March 14, 2026

On March 15, 1820, Maine joined the Union, with national repercussions.  Maine statehood was opposed by southerners worried that it would restrict enslavement in the South, With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 Maine men moved west, Owen Lovejoy of Maine, elected to the Illinois state legislature in 1854, became friends with up and coming lawyer, Abraham Lincoln, Legislators, many from Maine, who were worried they were losing their democracy, set out to stop the rise of Slave Power. They would form a new political party, the Republicans, Lincoln knew Maine was important to his presidential campaign. Lincoln won 62% of the vote in Maine, taking all eight of the state’s electoral votes, and went on to win the 1860 election.

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