Lincoln's "Tug" Letter to Congressman William Kellogg
Dec. 11, 1860
President-elect Abraham Lincoln
William Kellogg (1814--1872) was born in Ohio but moved to Illinois after passing the bar.  He began his political career in the state legislature and then served as a state circuit court judge.  He was elected, as a Republican, to the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms, serving from 1857 to 1863.  During the period between Lincoln's election on Nov. 6, 1860 and his inauguration on March 4, 1861, Kellogg was an active member of the Committee of Thirty-Three, tasked with the impossible task of finding a "peaceful" solution to the emerging secession crisis.  This, no doubt, is why Lincoln sent him almost exactly the same letter he had sent to Trumbull the previous day.       

Congressman William Kellogg of Illinois.






Private & confidential.

Hon. William Kellogg.

Springfield, Ills.
Dec. 11. 1860

My dear Sir---

Entertain no proposition for a compromise in regard to the extension of slavery. The instant you do, they have us under again; all our labor is lost, and sooner or later must be done over. Douglas is sure to be again trying to bring in his ``Pop. Sov.'' Have none of it. The tug has to come, & better now than later.

You know I think the fugitive slave clause of the constitution ought to be enforced---to put it on the mildest form, ought not to be resisted. In haste

Yours as ever

A. LINCOLN




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Source: Basler, Roy P., Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 4; Rutgers University Press, 1953, p. 150

Date added to website:  March 1, 2026