Visitors call at Astor House to see Lincoln, and he refuses invitations to speak at Patterson and Orange. Illinois State Journal, 3 March 1860.

In evening, Lincoln speaks before a large audience gathered at the Cooper Institute. He interprets the intent of the U.S. Constitution's framers and the power of the "Federal Government to control...slavery in our Federal Territories." In regard to the Dred Scott decision, Lincoln declares that the Supreme Court was "mistaken" when it determined that "the right of property in a slave is distinctly and expressly affirmed in the Constitution." A newspaper reports that his remarks drew "frequent and irrepressible applause." New York Daily Tribune, 28 February 1860, 6:1-5; Address at Cooper Institute, New York City, 27 February 1860, CW, 3:522-50.