he gave an unfaltering support.

He died June 3, 1861, in Chicago.