Douglas was now feeling the full force of the opposition within his own party.  The Republican newspapers of the State had seized upon his Freeport speech to convince the South and the administration that he was false to their creed.  The Washington Union had from the first denounced him as a renegade, with whom no self-respecting Democrat would associate.[747] Slidell was active in Illinois, spending money freely to defeat him.[748] The Danites in the central counties plotted incessantly to weaken his following.  Daniel S. Dickinson of New York sent “a Thousand Greetings” to a mass-meeting of Danites in Springfield,—­a liberal allowance, commented some Douglasite, as each delegate would receive about ten greetings.[749] Yet the dimensions of this movement were not easily ascertained.  The declination of Vice-President Breckinridge to come to the aid of Douglas was a rebuff not easily laughed down, though to be sure, he expressed a guarded preference for Douglas over Lincoln.  The coolness of Breckinridge was in a measure offset by the friendliness of Senator Crittenden, who refused to aid Lincoln, because he believed Douglas’s re-election “necessary as a rebuke to the administration and a vindication of the great cause of popular rights and public justice."[750] The most influential Republican papers in the East gave Lincoln tardy support, with the exception of the New York Times.[751]

Unquestionably Douglas drew upon resources which Lincoln could not command.  The management of the Illinois Central Railroad was naturally friendly toward him, though there is no evidence that it countenanced any illegitimate use of influence on his behalf.  If Douglas enjoyed special train service, which Lincoln did not, it was because he drew upon funds that exceeded Lincoln’s modest income.  How many thousands of dollars Douglas devoted from his own exchequer to his campaign, can now only be conjectured.  In all probability, he spent all that remained from the sale of his real estate in Chicago, and more which he borrowed in New York by mortgaging his other holdings in Cook County.[752] And not least among his assets was the constant companionship of Mrs. Douglas, whose tact, grace, and beauty placated feelings which had been ruffled by the rude vigor of “the Little Giant."[753]

When the rivals met three weeks later at Galesburg, they were disposed to drop personalities.  Indeed, both were aware that they were about to address men and women who demanded an intelligent discussion of the issues of the hour.  Lincoln had the more sympathetic hearing, for Knox County was consistently Republican; and the town with its academic atmosphere and New England traditions shared his hostility to slavery.  Vast crowds braved the cold, raw winds of the October day to listen for three hours to this debate.[754] From a platform on the college campus, Douglas looked down somewhat defiantly upon his hearers, though his words were well-chosen and courteous.