The nature of the potential party strife to which Weber referred is unclear. He may have meant that not all Democrats in Illinois would support redress for the church and that sending a memorial to the Illinois congressional delegation would cause a division within the state’s Democratic Party. He could have been referring, however, to the ongoing political divide between Whigs and Democrats over the ideal balance of state and federal power. This divide impacted politics nationally as well as in individual states, including Illinois. Because not all members of the Illinois General Assembly were officially affiliated with either the Democrats or the Whigs, it is unknown precisely how far this partisan divide extended in that legislative body. However, the Democrats appear to have held a slight edge in numbers over their Whig counterparts at this time, even though the Whigs in Illinois had experienced increased success in the previous election. (Thompson, “Illinois Whigs before 1846,” chaps. 2–3; Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848, xliv, 307–330; see also Howe, What Hath God Wrought, chap. 13.)

Thompson, Charles Manfred. “The Illinois Whigs before 1846.” University of Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences 4, no. 1 (Mar. 1915): 9–150. Simultaneously published as University of Illinois Bulletin 12, no. 31 (5 Apr. 1915).

Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.

Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848. The Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

It is not known if JS responded to this letter.