During the early years of Medill’s editorial empire, in which he was the second leading voice in the nation, he made a major political contribution on the pages of the Chicago Tribune. His most famous editorials are those that gave a forward thrust to Abraham Lincoln’s political career.
At a time in American history when newspapers were shamelessly biased in favor of one political party or another, not feigning impartiality in the least, Medill pushed Lincoln’s name to the forefront of his reader’s attention. The Tribune played a significant role in his election from start to finish.
Medill followed Lincoln throughout Illinois to provide the most in-depth coverage of the Lincoln-Douglas debates of any newspaper in the Midwest. Medill’s first five years on the Tribune staff (from 1855 to 1860) secured him a place in history texts because of his editorial contributions to a Lincoln forward push.
Medill's Coverage of Lincoln
Medill placed Lincoln upon a political pedestal both in his mind and in his writings. He provided what is perhaps the most thorough newspaper coverage of Lincoln’s political career; however, even Medill failed to document what has since been dubbed “Lincoln’s lost speech.”
The address that Lincoln presented at the Illinois state convention in 1856 inspired the press men present to applause, but the cost of applause is that neither hand is free to take notes. None of the newspapermen attending the convention had a full report of what Lincoln had said. Even Medill, who prided himself on his coverage of his political hero, was so moved to cheers and applause that he failed to create an adequate report, leaving much of the content of the address a mystery.
Lincoln-Medill Conversations
The Lincoln-Medill relationship grew and lasted throughout Lincoln’s senatorial and presidential campaigns. The men developed a strong bond as Lincoln battled Douglas for one of Illinois’s Senate seats. Lincoln would ask Medill for his feedback on his performance in debates and for advice on editing speeches, though he would not always heed the advice.
In an 1875 letter to the Tribune well after Lincoln’s death, Medill reflected on a conversation between the two of them during the senatorial campaign. After one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln asked, “Well, Medill, how did you like the way I hoed my row with row with Douglas today?”
Ever blunt and true to his opinion, Medill replied, “Mr. Lincoln, before you spoke you had three chances out of four for the Senate. Now I think Douglas has three out of four. I am going back to Chicago in the morning, and I will make the best fight I can for you in The Tribune, but I fear you have let Douglas steal your chance of winning.”
Medill’s foreboding assessment turned out to be true when Douglas won the seat; however, the Tribune’s coverage had brought Lincoln into the national eye, and during the presidential election of 1860 the newspaper continued its unwavering support of Lincoln, spearheaded by Medill’s editorials.
Allegedly, at one point during the campaign Lincoln questioned Medill, asking him if “you Tribune boys have not got me up a peg too high,” wondering if he should not seek the vice presidency instead. Medill was firm in his reply. The Tribune would not squander its time or resources on anything short of the presidency, and Lincoln was the man that the Tribune found best suited for the job. Talk of vice presidency ceased after that. To Lincoln’s fortune, his “Tribune boys” had chosen the right man, and he won the presidency. Medill’s counsel to Lincoln and his indefatigable editorial efforts wrote the course to the presidency.
Sources:
Kobre, Sidney. Development of American Journalism. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers, 1969.
Kinsley, Philip. The Chicago Tribune: Its First Hundred Years. Vol. I. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943.
Lee, James Melvin. History of American Journalism. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917.
Medill, Joseph. “Abraham Lincoln: Letter From Mr. Joseph Medill of the Chicago Tribune.” Chicago Tribune 18 March 1875: 7.
Mott, Frank Luther. American Journalism: A History of Newspapers in the United States Through 250 Years. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1949.
