The Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 10, number 3, March 1927

              lincoln's 1859 address at milwaukee following is the text of abraham lincoln's address at the wisconsin state fair milwaukee september 30 1859 it is a verbatim copy of that printed in the transactions of the wisconsin state agricultural society 1858-1859 , p 287 299 this is believed to be the only speech lincoln made in wisconsin of which an exact copy exists ; and owing prob ably to the nonpolitical character of its subject matter this essay is less well known than are lincoln's political pro nouncements the interest of the address to lincoln stu dents is considerable however precisely because it reveals the lincoln mind from an unusual angle it will be observed especially in the paragraph on the mud sill theory how carefully the orator avoids statements which could be interpreted as having a political or partisan bearing the occasion for which he had been engaged and for which he received a fee of one hundred dollars was dis tinctly nonpolitical it is recorded however that on the evening of the same day at the newhall house in the city of milwaukee mr lincoln was persuaded to cut loose on the issues of the day and did so in a manner highly gratify ing to those of his political faith it was not long after tea says a m thomson,1 when the rotunda of the newhall house was well filled and mr lincoln was busy shaking hands and making pleasant re marks to the gentlemen who were introduced to him at length someone suggested that it was a great oversight that the presence of so distinguished an advocate of the anti-slav xa political history of wisconsin milwaukee 1900 150-151