STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS
AND THE
AMERICAN UNION
2. Marriage and Fortune
Stephen A. Douglas's rapid rise to political prominence had left little time for a private life. In 1846, at the age of thirty-three, he was still a bachelor. He smoked cigars, chewed tobacco, drank whiskey freely, and seemed most comfortable in the boisterous company of men. While living in Springfield, Illinois, Douglas had shown an occasional interest in some of the local young belles, including Mary Todd, but these flirtations were short-lived. His commitment to a political career was so strong that no woman seemed capable of distracting him.
Once in Washington, however, Douglas's mood shifted. In the House of Representatives, he struck up a friendship with a colleague, Congressman David S. Reid of North Carolina. Reid introduced Douglas to his uncle, Robert Martin, a wealthy North Carolina planter, and to Martin's twenty-two-year-old daughter, Martha. Douglas was immediately taken with Martha. He arranged to see her again in North Carolina, and the two became deeply attached. In March 1847, Stephen Douglas and Martha Martin were married on her father's plantation in Rockingham County.
In marrying Martha, Douglas acquired a new and profound connection with the great agricultural region of the American South. Martha's family had long been prominent in North Carolina. Her great-uncle had been a governor of North Carolina and a U.S. Senator. Her uncle had served in the House of Representatives. In common with other daughters of prosperous Southern planters, Martha had been educated in finishing schools in Philadelphia and Washington.
Southern tradition also figured in the nuptial celebration. As a wedding present, Robert Martin offered the newlyweds his 2,500-acre plantation on the Pearl River in Lawrence County, Mississippi, including more than 100 slaves. Douglas was taken aback and persuaded his father-in-law that he could not accept such a gift. As a northern man, Douglas said, he was unfamiliar with southern agriculture and slave labor and was not competent to manage a plantation. He suggested that Martin retain ownership and make provision for its disposition in his will.
The next year, Robert Martin died. By the terms of his will, the Pearl River plantation was bequeathed to Martha and eventually to her children. If Martha had no children, the slaves were to be given their freedom and sent to Liberia. While explicitly acknowledging that Douglas had no interest in owning the property, Martin's will designated Douglas as property manager and directed that he henceforth receive twenty per cent of the plantation's annual income for his services.
Douglas's marriage spurred him to improve his domestic arrangements and financial prospects. In the summer of 1847, he and Martha established their Illinois residence in the rapidly growing city of Chicago. They took rooms in the Tremont House hotel and planned to erect a more permanent residence overlooking Lake Michigan. Douglas began buying large parcels of real estate, including thousands of acres on the western edge of Chicago, along the south branch of the Chicago River, and near Lake Calumet.
Douglas also accumulated a substantial tract of land along the lakefront on the southern edge of the city. Part of the estate, which he called Oakenwald, was set aside for the future Douglas mansion. The remainder was to be subdivided into two landscaped parks and smaller lots for residential development.
Douglas made equally generous provision for living quarters in Washington. In 1851, he purchased two blocks of property and a large residence on an elevation north of the Capitol at New Jersey Avenue and I Street. Embellished with $3,000 in improvements, the Douglas house soon became a center for Washington society and the site of lively parties that led some wags to dub it "Mt. Julep."
In addition to new social status, Douglas was also acquiring a family of his own. In January 1849, Martha gave birth to their first child, Robert Martin Douglas. A second son, Stephen Arnold Douglas, Jr., was born in November 1850. The arrival of the two children helped to strengthen ties with the Martin family in North Carolina. Martha and the children spent lengthy periods of time in North Carolina, and the boys were often left with the family when Martha rejoined her husband in Washington.
Stephen Douglas's marriage to Martha Martin signaled an auspicious moment in his personal life and political career. After years of singleminded political activity, he had found comfort in the joys of domesticity. Income from the Pearl River plantation and profits from shrewd real estate transactions in Chicago were making him financially independent. More than this, his growing familiarity with southern culture and contacts with politicians and businessmen in the South increased his knowledge of American parties and politics. He was poised to assume a principal role in the leadership of the nation.
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS AND THE AMERICAN UNION