September 15 Illinois History Minute

It’s September 15th, a day when some 1500 people turned out in the southern Illinois town of Jonesboro for the third debate between U-S Senate candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. The two continued their arguments over whether to allow slavery in new territories. Douglas called Lincoln an abolitionist who opposed letting voters in each new state decide the slavery question for themselves.  Lincoln said Douglas’ views ran counter to the founding fathers’ expectations that slavery was on the road to extinction.

Bobby Short was born on this day in 1924 in Danville. Short gained fame as a cabaret singer and pianist, specializing in pop songs from the first half of the 20th century, by both white and Black songwriters.