Page:Abraham Lincoln -- his life.djvu/25

 In 1831 the Black Hawk War broke out. The following year Lincoln enlisted in a company recruited at Sangamon, Illinois, and was elected Captain. He obtained excellent military training although his company did not see much of the war.

At the close of the war, Lincoln was appointed postmaster at New Salem. His next vocation was that of surveyor. In 1833 Lincoln made his first political speech and in 1834 was elected to the Legislature. Here he met Stephen A. Douglas of whom we shall hear later.

Re-elected to office, he served continuously for eight years. In 1837 he made his famous "Lightning Rod" speech. The same year Lincoln left New Salem and was entered at the bar, "a full fledged lawyer," at Springfield, Illinois.