Abraham Lincoln almost our governor!?!

Ira Wesley Kitmacher

In my last column, and to honor February’s Presidents Day holiday, I wrote about Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War’s impact on our region. I’m going to continue that theme in this column. 

On March 4, 1849, Lincoln had just finished his term as a “Whig” representing Illinois in Congress. During his two years in Congress, Lincoln’s opposition to the Mexican-American War made him unpopular in some circles. Instead of returning to Springfield, Illinois, to practice law, he wanted to do something bigger that would allow him to help shape the country’s future. 

Lincoln was hopeful of a federal appointment as commissioner of the General Land Office. The post was powerful, overseeing the surveying and sale of public lands at a time when the United States was moving rapidly west. Such a job would have put him on a path to greater national influence. 

However, at the 1848 Whig convention, Lincoln had supported Zachary Taylor for president (he would be elected) instead of the party’s elder statesman and longtime leader, Henry Clay. Clay was not a forgiving man, and he wouldn’t forget. When Lincoln applied for the land commissioner post in the Taylor administration, Clay’s influence helped block him.  

President Taylor offered Lincoln the position of secretary of the Oregon Territory (which included Washington, until it became its own territory in 1853 with Olympia as the capital city), with the chance to become governor.

Oregon in 1849 was a vast, sparsely populated region, stretching from the Columbia River south to what would become the northern border of California, and from the Pacific Coast east into the forests and mountains of what would later become Idaho and Washington.

Settlements were few, roads were rough or nonexistent, and winters could be harsh. Communication with Washington was slow; letters could take months to reach their destination. If he had accepted, he would have had to uproot his family and move them to a remote, largely unknown land. 

 Lincoln had grown up on the Kentucky and Indiana frontier, living in cabins and working hard, and he liked the idea. Some friends encouraged him to go, saying that as territorial secretary, he could gain influence quickly and perhaps become one of Oregon’s first U.S. senators when it achieved statehood.  

But his wife, Mary Todd, was deeply uneasy about moving to the remote, wild frontier. She had lived in more settled areas and enjoyed social life, friends, and a comfortable home. The Oregon Territory in 1849 was wild and isolated. Moving there meant months-long journeys over dangerous terrain or by sea, with no doctors nearby and few schools or social outlets. Mary’s opposition proved decisive; Lincoln stayed in Illinois. 

In Springfield, he returned to his law practice. Over the next 10 years, he rebuilt his political career, navigating debates over slavery, the rise of the Republican Party, and the growing North-South crisis. In 1860, he was the Republican nominee for president. Next, he led the nation through its greatest internal conflict, the U.S. Civil War. He helped preserve the Union and redefined what freedom meant.  

History could have been written very differently. He could have been the Oregon Territory’s leader, requiring his absence from Illinois’ 1850s politics and missing the debates with Stephen Douglas that propelled him to national fame. The Civil War-era presidency might have belonged to someone else entirely. He also would have avoided assassination. A pivotal decision, influenced by family concerns and the distance of the frontier, shaped America’s future. 

Lincoln never traveled farther west than Iowa. While he never set foot in Oregon, the region became a turning point in his life — a place that could have changed the path of the man who would later be known as the Great Emancipator and our greatest president. 

History often turns on small moments, decisions made in homes, offices, and family parlors. In 1849, Abraham Lincoln considered moving to a distant wilderness, and the future of the United States rested, in part, on his choice to stay. For a time, the Pacific Northwest was more than just a distant land — it was a place that, in fact, changed the life of one of America’s most consequential presidents. 

 Ira Wesley Kitmacher is an Olympia-based historian and author, writing “Haunted Puget Sound,” “Pacific Northwest Legends and Lore,” the upcoming “Dark Tales of the Oregon and Washington Territories,” and other published books. He leads tours based on his books. Ira is a speaker at various public venues.  He is featured on television, radio, and other media. Ira is a Commissioner on the Thurston County Historic Commission. He is a professor who has taught at Georgetown University and other colleges. Ira is a retired senior federal executive and attorney.