Candidate Lincoln

Lincoln was an unlikely presidential candidate. Although he had served four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, his experience in national politics was limited to one term in Congress (1846-1848) and two unsuccessful bids for a seat in the U.S. Senate (1854 and 1858).

Many were surprised when the dark horse candidate came from behind to win the Republican nomination away from several better known front-runners. Yet Lincoln went on to win the general election on November 6, 1860, in a nation bitterly divided along sectional lines. His name did not even appear on the ballot in nine Southern states.

Four years later, in the months leading up the 1864 presidential election, it was widely believed that Lincoln would be a one-term president. The public was exhausted by more than three years of war, and vocal contingents of both the Democratic and Republican parties were promoting the idea of a negotiated peace with the Confederacy, especially in the face of Union army defeats during the spring and summer. It was only after the successful conclusion of General William T. Sherman’s Atlanta campaign, and gains made by General Grant’s army in September, that public sentiment began to turn in Lincoln’s favor. Lincoln won election again, this time by a wide popular and electoral margin.

Abraham Lincoln. Manuscript of the Last Speech From His Campaign for the U.S. Senate. October 30, 1858.
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Lincoln’s oratorical skills are legendary. His mastery of language, and his rhetorical use of ridicule, logic, and humor, made him a formidable opponent in debate. This manuscript in Lincoln’s hand preserves the final portion of the last speech he made during his unsuccessful Senate campaign in 1858.

Gift of Nicholas H. and Marguerite Lilly Noyes

The Republican Party Vindicated—The Demands of the South Explained. Speech of Hon. Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, at the Cooper institute, New York City, February 27, 1860.
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Lincoln delivered his well-received Cooper Union speech in New York City on February 27, 1860. Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer has called this address “the speech that made Lincoln President.”

“The Irrepressible Conflict, or the Republican Party in Danger.” Currier & Ives. October, 1860.
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This cartoon reflects the political chaos following in the wake of Lincoln’s nomination as the Republican candidate for President. Many assumed that New York Senator William Seward would win his party’s nomination. Seward is shown being thrown overboard from the Republican barge by other party leaders, while he cries out, “I built this boat and I alone can save it.” Lincoln, at the rudder, declares, “I’ll take the helm. I’ve steered a flat boat before.”

William P. Stein Memorial Endowment

Abraham Lincoln. The Life, Speeches and Public Services of Abram Lincoln. New York: Rudd & Carleton, 1860.
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Much of what we know about Lincoln’s personal history comes from this campaign autobiography, published in 1860. The upper cover is labeled the “Wigwam Edition” after the Wigwam Center at Chicago, the site of the Republican convention. The lithographic portrait of Lincoln on the front cover was sketched from a Mathew Brady photograph taken while Lincoln was in New York for his Cooper Union Address.

The Life and Public Services of Hon. Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, and Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine. Boston: Thayer & Eldridge, 1860.
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Multiple subsequent printings of Lincoln’s biography appeared during the 1860 campaign, including this one, printed in Boston by Thayer & Eldridge.

Abraham Lincoln Campaign Ribbons, 1860.
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Gift of Gail and Stephen Rudin

Ballot for the 1860 Election. Republican Ticket.
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Gift of Gail and Stephen Rudin

Lincoln Campaign Envelopes, 1860 and 1864.
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Gift of Gail and Stephen Rudin

Wide-Awake Vocalist or, Rail Splitters Song Book: Words and Music for the Republican Campaign of 1860. New York: E.A. Daggett, [1860].
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This political song book was sold for a dime to help rally Republican supporters around their candidate. The party faithful could belt out such timeless tunes as “Honest Abe of the West,” “High Old Abe Shall Win,” “Shout for the Prairie King” and “We Will Vote for Old Abe Lincoln.” The Wide Awakes was a campaign organization supporting the Republican Party during the 1860 election.

Gift of Gail and Stephen Rudin

Lincoln Wooden Parade Axe, 1860.
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Susan H. Douglas Collection of Political Americana

Union Presidential Ticket. Miami County, Ohio, 1864.
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Gift of Gail and Stephen Rudin

Clarence Dodge. Photograph of Lincoln Reading his Second Inaugural Address. Washington, March 4, 1865.
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This image is one of the only known photographs to capture Lincoln in the act of reading his second inaugural speech. John Wilkes Booth, his future assassin, was also present at the inauguration.

Collection of Stephan Loewentheil

Inaugural Ball Invitation. March 4, 1865.
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Gift of Gail and Stephen Rudin

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