After Lincoln was elected, Douglas whole-heartedly supported his efforts to preserve the Union, and was instrumental in persuading Illinois Democrats to support the War. His untimely death on June 3, 1861 cut short a meteoric career that had a vast impact on the future of the country.
Very true.
In an unrelated matter, but similar, I remember the untimely death of US Senator John Heinz back in 1991. He died in a helicopter crash in Philadelphia.
John Heinz was a rarity. He was a Republican from the Pittsburgh area when the entire region was union Democrat (it is not anymore). Heinz had the respect of both sides of the aisle and was popular throughout Pennsylvania. I have long had a theory…..if Reagan had selected Jack Kemp as VP in 1980, we would have had Kemp and probably Heinz on the ticket in 1988 and 1992. No Bushes. No Clinton. Maybe no Obama.
Don, did you know that Stephen Douglas converted to Catholicism shortly before he died? He was baptized by Fr. Arnold Damen in Chicago. His tomb is a few steps away from an Archdiocesan office.
I always loved that story about The Little Giant. It took real courage to go south at that time.
His second wife, his first had died, Adele, who he married in 1856 was Catholic, and he had his two sons from his first marriage baptized and raised Catholic. Douglas had been friendly to Catholics throughout his career, and never exhibited any anti-Catholic prejudice. Adele had him given a Catholic funeral. Historians differ on whether he had a death bed conversion to Catholicism.