This structure, pictured here in a late nineteenth century photograph, was one of several occupied by Abraham Lincoln in New Salem, Illinois. In this brief period Lincoln's native abilities, wit, and humor impressed the village's leaders, who encouraged him to run for the state legislature. Lincoln identified himself with the emerging Whig Party that opposed President Andrew Jackson and envisioned economic development as an engine of individual and social improvement and an enlightened civilization. The Black Hawk War interrupted Lincoln's first campaign for the legislature, but in 1834 he won election. As the condition of this structure suggests, the village of New Salem did not prosper. In April of 1837 Lincoln, now licensed to practice law, removed to the new state capitol of Springfield.