The Stephen A. Douglas Association was founded in 1975. It was because Richard J. Daley, mayor of Chicago from 1955-1976 admired the Little Giant that it came into existence. There is much to commend in the accomplishments of Senator Douglas. His public career extended from 1835, when he was elected to the position of state's attorney by the Illinois legislature, to his death in 1861, while serving as a United States senator.
We're glad that you are considering membership to our association. We use membership contributions to further the awareness of Stephen A. Douglas and his contributions to our country. Please print out this page, fill it out and send it to the address below.
Membership Categories
Student member $20.00
Individual member $25.00
Little Giant Foundation member* $50.00
*$25.00 of Foundation membership is reserved for educational programming, website and banner maintenance.
Mail completed form and check for amount of membership to:
David Richert
6959A North Hamilton Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60645
Association Store
This is where the Association will sell their various products.
Board of Directors
Officers
Chairman of the Board
Brooks Davis
President
George Buss
Secretary
David Zucker
Treasurer
David Richert
Directors
Charles Bednar
Michael Carson
Larry Gibbs
Barbara Hughett
Graham Peck
Muriel Underwood
Willis Williams
Joseph Wisehart
Registration Form
Please print out this page and send it to the address below to reserve a seat at our annual meeting.
THE STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS ASSOCIATION
C/O DAVID RICHERT, TREASURER, 6959A N. HAMILTON AVENUE,
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60645
(773) 761-6937
Please reserve _____ places at the Stephen A. Douglas Association luncheon to be held on Saturday, June 7, 2008 at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 West Jackson Boulevard. Please enclose $35.00 per person with this card, and return it to the address above.
Name_________________________________________________________________________
Noted Lincoln historian and collector Frank J. Williams currently serves as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. “The Debates: 150 Years Later” will be the topic of his address to the annual luncheon meeting of the Stephen A. D o u g l a s Association on Saturday, June 7. He will be looking back at those famous debates of 1858 between Senator Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, as they competed for the office of United States Senator from Illinois. Douglas, of course, subsequently won that election—but the debates introduced the nation to relative political newcomer Abraham Lincoln. (Though he had served one term in the United States House of Representatives as well as in the Illinois General Assembly, he was not well known nationally at that time. Justice Williams will analyze those debates, how they were judged at the time, and how public perceptions of them have held up over the years. The author or editor of over thirteen books, the judge has contributed chapters to several others, and has lectured on subjects relating to the Lincoln era all over the country. At the same time, he has amassed an unsurpassed private library and archive that ranks among the nations largest and finest Lincoln collections. In 2000, Chief Justice Williams was appointed to the United States Abraham Lincoln B i c e n t e n n i a l Commission, created by Congress to plan events to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 2009.
Since 1996, he has served as founding chairman of The Lincoln Forum, a national assembly of Lincoln and Civil War devotees. Previously, he served as president of The Abraham Lincoln Association for nine years and as president of The Lincoln Group of Boston for fourteen years. He serves as literary editor of the Lincoln Herald, where his “Lincolniana” column appears. Frank Williams is currently at work on an annotated bibliography of all Lincoln titles published since 1865. With Harold Holzer and Edna Greene Medford, he has written The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views, Social, Legal, and Pictorial, recently published by Louisiana State University Press,
On December 30, 2003, President Bush, through the Secretary of Defense, invited Chief Justice Williams to be a member of the Court of Military Commission Review for the tribunals to be held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with the rank of Major General.
Note: Judge Williams has agreed to allow The Stephen A. Douglas Association to publish his remarks as a monograph. Signed and numbered copies will be made available to members when it is ready.
About the Association 
Noted Lincoln historian and collector Frank J. Williams currently serves as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. “The Debates: 150 Years Later” will be the topic of his address to the annual luncheon meeting of the Stephen A. D o u g l a s Association on Saturday, June 7. He will be looking back at those famous debates of 1858 between Senator Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, as they competed for the office of United States Senator from Illinois. Douglas, of course, subsequently won that election—but the debates introduced the nation to relative political newcomer Abraham Lincoln. (Though he had served one term in the United States House of Representatives as well as in the Illinois General Assembly, he was not well known nationally at that time. Justice Williams will analyze those debates, how they were judged at the time, and how public perceptions of them have held up over the years. The author or editor of over thirteen books, the judge has contributed chapters to several others, and has lectured on subjects relating to the Lincoln era all over the country. At the same time, he has amassed an unsurpassed private library and archive that ranks among the nations largest and finest Lincoln collections. In 2000, Chief Justice Williams was appointed to the United States Abraham Lincoln B i c e n t e n n i a l Commission, created by Congress to plan events to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 2009.