Editing Adlai Stevenson I (section)

==Marriage and political life, 1859–1884==
Stevenson was [[state's attorney]] of [[Woodford County, Illinois|Woodford County]] beginning in 1859. During the [[American Civil War]], he was appointed a master in chancery (an aide in a [[court of equity]]).  In 1864 Stevenson was a [[U.S. Electoral College|presidential elector]] for the [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] ticket.

[[File:Mary, Julia and Letitia Stevenson.jpg|thumb|left|Mary, Julia and Letitia Stevenson]]

In 1866, he married [[Letitia Green Stevenson|Letitia Green]]. They had three daughters, Mary, Julia and Letitia, and a son, [[Lewis Stevenson (politician)|Lewis Stevenson]].  Letitia helped establish the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] as a way of healing the divisions between the North and South after the Civil War, and succeeded the wife of [[Benjamin Harrison]] as the DAR's second president-general.

[[File:Adlai E. Stevenson - Brady-Handy - Restored.jpg|thumb|right|Stevenson as an Illinois representative, {{circa|1875-1877 or 1879-1881}}]]

In 1869, at the end of his term as state's attorney, he entered law practice with his cousin, [[James Stevenson Ewing]], moving with his wife back to Bloomington, Illinois, and settling in a large house on Franklin Square. Stevenson & Ewing would become one of the state's most prominent law firms. Ewing would later become the U.S. ambassador to Belgium.

The [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] nominated Stevenson for the [[United States Congress]] in [[1874 U.S. House election|1874]]. Stevenson was well-liked by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and levied influence in the local [[Freemasonry|Masonic]] lodge. Stevenson also received the nomination of the [[Independent Reform Party]], a state party that fought [[monopoly|monopolies]] following the [[Panic of 1873]].{{sfn|Baker|1997|p=117–118}} Stevenson campaigned against Republican incumbent [[John McNulta]]. He attacked McNulta's support for high tariffs and what became known as the [[Salary Grab Act]], where congressmen increased their salaries by 50%. He spoke little of his own positions other than railroad regulation. McNulta attacked back, accusing Stevenson of membership in the [[Knights of the Golden Circle]]. Thanks to the votes siphoned away from the Republican Base by the Independent Reform Party, Stevenson won the election with 52% of the vote, though he did not carry his hometown of Bloomington. He was elevated to the [[44th United States Congress]], the first under Democratic control since the Civil War.{{sfn|Baker|1997|pp=121-122}}

In [[1876 U.S. House election|1876]], Stevenson was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection. The Republican presidential ticket, headed by [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], carried his district, and Stevenson was narrowly defeated, getting 49.6 percent of the vote. In [[1878 U.S. House election|1878]], he ran on both the Democratic and Greenback tickets and won, returning to a House from which one-third of his earlier colleagues had either voluntarily retired or been removed by the voters. In 1880, again a presidential election year, he once more lost narrowly, and he lost again in 1882 in his final race for Congress. He considered a run in 1884, but a [[gerrymandering|redistricting]] made his district safely Republican.{{sfn|Baker|1997|pp=126-127}}

In between legislative sessions, Stevenson increased his prominence in Bloomington. He rose to become grandmaster of his Masonic chapter and founded the ''Bloomington Daily Bulletin'' in 1881, a Democratic newspaper that sought to challenge the Republican ''[[The Pantagraph|Pantagraph]]''. Stevenson directed the People's Bank and co-managed the McLean County Coal Company with his brothers. The company founded Stevensonville, a [[company town]] near the mine shafts. Employees were purportedly fired if they did not support Stevenson in an election year.{{sfn|Baker|1997|pp=127-128}}