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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: time thirteen candidates in the field, with a consequent division
of interest. When the votes were counted, Lincoln was found to be
eighth on the list--an excellent showing when we remember that he
was a newcomer in the county, and that he ran as a Whig, which
was the unpopular party. In his own home town of New Salem only
three votes had been cast against him. Flattering as all this
was, the fact remained that he was defeated, and the result of
the election brought him face to face with a very serious
question. He was without means and without employment. Offut had
failed and had gone away. What was he to do next? He thought of
putting his strong muscles to account by learning the blacksmith
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