sentiment included Peoria and Pekin. According to the 1949 Pekin "Centenary," p. 15, "Pekin was a pro-slave city for years. Some of the original settlers had been slave-owners themselves, and the overwhelming sentiment in Pekin was Democratic. Stephen A. Douglas, not Abraham Lincoln, was the local hero, although Lincoln was well-liked, and had some German following." Nonetheless, there was abolitionist sentiment in Pekin. Among Pekin's abolitionist leaders was Dr. Daniel Cheever, who performed Underground Railroad activities in his office at the corner of Capitol and Court streets (in addition to his property in Delavan which was an Underground Railroad depot) and the brothers Samuel and Hugh Woodrow. (Catherine Street in Pekin is named for Samuel's wife, and Amanda Street is named for Hugh's wife). The sentiment was bolstered by the German immigrants that arrived in the area after the Revolutions of 1848; while there were small groups that supported slavery, finding them would prove difficult as the German community disapproved of the idea. During the Civil War, the inhabitants of Pekin were divided between the pro-slavery element, who favored the Confederacy, and the abolitionist and pro-Union element. Early in the war, the secessionist "Knights of the Golden Circle" openly supported secession and slavery in Pekin. The 1949 Pekin Centenary, p. 15, says the Knights were "aggressive and unprincipled," and "those who believed in the Union spoke often in whispers in Pekin streets and were wary and often afraid." As a response to the Knights' influence, Dr. Cheever and 10 other men gathered at 331 Court Street in Pekin on June 25, 1862 to establish the first council of the Union League of America. The goal of the League was to promote patriotism and loyalty to the Union in the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Its members hoped to counter Northern disillusionment with President Lincoln's military policies after early Union defeats in the American Civil War. Although closely allied with the Republican Party, the League sought to enroll all Union supporters, regardless of party. The anti-slavery Germans of Pekin took an active role in the Union League in their city. German immigration to Pekin After the Revolutions of 1848, many people from the German Confederation immigrated to the United States. During the decade of the 1850s, a 118.6% increase in the German-born population was observed. In the 1850 Tazewell County census, nearly 14% of Pekin’s population was listed as