... "Mr. Lincoln assumed that it {slavery} should be prohibited by congress, and should not be left discretionary with the people of the territory, who, he imagined, were incompetent to prevent its introduction even if so disposed; that if once introduced it would be harder to eradicate than to keep out at the start. He referred to the original introduction of slavery into the colonies by the mother country, and stated that the new territories occupy now exactly the same relation to the States of the Union that the colonies did to the mother country then; that England has been censured for permitting the introduction of slavery into the colonies then, and the States of the Union will hereafter be censured for suffering its introduction (by the will of the people of the territories themselves) into the new territories now. He also read an extract from a speech made by Henry Clay in reference to the territories acquired from Mexico, in which Mr. Clay expressed himself as opposed to legislating slavery into those territories; but Mr. Lincoln forgot to inform the audience that Mr. Clay was also opposed to prohibiting slavery in the territories; that the distinguished sage of Ashland was one of the leaders that established the doctrine of non-intervention by congress in reference to those very territories---the very principle Mr. Lincoln and his party are now assailing. Mr. Clay and Mr. Webster informed the country, in their speeches upon this subject, that they advocated the adjustment of the question of slavery in the territories upon this principle, because the doctrine of leaving the question with the people of the territories was a right principle, and because they believed it to be the only means of preserving the Union. We have then the high authority of Mr. Clay and Mr. Webster to strengthen the inference that, in assailing the principle of non-intervention, Mr. Lincoln and the woolly party are working to endanger if not dissolve the Union.
We think the assertion made by Mr. Lincoln, that the Territories occupy the same relative position to the States as did the Colonies to the mother country, an unfortunate one for himself, his principles and his party. If this parallel be a true one, then do the black republicans seek to enforce the very doctrines which caused the American revolution and a separation from the mother country. The mother country imposed upon the colonies local laws against their consent, and denied them the privilege of regulating their own domestic affairs---hence the revolution. The black republicans would impose upon the people of the territories a law in reference to their local affairs whether they (the people of territories) desire it or not,"...
Taken from; The Illinois Sentinel newspaper (Jacksonville), September 12, 1856. Although heavily loaded with Democratic strictures, this report of Lincoln's speech is the only one available which gives an account of his argument. Lincoln spoke in the early afternoon and returned to Springfield on the 4 o'clock train in order to speak that night at another meeting. No report of the Springfield speech of the same date is available.
"Collective Works of Abraham Lincoln", speech at Jacksonville, Illinois, September 5th 1856, Vol. 2, page 370,
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I don't know what the political leaning of this reporter was, but is this what the people of the north voted for in 1860? That people were incompetent to make their own decisions, and that Government should make those decisions for them?
I don't believe so. So the message had to have changed between 1856 and 1860 for Lincoln to have become that popular to be elected President.