Happy Birthday, Maine

Letters from an American vor 6 Monaten

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Letters from an American

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A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.

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March 14, 2026

On March 15, 1820, Maine joined the Union, with national
repercussions. Maine statehood was opposed by southerners
worried that it would restrict enslavement in the South, With the
opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 Maine men moved west, Owen
Lovejoy of Maine, elected to the Illinois state legislature in
1854, became friends with up and coming lawyer, Abraham Lincoln,
Legislators, many from Maine, who were worried they were losing
their democracy, set out to stop the rise of Slave Power. They
would form a new political party, the Republicans, Lincoln knew
Maine was important to his presidential campaign. Lincoln won 62%
of the vote in Maine, taking all eight of the state’s
electoral votes, and went on to win the 1860 election.

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