Lincoln the Candidate

LINCOLN THE CANDIDATE
1859 to 1860

Abraham Lincoln won the presidency in 1860 through the power of print media. Among the four presidential candidates, none had more campaign biographies published about him than those dedicated to Lincoln. And no other contender for the highest office lent so well to the inventiveness of political publishing. Here we see the Lincoln mythopoesis: the turning of his life story into a patriotic tale of American destiny. The rural laborer became the railsplitting westerner. The country lawyer became Honest Abe. The folksy functionary became the everyman nominee. To Lincoln’s cause came dozens of book-length biographies, propaganda pamphlets, political songsters, and pictorial ballots. There also were illustrated portraits of him—some more imagined than others—revealing his countenance to a population that barely knew him. Together, these printings galvanized the antislavery North to vote for Lincoln in sufficient numbers so that the electoral college results would take care of the rest. 

The Life, Trial and Execution of Captain John Brown (New York: De Witt, [1859]).

Campaign Biographies

The Life, Speeches, and Public Services of Abram Lincoln. Wigwam Edition (New York: Rudd & Carleton, 1860).

Elihu B. Washburne, Abraham Lincoln, His Personal History and Public Record (n.p.: Republican Congressional Committee, [1860].)

Ichabod Codding, A Republican Manual for the Campaign (Princeton [IL]: Republican Book & Job Printing Office, 1860).

Songsters

William H. Burleigh, The Republican Campaign Songster (New York: Dayton, 1860).

John W. Hutchinson, Hutchinson’s Republican Songster (New York: Hutchinson, 1860).

Republican Song Book (New York: Thayer & Eldridge, 1860).

The Republican Campaign Songster (Cincinnati: American Publishing House, 1860).

The Wide-Awake Vocalist (New York: Daggett, 1860).

Election Ballots

For President, / Abram Lincoln, [Republican Election Ticket, 1860].

For President / John Bell, [Constitutional Union Ticket, 1860].

For President / John C. Breckinridge, [Southern Democratic Ticket, 1860].

For President, / Stephen A. Douglas, [Democratic Ticket, 1860].

Lincoln & Hamlin / Ward 12 (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1860).