Stephen A. Douglas

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Douglas became aligned with the "whole hog" Democrats, who strongly supported President Jackson. In 1834, with the support of the Democratic state legislator who represented Jacksonville, Douglas was elected as the State's Attorney for the First District, which encompassed eight counties in western Illinois. Douglas quickly became uninterested in practicing law, choosing instead to focus on politics. He helped arrange the first-ever state Democratic convention in late 1835, and the convention pledged to support Jackson's chosen successor, Martin Van Buren, in the 1836 presidential election. In 1836, he won election to the Illinois House of Representatives, defeating Whig Party candidate John J. Hardin. Douglas joined a legislature that included five future senators, seven future congressmen, and one future president: Abraham Lincoln, who was at that time a member of the Whig Party. While continuing to serve in the state legislature and as a state's attorney, Douglas was appointed by President Van Buren as the registrar of the Springfield Land Office.

Douglas sought election to the United States House of Representatives in 1838, but lost by a 36-vote margin to Whig candidate John T. Stuart. During the presidential election of 1840, Douglas campaigned throughout the state for President Van Buren, and he frequently debated with Lincoln and other Whigs. Though Van Buren lost his re-election bid to Whig candidate William Henry Harrison, Illinois was one of seven states to vote for Van Buren. After the election, Governor Thomas Carlin appointed Douglas as the Illinois Secretary of State, making Douglas the youngest individual to hold the post. During his brief tenure as secretary of state, Douglas helped arrange a state charter for the Mormon settlement of Nauvoo. In early 1841, Douglas accepted election to the Illinois Supreme Court. In 1843, Douglas resigned from the court after winning election to the United States House of Representatives.

During one evening in the early 1840s, Douglas dined with Joseph Smith, the Prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At Douglas's request, President Smith recounted a history of the Missouri persecutions, to which Douglas expressed sympathy. Joseph Smith then pronounced the following prophecy on the head of Stephen A. Douglas:

After decisively winning re-election in August 1844, Douglas campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate James K. Polk. During one of his first campaign appearances outside of Illinois, Douglas denounced high tariff rates, saying that they constituted "an act for the oppression and plunder of the American laborer for the benefit of a few large capitalists". Ultimately, Polk defeated Whig nominee Henry Clay in the 1844 presidential election. Douglas strongly supported the annexation of Texas, and in May 1846 he voted to declare war on Mexico after U.S. and Mexican forces clashed near the Rio Grande River. Douglas considered volunteering to serve in the war, but President Polk convinced him to remain in Congress, where he would serve as an advocate for Polk's policies. He was one of four Northern Democrats to vote against the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery from any land ceded by Mexico. Douglas instead favored extending the Missouri Compromise, which had banned slavery north of the parallel 36°30′ north in the Louisiana Purchase, to all U.S. territories, but his proposal was defeated by Northern congressmen. Despite being a supporter of Polk's policies, he voted against the Walker Tariff.

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