in the wake of the fight, lee can -- lincoln became a friend of jack armstrong. he was running for the state legislature and became the captain of his company in the black hawk war and rose up quickly. both men married up. their wives were central to their self making. douglas married a free black woman, which was very unusual, when he returned to baltimore. it was very unusual for slaves and free blacks to interact in that way. anna murray and her money were primarily responsible for allowing douglas to dress as a flea -- free sailor, to purchase a train ticket, and take a train north to new york city where he became free in 1838. without her help, his chances of becoming free would been -- have been profoundly limited. most people see mary todd as a crazy woman. mary todd was at least as sophisticated about politics as lincoln was. mary todd grew up in kentucky near the home of henry clay, the hero statesman for lincoln. she was a friend of clay. she was an aristocrat. lincoln, in marrying mary todd made a very wise political decision. mary todd advised lincoln

jack armstrong liked to roast live pigs and hear the sound of squealing before it died. one of the most common forms of fighting in the backwoods of illinois was what people called a rough-and-tumble, a no holds barred rough-and-tumble. it was not uncommon for a man to lose a nose, part of an ear, a finger, to have testicles ripped out my and the great prize in the fight was to liberate an -- this was a brutal environment. armstrong wanted to fight douglas. lincoln said no, i don't want to do that. i will wrestle you. i will have a regulated wrestling match in which it was a less brutal form of fight. each man had to keep in arm on the other. people came from all around to bet on it. which was common in fighting. it's unclear exactly what happened in the fight. what we do know is that they called it a draw. armstrong fouled lincoln. the fight ended and they called it a draw. no one lost money. in the wake of the fight, lincoln became a leader of salem and a friend of jack armstrong. within roughly six months, lincoln was already running for the state legislature. he beca