Thornton’s Shelbyville debate with Lincoln is bronzed
The bronze likeness of Anthony Thornton, founding president of the Illinois State Bar Association, has joined that of Abraham Lincoln, with whom he debated on Aug. 9, 1856.
The Lincoln sculpture by John McClarey was delivered to Shelbyville on April 15, 2008, but for almost a year it represented only half of a commemorative project.
McClarey’s statue of Thornton arrived March 18 and the two debaters stand temporarily in front of the Shelby County tourism office while plans are made for a permanent installation at the County Courthouse.
The statuary memorializes a confrontation between Lincoln and Thornton over the presidential campaign between Republican John E. Fremont and Democrat James Buchanan.
In the summer of 1856, Thornton and Lincoln both left the Whig Party. Thornton became a Democrat, and Lincoln chose the new Republican Party.
“This debate helped to cut Lincoln’s Republican teeth and ignite the political fires of freedom for the Union in his soul, eventually propelling him to the presidency,” said Shelbyville attorney Whitney D. Hardy.
Lincoln spoke at 51 locations that summer and fall, including out-of-state appearances, but his encounter with fellow Kentuckian and friend Thornton was his only true debate in 1856.
The event has been recreated frequently since 1991, with Shelbyville residents portraying the debaters and Hardy cast as Thornton. The next one is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9, at the courthouse.
Four years ago, Whitney founded Shelby County Lincoln Heritage to keep the history alive through the sculpture and other activities.
“We are waiting for the Shelby County Board to determine whether they will replace a large slab of concrete west of the south steps of the courthouse,” he said recently. “We also have requested an additional lighting facility to be focused on the statuary.”
Anthony Thornton was elected ISBA president during the first meeting of the association on Jan. 4, 1877, in Springfield. He served three consecutive terms.
After studying law in his hometown of Paris, Ky., with an uncle, John R. Thornton, he was admitted to the Kentucky bar in August 1836.
Heading for better opportunities in Missouri, he stopped in Shelbyville to visit cousin William F. Thornton. He liked the community and settled there, gaining admission to the Illinois bar on Dec. 13, 1836.
Anthony Thornton was a delegate to Illinois Constitutional Conventions in 1847 and 1862, and a state representative from 1850 to 1852. He developed a friendship with Lincoln during journeys in the 16 counties of the 8th Circuit.
Thornton also was a member of Congress in 1864. After reforms of the 1870 Constitution, he served on the Illinois Supreme Court from 1870 to 1873.
He lived in Shelbyville from 1836 until 1879, when he completed his third term as ISBA president, then for two years in Decatur before returning. He died Sept. 10, 1904.
Tax-deductible contributions to defray expenses of mounting the Thornton-Lincoln statuary and commemorative recognition plaques may be mailed to Shelby County Lincoln Heritage Inc., P.O. Box 392, Shelbyville, Ill. 62565.